Each year, VISIT DENVER’s sales team books meetings worth more than $600M of economic impact for the city and our partners. Denver has quickly grown to become one of the top convention destinations in the country, combining all the key attributes that meeting planners want, including accessibility, facilities, accommodations, affordability, safety, service and destination appeal. And for more than twenty years VISIT DENVER has participated in a nationwide survey (Evidenz) along with the top 40 cities and nearly 500 top meeting professionals. This year’s Evidenz study shows how Denver tops meeting planner lists in a number of key attributes.
About the 2022 Meeting Planner Study:
- 459 Meeting Planners (MPs) in North America answered the 2022 Study
- 322 Corporate/Association/Other Planners
- 137 Independent Meeting Planners
- 85% of MPs have been meeting planners for 10 or more years
- 60% of MPs commit to space and sign a contract for space for their largest meeting 3 or more years in advance
Denver Results
- City overall perception (based on key selection factors like hotels, safety, accessibility, convention facilities, city appeal, etc.): Denver ranks #1 for top 40 U.S. cities!
- City they are already contracted with: Denver ranks #1 for top 40 U.S. cities!
- City that’s the best fit for their largest meetings: Denver ranks #1 for top 40 U.S. cities!
- Convention & Visitors Bureaus (CVBs) that have made a proposal (formally or informally in the past 12 months): Denver ranks #1 for top 40 U.S. cities!
- City most talked about: Denver ranks #3 for top 40 U.S. cities.
- City that planners would meet in again: Denver ranks #3 for top 40 U.S. cities.
City that planners would recommend to others: Denver ranks #5 for top 40 U.S. cities.
Safety, Social & Political Results
Also this year some additional/new questions were incorporated to address current public safety concerns. When asked “mark any cities from the list that you won’t go to even though the city has sufficient facilities to accommodate your largest meeting.” Denver ranked last with only 3% of respondents choosing Denver. This is great news for Denver and continues to show that not only does the city have the tangible ingredients for success but also the intangible ingredients.
Another new question focused on social political issues asking respondents “which of the following destinations, if any, have you recently eliminated from consideration due to social or political issues?” Again Denver ranked in the bottom quartile with only 2% of respondents selecting Denver. This also illustrates the current climate around political issues and how those will continue to impact planners’ decisions in future years.
Lastly this year, not surprisingly included a question focused on COVID, “Which destinations, if any, have you recently eliminated from consideration due to issues directly related to COVID and/or how a city handled CLOVID-related issues with a planned meeting?” Again Denver ranked very low with only 1% of respondents choosing Denver. This is great news and shows the work the City and State did in conjunction with VISIT DENVER to safely open the city back up to convention business has paid off.
All of these factors help the sales team sell to future meetings and our service team to deliver on the factors that help clients to rebook Denver. Remaining vigilant as a hospitality community will be tantamount to Denver staying at the top of these lists while also making sure political, social and safety concerns do not negatively impact the team’s ability to book and re-book business.
