The Hotel Booking Agency Association (HBAA) has announced its top predictions for 2021, with collaboration and consolidation forecasted to be key trends.
The predictions were made by HBAA’s board and senior management team, with HBAA governance director Sian Sayward predicting that “M&A (merger and acquisition) activities, joint ventures and partnerships will increase in 2021.”
Sayward added that market recovery will not be immediate in 2021 but will begin to emerge from Q2 onwards. “In-person large-scale business events will return, but not to full scale until the end of 2021, and even 2022. Smaller meetings and smaller/hybrid events will replace the large-scale offerings for 2021.”
On market recovery, HBAA strategy director and managing director of Meet Events Des McLaughlin added, “Agencies that haven’t reduced their costs and/or failed to secure new areas of revenue will struggle. Travel management companies could find business particularly challenging as clients will be looking for innovative meeting solutions rather than a transactional service.”
However, HBAA advisor and non-executive director of BCD Meetings & Events, David Taylor reckons there will be a strong demand for employee engagement events “which by their very nature will need to be in person.”
“Regional countryside and sporting venues will be the main beneficiaries of this resurgence as their location and facilities will support the new best practices,” Taylor added. “However, residential training will be hit hard. Many courses will now be lost to virtual.”
Leigh Cowlishaw, HBAA consultant executive director, added that market recovery is dependent on confidence. “Customer confidence in booking, staying, travelling and attending is affected, with many organisations not actually allowing these activities to take place, or tiers making these decisions for us. Therefore assurances, recognised benchmarks and the ability to showcase revised protocols and standards is absolutely key to kick start recovery.
“As an industry, we have adapted our ways of working and implemented measurements to ensure that the customer journey touchpoints have been considered and are as safe as they can be. We need to continue to shout about this and pre-empting concerns individuals or companies may have. As an industry, we have been tracking and tracing for years through delegate, guest and traveller management.”
Hybrid is here to stay
But despite hopes for a full and successful return to physical events, the HBAA acknowledge the new reality of virtual and hybrid event formats.
“2021 will be the year of hybrid, bridging the gap between the virtual world and back to live events,” says Angie Mason, HBAA treasurer and chairman of Absolute Corporate Events.
HBAA marketing director and founder of The Events Raccoon, Beckie Towle added, “We will see a commitment from clients to run the events they may have held off in 2020 but I think virtual and hybrid will be the way in which they feel safe to do this.”
HBAA executive director, Juliet Price added that sustainability will also be high on the agenda next year. “There will be opportunities for organisations to implement sustainability policies and, with that, there will be increased demand for agencies, venues and suppliers to demonstrate best practice in this area.”
Mental health and wellbeing
HBAA membership director and managing director of HTS, Julie Shorrock predicts that people will remain high on the agenda in 2021, following the stress and mental health issues experiences in 2020. “With continued isolated working conditions, mental health awareness will play a pivotal role in the wellbeing of us all.”
Cowlishaw added: “Our people continue to be our biggest assets, and no one will be unscathed by 2020, in some shape or another. Whilst the taboo subject of Mental Health was starting to be overturned; 2020 will have lasting effects on us with productivity being impacted. This subject must now be elevated to the forefront, within all businesses to aid recoveries.”
Do you have your own predictions for the world of business meetings and events in 2021? Get in touch at [email protected]
A desire to travel led Holly Patrick to the business meetings and events world and she’s never looked back. Holly takes a particular interest in event sustainability and creating a diverse and inclusive industry. When she’s not working, she can be found rolling skating along Brighton seafront listening to an eclectic playlist, featuring the likes of Patti Smith, Sean Paul, and Arooj Aftab.
