Identity Crisis in the European MICE Market

Hotels operating in the MICE market have traditionally been obsessed with processes and churning out proposals. But for hoteliers to Find and Grow the MICE segment, first you need to understand data and market trends to define your identity in this sector. Ultimately, knowing the market demand and your clients translates into a stronger kind of success. 

Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions (MICE) can mean big business within tourism and hospitality. It’s huge now, and it’s growing too. The global MICE market size was USD $998.59 billion in 2024. It’s on track to double in size and become a $2 trillion segment by 2034.

Hotels look towards the MICE as a revenue stream because it is the most profitable segment from their overall mix. Room rates for MICE bookings are usually higher than transient rates because groups take a big portion of the room inventory.

The potential for ancillary revenue from meeting and event bookings is profound too, as room hire, audiovisual and F&B packages are almost always required, driving up total revenue.

All-in-all, MICE means hotels can maximize profits and minimize inefficiencies.

MICE takes center stage

Trends have led hoteliers towards different feeder markets and industries throughout the last 10 years.

Pre-pandemic, hotels were all about chasing corporate bookings and business travelers, with their generous company budgets and frequent need to travel. Post-COVID, initially, leisure bounced back hard and fast, with business travelers accustomed to virtual meetings and traveling with purpose when necessary – maximizing business objectives – and extending stays into ‘bleisure’ trips. But now, we’re fully back to business, trends have shifted once again, and MICE is the rising star. It makes sense that hoteliers want to focus on this as the most profitable segment in hospitality.

So, what do hoteliers need to know about the MICE sector?

Well, that’s part of the problem. MICE is a segment that was never traditionally serviced well with technology. And much of that technology is around automation, and the operational side of managing requests for proposals (RFPs) in the sales process. Even now, a reactive RFP focus dominates the MICE segment, but there’s only a 45% response rate to RFPs, and a 5-7% conversion rate from this approach on average globally.

Crucially, there was never enough focus and data related to MICE market trends, standardizing and calculating relevant KPIs, understanding industry segmentation – and the profitability of specific industries – to drive relevant opportunities.

The MICE market is shifting globally

For hotels to understand where the opportunities are in the MICE segment, they need to understand broader trends. In general, there’s been a shift from west to east in recent years, with the Middle East and APAC flourishing in MICE business in particular.

Knowing about the performance of industry segments – and therefore where the opportunities are for attracting meeting and event bookings – has been key for these regions.

For example, in the Middle East, consulting, travel, and training/education were the top industries in 2024, and the automotive industry grew by a staggering 53%. Financial/banking, technology, and consulting were the top industries in APAC in 2024, and the electronics industry grew significantly by 55%. In the USA, the consulting industry grew in 2024, overtaking manufacturing, and the arts/performing arts sector grew by 33%.

Interestingly, declining industries in some regions are the key drivers in other regions. During 2024, healthcare fell out of the top 10 industries entirely in the Middle East but showed consistent strength in the USA.

By understanding the broader activity in the business world, hotels can begin to pinpoint a strategy for successfully attracting MICE bookings.

What about Europe?

Other regions recovered their MICE business back to 2019 levels by around 2022 or 2023. In Europe, it took until 2024. But the market is back and is still an incredibly popular MICE destination – and Europe now owns 50% of the global MICE market. But it’s a competitive market too, and hotels need to do more to capture their share.

In the Middle East, APAC, and the USA, we’ve seen how hotels have looked towards data to understand their identity, the context they’re operating in, and the types of businesses they should target with MICE offers. By setting fact-based strategies and making data-driven commercial decisions, hotels in these regions are successfully winning MICE business.

In Europe, it’s time we learned lessons from these thriving MICE regions to understand our own identity. But without the data, how do we understand who we are? That’s why Knowland by Cendyn is returning to Europe, starting in London. Hoteliers will be able to empower their teams with data-driven decision-making and gain a competitive advantage in the MICE segment. We’ll grow our data and knowledge together to help hotels capture a healthy slice of the MICE market.

London calling

We’re starting in London because it’s always been one of the most important European MICE markets. That’s because of its location, connectivity, and the legacy of the London 2012 Olympics – where planners really cemented London as a MICE destination. It will always remain a go-to destination for major events.

London hotels – and many hotels across Europe too – lack the data and information needed to stand out in the MICE market. Segmentation has shifted since the pandemic, but many hotels don’t exactly know how. With talent shortages across the hospitality industry, hotel employees who need to make decisions on how to attract MICE business don’t have the experience to do so. These factors combined mean hotels are fishing in the pond and hoping for the best.

We have the power to turn this around with the help of technology and data. Doing this can verify or challenge your assumptions, help you set a strategy that’s designed for success, and enable you to adapt throughout the year to have success with MICE business in a changing context.

Own your identity

There’s never been a better time to grab hold of your market share of the MICE world as a hotel. This is a sector exploding before our eyes, doubling to a value of $2 trillion within just 10 years. If you want to Find your place in the MICE market, get these customers to Book, and Grow a reliable MICE income stream, you need to become a hotel that MICE customers gravitate towards.

This gravitational pull is not about potluck or image. It’s about knowing your stuff, drawing on data, trends, and knowledge. Successful commercial teams – whatever the industry – are 3.5x more likely to use analytics. So why wouldn’t a hotel do the same? This forms the basis of your identity. And once you know your identity, you can set a strategy and make commercial decisions that fit as perfectly as a blazer on a delegate at a MICE event.

Erika Bucsi – Enterprise Director, EMEA, APAC. Connect with Erica on LinkedIn.

About Cendyn 

Cendyn is a global hospitality cloud-based technology company that enables hotels to drive revenue, maximize profitability, and create deeper connections with guests through its integrated solutions.

Serving hoteliers for nearly 30 years, Cendyn drives commercial success for hotels through its Find, Book, Grow promise: find the right guests; drive them to book direct, and grow loyalty and revenue across the spectrum of digital guest interactions.

Cendyn has over 32,000 customers worldwide in more than 150 countries – including brands such as Outrigger Hospitality, Hyatt, IHG, Aman Resorts & Hotels, Relais & Châteaux, Highgate, Banyan Tree Hotels & Resorts, Coraltree Hospitality, and Onyx Hospitality Group – generating more than $20 billion in annual hotel revenue. The company supports its growing customer base from locations across the globe, including the United States, France, the United Kingdom, Singapore, Bangkok, and India.