Meeting and event planners polled by Meetings Today as part of its new monthly MeetingsTALK survey found that 35% indicated they will be ready to resume face-to-face meetings of 100 attendees or more in the first and second quarters of 2021.
The MeetingsTALK survey asked for opinions on three questions during the COVID-19 pandemic and was conducted in early June 2020.
When asked to fill in a response to “I’ll personally be ready to meet in groups of 100 or more in (select one),” the following answers were given (455 responses):
- 35% selected Q1-2 2021.
- 18% selected August-September 2020.
- 5% selected June-July 2020.
- 15% selected October-November 2020.
- 5% selected December 2020.
- 10% selected Q2-3 2021.
- 1% selected Q4 of 2021.
- 11% indicated they would only be ready to meet until after there is a COVID-19 vaccine.
[Download the full results pdf here.]
When asked to fill in a response to “What are the meetings issues with hotels that matter most moving forward?” the following answers were given (524 responses):
- 64% selected cleanliness/sterilization.
- 15% selected seating for physical distancing.
- 8% selected contract terms/attrition.
- 4% selected ventilation.
- 3% selected F&B safety.
- 2% selected both staffing/staff safety and mask/hand sanitizing standard throughout.
- 1% selected both service levels and extended guest room turnover time.
When asked to fill in a response to “If you held a meeting before there’s a COVID-19 vaccine, you’d prefer (select one),” the following answers were given (455 responses):
- 72% selected six feet between people.
- 20% selected three feet between people.
- 8% selected “side-by-side is okay with me.
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