October 18, 2016 // 2 min read
3 Things That Keep Hoteliers Up at Night
As your property prepares to wrap up its 2016 business, make sure you’re ready to take on 2017. Are you prepared to improve your lead generation, attract planners that...
October 11, 2016 // 2 min read
Promising Results from the 2016 Venue Trends Study
The IACC professional organization ensures planners and attendees reach their greatest successes by establishing a set of quality standards for small to medium-sized events. In partnership with CBRE, IACC released its 2016 Conference Venue Trends that examined the health and wealth of small meeting and event venues across the industry. Mark Cooper, IACC’s CEO, noted,
August 10, 2016 // 2 min read
Find Your Group Business Evaluator Score
Venues are constantly battling for new group business leads, stronger planner relationships, and data-driven analytics that prove overall success. It can be challenging to measure how you’re performing compared to benchmarks in each segment of your business without the right tools. With the new Group Business Evaluator by Cvent, venues can benchmark best practice performance
June 27, 2016 // 3 min read
The Future of Group Business Technology
Pete Floros, Cvent’s Senior VP of Product Management, welcomed hotel professionals to day two of Cvent CONNECT 2016. Pete explained how group business is evolving faster today than any other time in the history of hospitality. He provided a sneak peak of Cvent’s product roadmap and how it will continue its role as an industry
June 26, 2016 // 2 min read
Group Business Trends: Q1 2016 Insights
During our first keynote at Cvent CONNECT, we announced the free, public beta release of Group Business Trends, an interactive portal that includes high-level data in four key categories: ADR, sales behaviors, RFPs, and planners. Built-in filters allow you to see our data on your specific major metropolitan area and hotel type. We are committed
May 18, 2016 // 6 min read
Top 2016 Hotel Digital Marketing Trends
With its promised flurry of shiny new software, apps, and marketing platforms, 2016 is already an exciting year. Hotel industry giants with big budgets have already gotten a head start on the rest of us, which allows us to see the technology in action and to review their ROI. Here are some of the trends
September 12, 2015 // 4 min read
4 Simple Tips for Conquering the New Hotel Economy
Who isn’t always looking for a good deal? Negotiating the best price and not leaving any money on the table has been a strategy of both consumers and planners of group business travel during the past few years. Lower rates, suite upgrades, banquet upgrades and audio-visual needs have all been a part of the “bone
May 26, 2015 // 2 min read
[Infographic] The Millennial Generation of Planners
Everyone in our industry is talking about the rise of the millennial (Gen Y) planner generation. Their online-first behaviors, early-technology adopter mentalities, and aversion to conflict are fundamentally changing the way hoteliers and destinations are marketing and selling to them. Yet no one has data on millennial planners specifically. Who are they? What are their
December 05, 2014 // 2 min read
[Infographic] Do Hotels Know What Meeting Planners Really Want in Promotions?
Marketing used to be an art. You went with what your gut and experience told you would work. Today, marketing is a science based on data. To be great at it (and sales), you must know the data behind the actions you want people to take. Recently, my company (Cvent) surveyed event and meeting planners
June 20, 2014 // 3 min read
Dissecting the Algorithm Behind Your Hotel’s Reviews and Rankings
How often do reviews play a role in guests or planners booking a hotel? Hotel guests read 6-12 reviews before booking, according to a recent TripAdvisor survey. Interestingly, the survey states 77 percent usually or always reference TripAdvisor before selecting a hotel. This can be a frightful for hoteliers who have received a batch of