The 31,000 Bridge Challenge 💭

If you work in events or corporate travel, this is for you....

Trade Fairs are HUGE 🤯

Did you know that there are 1,360 exhibition venues globally, hosting 31,000 trade fairs? In Germany alone, those events attract 7m+ people.

I attended GBTA's annual conference in Copenhagen last year, and they presented the Top Travel Purposes by Region. With the exception of LATAM, every region reported Conventions & Conferences as a Top 3 travel purpose.

Given that fact, you'd expect Travel Buyers, TMCs, OBTs, GDS, event-techs and event owners to be deeply engaged with one another, but the reality is different.

I've been lucky enough to work in both business travel and B2B events. Generally speaking, that engagement isn't really there, which I see as both a weakness and an opportunity.

What is the problem?😣

Events drive huge spikes in demand, creating availability and rate issues for corporate travellers - both those attending events and those visiting the local area during an event.

Very often, corporate travellers are left with 2 decisions, neither positive:

(1) Don't travel

(2) Travel but pay the premium and/or stay somewhere less than ideal

Here are a few real examples to highlight my point:

MWC Barcelona 🇪🇸

This event takes place 2nd-5th March at Fira Barcelona, attracting over 100,000 visitors. Left is during the event, right is the previous week. The top hotel is £2,460 vs £402 the previous week. HUGE difference, and this is 4-months before the event take place. The situation will worsen as the event draws closer.

WebSummit 🇵🇹

This event takes place 9th-12th November in Lisbon, attracting over 75,000 people. Left is during the event, right is for the previous week. The 3rd hotel down is £1063 vs £340 the previous week. HUGE difference. This is nearly 12-months before the event, the situation will worsen as the event draws closer.

EAU Congress 🇬🇧

EAU is a medical congress taking place 13th-16th March at London Excel. Left is during the event, right is for the previous week. The top hotel is £1,767 vs £284 the previous week. HUGE difference.

This problem is real and there's a significant commercial impact on everyone - corporates, TMCs, OBTs, GDS and event owners. Overcoming the challenge isn't easy though...

Problem 1 - Policy 📋

Most events do secure discounted hotel rates for delegates. The challenge is many corporates mandate booking through the TMC, so corporate travellers can't book those lower rates.

Whilst booking through the TMC is the right thing for travellers to do based on policy, their adherence can have a significant financial impact on the corporate's budget.

Problem 2 - Knowledge 🤯

No TMC, OBT or GDS can be expected to know about every one of the 31,000 trade fairs taking place annually. It's impossible.

If you don't know about the events, how can you do anything to pro-actively manage availability and rates for your corporate travellers?

Problem 3 - Action 😰

Let's say you did have that knowledge. What do you do with it?

Do you build 31.000 bridges with every event, and then negotiate with every local hotel just in case a corporate traveller decides to attend, or books a meeting at the same time as the event is taking place?

It would be impossible....

So what's the answer? 🤨

There is no easy answer, but what's clear is we aren't going to find solutions by working in industry siloes.

We need to bring the events and business travels sectors closer together. The knowledge and technology is there, we just need to get in the same room and see what's possible.

The prize is huge, solving one of the biggest issues in corporate travel today. Who's up for it?

The views expressed are my own and do not represent those of my employer. Any references to companies, products, or technologies are based on publicly available information and personal opinion, and should not be interpreted as endorsements.