AI Adoption Soars as Costs Climb and Budgets Stall in Q3 2025 Meetings & Events

Q3 2025 Meetings & Events Pulse: Budgets Squeezed, AI Ramps Up, Timelines Tighten

Global DMC Partners' Q3 2025 survey shows a clear pattern: costs keep rising, budgets aren't keeping pace, and AI is moving from experiment to daily habit for planners. The data reflects input from 151 professionals across the U.S., Canada, and Europe-giving a grounded view of what's working and what's breaking.

Use this to tune your sourcing strategy, set stakeholder expectations, and build margin back into your programs.

Budgets: Stable on Paper, Split by Region

• U.S./Canada: 33% reported budget increases; 19% saw decreases.
• International: 32% reported budget cuts; 18% saw increases.
• Overall: 48% flat, 30% up, 22% down-uneven conditions persist.

Action: align agenda ambition to region-specific realities. If sourcing outside North America, assume less flexibility and bake in trade-offs early.

• Create a tiered "must-have / nice-to-have" matrix for every program.
• Hold a rate review call at RFP shortlist stage to surface fees and concessions.
• Price second- and third-tier options alongside primary bids to keep leverage.

Workforce & Stress: Experienced Teams, Heavier Loads

• Gen X leads at 44% (down six points from last quarter). Millennials are 22%.
• Nearly half bring 25+ years of experience-deep program IQ.
• Staffing is steady for 59%, yet 43% report higher stress from workload, timelines, and client demands.

Action: protect your team's focus time. Use clearer intake, tighten approval gates, and automate repeatable comms. Employers are leaning on wellness, flexible work, and professional development-extend those into peak windows.

Hotels, Venues, and Fees: The Main Cost Battle

• 70%+ encounter higher accommodation rates "most" or "all of the time."
• One-third saw 11-20% hikes on hotels/venues; many also report 21-30% jumps.
• F&B mirrors this: 38% report 11-20% increases.
• Airfare: 32% report 11-20% increases (up from 26% last quarter).

Common friction points: resort fees, service charges, mandatory in-house A/V, rigid contracts, long response times.

• Negotiate fee caps and line-item transparency (resort fees, service, admin).
• Lock menus early; swap high-cost SKUs; design buffets with chef stations to cut labor bloat.
• Add an A/V opt-out clause or right-to-compete where possible; request house gear rate cards in the RFP.
• Use multi-year or multi-program agreements to trade volume for rate protection.
• Include response-time SLAs in addenda to keep sourcing on schedule.

Lead Times: Incentives Plan Longer, Meetings Compress

• Incentives: typically 10-12 months; 25% start 13-24 months out.
• Meetings: nearly half are planned within 4-9 months.

Short windows magnify risk. DMC partners are becoming essential for fast turns and last-minute pivots.

• Maintain a pre-approved venue shortlist with specs, union notes, and fee profiles.
• Standardize run-of-show templates and decision deadlines for internal teams.
• Pre-clear core vendors (A/V, transportation, décor) for quick contracting.

Destination Decisions and Cost Levers

• Drivers: cost, property quality, flight availability.
• Cost plays in use: reduce A/V spend (51% at least sometimes), shift to second/third-tier destinations (49%), and contract earlier to lock rates.
• Regional tweaks: U.S./Canada cut A/V and use car-share transfers; international planners shorten program days or extend leisure time.

Build a rate-protection toolkit: early holds, flexible shoulder dates, midweek patterns, and split-city models when lift is tight.

AI Adoption: From Test to Daily Workflow

• 62% use AI daily (up 14% year-over-year).
• Tools: chatbots (82%), grammar/rewording (39%), translation/closed captioning (24%).
• AI note takers jumped from 18% to 30% this quarter.

Primary gains: faster proposals, sharper briefs, and cleaner client comms. Frequent users report measurable time saved and fewer rewrites.

• Quick playbook: use AI for agenda drafts, rooming list checks, F&B narrative, session titles, and post-event summaries.
• Guardrails: avoid feeding confidential data; apply style guides; review outputs for rate, fee, and policy accuracy.

If you're formalizing AI skills for your team, explore curated training by job role here: Complete AI Training - Courses by Job.

Attendance and Engagement: Mixed Signals

• 51% report stable attendance; 22% up; 26% down.
• Top drags: budget cuts, travel restrictions, economic uncertainty, and higher travel costs.

• Offer travel stipends by tier and publish deadlines for best fares.
• Design content for high perceived value: role-based tracks, hands-on labs, and peer problem-solving.
• Use regional hubs or "two-city" formats to reduce long-haul exposure.
• Set a hybrid fallback that doesn't dilute the in-person experience.

What to Watch Next Quarter

• Rate pressure on peak weeks and resort markets; hold options earlier.
• Supplier response times; build time buffers into sourcing calendars.
• AI maturity: move from ad hoc tools to documented SOPs and approvals.
• Attendance variance by vertical; refresh forecasting and attrition assumptions.

For context on airfare trends impacting budgets, see IATA's market analysis: IATA Economics.

Bottom line: plan earlier, price smarter, and let AI handle the busywork so your team can focus on negotiations, experience design, and stakeholder outcomes.