CHICAGO — At this year’s IMEX in Frankfurt, conference matchmaking platform Conferli presented the results of its RFP market research. The study, titled “Shaping tomorrow’s RFP: Insights from association professionals,” reveals a general sentiment that the traditional RFP process needs to be updated to meet the new and evolving needs of associations and conferences.
The report found that 55% of associations surveyed have a tender or RFP process in place, with only slightly more reporting doing so. And while the report describes a desired transformation of the tender process, it firmly maintains that a standardized tender process is needed to ensure events meet expectations, deliver value, and are of high quality.
More associations (64%) are adopting a “centralized tender process,” meaning they take the lead in contacting bidders to receive proposals, while 24% are considered reactive and wait for proposals or offers. Compared to 2022, when only 40% of associations responded that they were taking a proactive approach, this significant shift indicates that associations are looking to improve consistency, control, and transparency in the tender process.
“I would say the reason we’re seeing this is that a lot of parameters are changing,” said Bregje Frens, director of associations at Conferli. “For example, you have to think about how to integrate sustainability into your events, think about travel and price increases. Associations are looking to be more strategic in what they want to achieve with their goals, so they have to be a little more proactive. And to attract the younger generation to this conference, these aspects of sustainability and diversity really need to be included in the whole bidding process.”
The study revealed many areas where the RFP process could be optimized from an association perspective. Respondents said they would like to see increased automation, better data and market knowledge management, strategic relationship building, improved communication and requirements, technology improvements, and geographic variability.
The call for tenders of the future
While the report provides a comprehensive overview of associations’ feelings about the current tender process, it also focuses on what the tender of the future might look like.
When considering the topics that should be included in the tender, the associations said the most important were conference dates (1), hotel accommodation requirements (2), catering requirements (3), association presentation (4), accessibility (5), conference centre room requirements and participant profile (6), as well as conference history, destination benefits of hosting the event and public transport and sustainability (7).
To address today’s challenges, associations are looking for flexibility, efficiency, and technology integration in their future RFPs. This includes automation and efficiency, such as the ability to use an automated process to formulate quick answers to fundamental questions, as well as transparency and professionalism, and personal interaction to establish initial direct connections.
Conferli’s report concludes that a future in which AI-powered tools handle data collection and analysis and human interactions drive strategic discussions and final decisions is an ideal bidding process. It would also help create a more standardized model so that associations and organizers can make side-by-side comparisons more easily and quickly.
“It was really interesting to see that they were all looking for a technology development, like software, where they could easily use different building blocks to create the perfect RFP that would be perfect for them,” Frens said. “However, none of them want to add a financial contribution to it and they expect the industry to fund it. They are looking for a faster approach, a customized approach and something that is perfect and ideal for associations, which is like a dream scenario.”
The future of tenders will also focus more on forming long-term partnerships between the organiser and destinations/venues to foster a deeper and more mutual commitment to the success of events.
“If you look at the responses, there seems to be a lot of misunderstanding in RFPs,” Frens said. “A lot of them say, ‘We sent out our RFP and we got a copy and paste of someone else’s proposal.’ The general idea is that if you have a long-term partnership, you really see each other as partners rather than a transactional relationship. That’s going to create additional value and you can look at the impact – what you leave behind in your conference and what you give back to the community or your members.”
Other key findings
The report also presents other key findings from the associations on the tendering process.
- Regarding the integration of sustainability principles into tenders, only 14.63% of respondents said it was extremely important, 36.59% said it was very important and 39% said it was quite important.
- Yet more than 70% of respondents said it was important to include alignment with the United Nations Global Sustainable Development Goals in the “tender of the future.”
- The report finds that there is a need for more targeted training, advocacy and awareness-raising on how to address DEI in tenders.
- 45% of respondents feel that their current tender process is inadequate, with many indicating that the process is time-consuming, which is a major problem.
- Around 60% of associations say they are satisfied with the quality of the proposals received, while around 24% say they are not.
- Some respondents’ comments referred to the lack of requested information as a reason for dissatisfaction with the proposals.
- Despite the growing trend of bleisure activities being organized during the middle days of events since the pandemic in the United States, the report, which is more focused on Europe, reveals that bleisure activities are low on the list of concerns for organizers.
- “We also did some research on business and leisure in Europe, and I think it’s the responsibility of the destination to add this theme to their proposition,” Frens said. “If you want to attract visitors to your conference, the destination has to prepare the package around the conference so that visitors can combine their leisure activities with their events. I think in the US, bleisure is a bigger market because there are not many vacation days.”
Destination Selection Factors
According to the report, the primary goal of association conferences is networking, followed by community building, membership growth and the financial health of the organization.
Given these priorities, the study indicates that the chosen conference destination must deliver value in these areas to be attractive to organizers, and that organizers place the greatest importance on venue facilities, location and accessibility, cost and budget, accommodation options and support services when making location decisions.
When associations were asked about the important aspects of partnering with the destination in the future, the five most common responses were: flexibility in contractual arrangements, access to local expertise and resources, financial support, networking opportunities with local stakeholders, and collaboration on marketing and promotion efforts. The report suggests that destinations focus on these points in the tender process.
Find the full market study here.