How do you integrate MICE into your travel policy?
This is a process that is taking shape in the French market, but not necessarily in the sense of travel managers taking over the meetings & events function: depending on the company, its sector of activity and the scale of its expenditure, the phenomenon may well work in the opposite direction, with meetings & events managers inheriting the management of business travel. This is particularly the case in the pharmaceutical sector, where the market is more mature. However, it is important to bear in mind the many differences between the two areas, not least in terms of automation and online booking systems.
How is CWT Meetings & Events positioned in this particular market?
We are very well positioned thanks to our recognition, our image among the players in the sector and our international coverage, an advantage that is all the more important given that MICE spending is not consolidated at a local level, with projects being carried out at a global level. We are virtually alone in being able to offer a consistent MICE package on this international scale, and above all an integrated package, with all the resources in-house, from logistics to content production.
You recently signed a partnership agreement with Bedouk...
This is part of our offering. We have launched a flexible product that identifies levels of service according to the company's needs. They can entrust us with the total management of an event or simply the booking of venues, with five levels of service and à la carte products. The partnership with Bedouk was designed to equip us with the right tools. We were able to rely on an online platform available on our website, enabling the assistant to identify meeting venues, before going through us to book so that we could consolidate the data. Alongside this public platform, we also have an internal system that allows all our teams to work on the same tool, with more advanced functions such as a comment system for each venue. So we have advanced technological tools at our disposal, which give us a high level of responsiveness, and therefore quality.
Is the crisis weighing on demand? Or could it be an opportunity?
This context is prompting companies to refocus on their core business, which is not organising meetings, and to outsource to partners such as CWT Meetings & Events. Companies are also having to communicate more with their teams as part of their restructuring and merger plans, and to give priority to major international events rather than segmenting them by country in order to optimise costs.
Where do you see CWT Meetings & Events heading in the coming months? Are there any new partnerships in the pipeline?
Above all, we want to remain flexible, combining the advantages of a large structure with the way a start-up operates, so that we can react quickly by teaming up with the right partners at the right time, offering our customers what they expect and being proactive in meeting their needs. We keep a close eye on market trends in the United States and elsewhere - that's the strength of a large group like ours - so that we can anticipate one trend or another. The market will continue to evolve enormously.
