In the fifth of our DMC World Series, we check out Germany and hear from CAMONSITE Conference and more GmbH managing director and owner, Bettina Marwinsky, on the very latest trends.

Key points:

• 2023 is not anticipated to be as strong as 2022
• Companies have recognised the value of face-to-face
• High inflation could impact meetings and incentives
• Australian and New Zealand groups are planning events in Germany
• Sustainable events is a growing trend

We founded our company in 2008 and, combined with my business partner Valentina Azzoni, have more than 25 years of experience in the business.

The events, meetings and incentives we handle take place all over Germany. Our office is based in Berlin but during operations in other cities our staff are onsite to guarantee the smooth handling of programs.

During our time in business, we have been able to create a great network of reliable partners all over Germany.

Our philosophy is to provide very personalised, high-end service which is only possible because of our experienced team which we were able to retain during the pandemic.

We love what we do and we strongly believe that this makes the difference.

A strong year

This year was extremely busy from April onwards as we managed several postponed events from the previous two years as well as a lot of last minute programs, with everyone so keen to meet again in person. We are very happy that we were all back to work finally from early spring as everyone couldn’t wait to get back to doing we love best.

In total ,we ran approximately 45 events during the year, two of which had more than 1,000 participants, with others averaging between 150 and 200 people. We also handled a lot of events with between 30 and 80 delegates.

So far, business in 2023 is looking good and we already have some great events confirmed. However, I don’t believe that next year will be as strong as 2022.

We are currently seeing more leads coming in but it takes time to get contracts signed.

A very strong market for us is the United States, but we are also receiving requests and confirmations from the UK, European countries, and Australia and New Zealand.

For the events this year, we found that all guests who were booked to attend did so, with a cancellation of between just five and 10 per cent.

We also found that people seemed to be really enjoying their food and beverage much more than before the pandemic.

As almost all clients had not had the chance to organise events in-person over the two previous years, budgets were often higher and clients were open to more luxury or more activity program elements.

We have now turned back to a more seasonal work period with less business during winter time. Obviously this is because COVID is more prevalent during the winter months but we expect that this could change within the next two years as it becomes more and more a part of our normal lives.

The impact of COVID has really not changed the style of programs we run. Pre-COVID we were managing events that were a mix of business and leisure. Perhaps in terms of the incentive programs we are now running, we could say that there are more richer program elements than before.

We are definitely seeing that sustainability is becoming more important when planning events. We are actually in the process of getting a certification for being a sustainably-focused agency. It is very important to us that our employees are able to consult clients on how a sustainable event can look like.

CSR elements are certainly becoming more prevalent in meetings as well as in incentive programs.

As far as I am aware there is a lack of staff in our industry all over the world. We have been fortunate that in Germany senior practitioners stayed in the business which has been helpful as they have the know-how to train young people entering the sector. We actually hired two trainees this summer and we do our best to make them learn whatever is necessary to become a professional event planner.

High inflation, business slowing

As far as I understand, it is not only Europe that is facing high inflation at the moment and we have seen price rises across the board.

As I have said we do not expect 2023 to be such a great business year as 2022 has been. A lot of decisions will depend on the actual political and economic situation worldwide.

I believe that a lot of high potential clients will continue to plan and organise events as the pandemic made it very clear how important it is to bring people together and to create memories together. The exchange between humans is more important than ever and we are certain that business will continue, although maybe not as strongly as in 2022.

At the moment, the most important matter in Germany is the energy crisis and the increase of prices in this segment. But Germany will be able to manage the situation and most Germans do expect exactly this from the state.

The world in general has changed post-pandemic but we have to stay positive and keep on doing our best every day to get the best out of it.