Cvent’s first annual Corporate Meetings Summit—held Feb. 29-March 2 at the Gaylord National Resort Hotel and Convention Center, just outside of Washington, D.C.—addressed numerous topics that will impact the future of meeting planning.
Among them were the following: the need for strategic meetings management programs at corporations, with many planners expressing great interest in enacting policies or at least guidelines; the business of getting RFPs noticed and, of course, technology. Terms like “digital wallet” and “near-range communications” were frequently bandied about by conference speakers as they prognosticated on the future.
Smart phones will likely replace room key cards in opening hotel room doors and will eventually enable travelers to book their travel, hotel, taxi from the airport or train/bus station, plan itineraries, etc., said presenter Steve Singh, CEO of Concur, a travel and expense management firm.
“A mobile phone is a procurement device,” he said. “It’s all you need to buy things.”
He also suggested that meeting planners, as well as suppliers, should embrace the sensation of being out-of-control when it comes to technology and other changes.
“Control is a figment of our imagination,” said Singh.
Meeting professionals clearly are prepared for a smart phone revolution, as more than 50 percent of the event’s attendees (with about 140 attendees being meeting planners) said they intend to create a mobile application for at least one meeting this year. Cvent announced plans to roll out numerous new offerings this year, including more reporting functions, a travel and expense integration feature, a “meeting estimator,” whereby planners can get cost analyses of meeting in different markets, an RFP escalation function and much more.
Watch for more coverage of the topics discussed at this conference at www.meetingstoday.com in the coming months.