Chicago, Orlando, D.C. Are Top Meeting Planner Locations

Following New York (23%), Chicago (22%) and Las Vegas (20%), the other most common destinations that meeting planners look to use in the next two years are Orlando (19%) Washington D.C. (19%).

New York, Chicago and Las Vegas are the top North American markets that meeting planners intend to use in the next two years, according to STR‘s 2019 DestinationMAP (Meeting Assessment Program).

DestinationMAP is a comprehensive study of meeting planners and the meetings market in North America. Now in its 18th edition, the report surveys meeting planners’ preferences and their perceptions of 42 North American markets.

Following New York (23%), Chicago (22%) and Las Vegas (20%), the other most common destinations that meeting planners look to use in the next two years are Orlando (19%) Washington D.C. (19%).  

“All five markets are particularly popular in what we define as the largest meeting size segment (1,000+ attendees) along with Atlanta, Dallas and Austin,” said Chris Klauda, STR’s senior director, market insights. “New to the list of 42 markets evaluated is Puerto Rico. While not in the list of top destinations, a notable 4% of the 1,000 meeting planners surveyed plan to hold a meeting in Puerto Rico in the next two years.”

Other key findings from the 2019 DestinationMAP include:

• London was selected by more than one in four planners as an international meeting destination in the next three years followed by Paris.
• A majority of meeting planners require more than one hotel for at least one of their events planned in the past 12 months. Not surprisingly, the largest meeting size segment was even more likely to require more than one hotel.
• Safety, cleanliness, value and accessibility remain the most important considerations for the majority of meeting planners when selecting a meeting site.
• All planner segments show general consistency in the magnitude of importance for most considerations. A few exceptions are association planners who place less emphasis on recreational considerations, and the largest meeting size planners who place more emphasis on logistical considerations.
• The presence of panhandlers is an issue for meeting planners with four in 10 ruling out a destination for this reason.
• Roughly one-fourth of meeting planners attended local/national Meetings Professionals International (MPI) and IMEX events in the last year. Just under one-third of meeting planners did not attend such events. 
• Louisville, Austin, Denver and Nashville showed the greatest year-over-year increase in group hotel demand.

To purchase the 2019 DestinationMAP, please contact destininfo@str.com. Media members seeking additional insights into the nature of the meetings market or a meetings destination should refer to the contacts below.

STR provides clients from multiple market sectors with premium, global data benchmarking, analytics and marketplace insights. Founded in 1985, STR maintains a presence in 10 countries around the world with a corporate North American headquarters in Hendersonville, Tennessee, and an international headquarters in London, England. For more information, please visit str.com.