Cvent has released its 2025 Global Travel Managers Report. Among the many findings of the report, Cvent found that there has been a sharp uptick in the percentage of travel managers who are sourcing hotels and venues for their organisation’s meetings and events.
Travel managers are sourcing hotels and venues for events
The report found that 91% of corporate travel managers now source hotels and venues for their company’s meetings and events – up dramatically from 2017, when just 64% of meetings and travel programmes were consolidated. This marks a shift towards centralised sourcing, the report states.
The primary reason for this consolidation is enhanced operational efficiency (49%). More than four in five (83%) respondents report that they’ve reduced costs by managing both programmes together.
Despite more digital tools, evaluating venues remains difficult
The report reveals sourcing challenges persist despite digital tools. While 48% rely on specifications, images and videos when submitting RFPs, travel managers use travel websites (52%), hotel websites (47%) and search engines (42%) to evaluate venues. Yet 33% still struggle to determine if hotels meet programme needs.
European travel managers show stronger adoption of sourcing platforms, with 43% saying they help analyse bids easily, compared to 38% globally. The survey of over 1,600 corporate travel decision-makers covered across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and the Middle East. Cvent partnered with Censuswide to collect the data in March and April 2025.
