Meetings Industry Forecast 2027

To say 2026 has been marked by economic uncertainty would be an understatement. But meeting planners can breathe a sigh of relief, as industry insiders expect 2027 to be more stable. Prices likely won't come down, but predictions call for only modest increases to event and travel costs.

When asked about their overall outlook, the majority of planners say they are hopeful. More than two-thirds of respondents to the September edition of the Northstar/Cvent Meetings Industry PULSE Survey expressed a positive outlook for meetings and events.

That feel-good outlook is even more prevalent in American Express Global Business Travel's 2027 Global Meetings & Events Forecast. Across every geographical region, more than 90 percent of event professionals say they are optimistic about the health of the events sector. North America ranks second-highest for optimism (94 percent), and is the region where the highest percentage of planners are likely to increase their meetings spend next year (96 percent). Latin America respondents are the most optimistic, with 98 percent expressing that positive outlook.

"Optimism is high but it's grounded in realism," says Gerardo Tejado Donde, senior vice president of professional services for Amex GBT. "Meeting professionals are entering 2027 with more demands on their programs, from rising costs and disruption caused by geopolitical uncertainty to higher attendee expectations. Yet they are responding with resilience, resourcefulness and creativity, adapting their strategies rather than stepping back."

Managing More Meetings With Higher Costs

Meeting volume in 2027 is expected to be at least as high as this year, according to the PULSE Survey. More than half of planners (56 percent) say they will produce the same number of events in 2027, while 34 percent are prepared to book more meetings — an 11 percent increase from the year prior.

In another promising sign for the meetings industry, 31 percent of planners expect 2027 attendance to surpass their current numbers. Some 7 percent of those planners believe attendance will jump to more than 110 percent of this year's attendance.

On the exhibitions side, steady recovery from the pandemic is expected to continue. The Center for Exhibition Industry Research predicts the sector will hit 97.9 percent recovery in 2027 and finally surpass prepandemic numbers in 2028.

More gatherings with more attendees might be good for the bottom line, but planners will need to wrangle the costs first. PULSE Survey respondents listed their top two concerns for future meetings as higher costs of goods/services and budget constraints. When asked specifically about their challenges working with hotels and venues for future meetings, planners pointed to higher-than-expected prices for food and beverage (noted by 70 percent of respondents), accommodations (61 percent) and A/V (60 percent).

Cost increases have become a significant challenge for many event professionals, particularly after last year's tariff rollout and the war in Iran that began early this year. Looking ahead to 2027, prices aren't expected to come down but the increases will be modest. In the September 2026 Industry Trends report, third-party firm Maritz predicts that most event planning categories will see increases of between 1 to 5 percent.

"I expect we'll see continued scrutiny around event spend, but not necessarily a reduction in the number of events," says Jim Russell, global head of business events solutions for Maritz. He notes that planners might need to reevaluate their budgets and strategy, but this can be an opportunity for improvement.

"The most successful planners will make some deliberate trade-offs. They'll invest heavily in the moments that matter most and eliminate elements that don't clearly contribute to attendee engagement or business outcomes," says Russell. "In many cases, tighter budgets may actually lead to better events because they force organizations to prioritize. The question won't be 'how do we cut costs?' The question will be 'what creates the greatest return on every dollar invested?'"

Modest Growth for Hotels

Room rates also are on the rise. According to Amex GBT's 2027 Hotel Monitor report, New York could see price increases between 1.6 and 2.5 percent, while San Francisco hotel costs could jump between 3.6 and 5.4 percent. Larger increases on the international front could include London (up to 5.4 percent), Mexico City (up to 7.1 percent) and Madrid (up to 9.2 percent). All increases are presented as a range due to geopolitical and economic volatility.

Offering a birds-eye view of the market, industry-research firms CoStar and Tourism Economics predict average daily rate and revenue per available room for U.S. hotels will grow in 2027 by 1.6 percent and 2.1 percent, respectively. The data analytics providers upgraded this forecast in August, after initially predicting 1.3 percent ADR growth and a 1.4 percent rise in RevPar at the start of the year.

According to Jan Freitag, national director of hospitality analytics for the CoStar Group, room rates won't outpace inflation in many U.S. markets. Planners also should note that hotel supply growth for 2027 has been downgraded from 0.9 percent to 0.6 percent.

"It's extremely hard to get any projects done," says Freitag. "Construction loans are expensive. Because of immigration laws, you don't have a lot of people to do the work, and the crews you have, they want to build data centers. They're not building hotels."

This can put more strain on the event budget, as limited guest room supply can mean less-competitive rates. Complicating matters further, Freitag anticipates that booking windows will continue to become more compressed, which often gives hotels the upper hand in negotiations.

Compressed booking windows were reflected in the latest PULSE Survey findings. In fact, just under half of planners (43 percent) say they are booking events less than 3 months out. The number of planners actively booking also dipped slightly year-over-year from 33 percent to 30 percent. More planners (62 percent) are sourcing and researching venues currently, showing that meeting demand is steady but organizers are taking their time to book, and waiting until the last minute to make decisions.

Will International Attendees Return?

The question of international attendance hangs heavy over 2027. The U.S. Travel Association predicts the total number of international visitors will increase from 70.6 million to 74.2 million next year, while international group travel spending will grow slightly from $12.6 billion to $13.4 billion.

However, overseas arrivals currently are down 5.8 percent year-to-date through August, according to Tourism Economics. The data reveals that the FIFA World Cup and the 250th Anniversary of the United States, two of the largest events of the year, did little to boost international visitation — which might not bode well for 2027 gatherings.

"International inbound numbers continue to deteriorate," says Freitag of CoStar. "I think it's going to be tough for meeting planners who have an international audience to get them to the U.S. That's partially because of airfare and partially because of sentiment."

One beacon of hope is that airfare hikes are anticipated to slow down next year. Maritz predicts that air-travel costs will rise only 1 to 2 percent. This is on par with the Global Business Travel Association's 2027 Pricing Forecast, which calls for a 1.5 percent increase in global blended airfares next year. More specifically, economy fares will rise only 1.1 percent, while premium fares will see a 2.2 percent bump. This is a significant decrease from 2026, where economy and premium fares rose by 8.7 and 9.5 percent, respectively.