---
title: Business Events, Reborn | 2026 White Paper | Craster
description: "Download the 2026 white paper for hotel and events teams: where business events growth is now, how planners choose venues, and how to win that business."
image: https://support.craster.com/hubfs/WP26_General_Whitepaper_Banner_PopupImage_v1%20(1)-1.png
---

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- [Food & Beverage](https://craster.com/food-beverage/)
- [Conference & Events](https://craster.com/conference-events/)
- [PLAN](https://craster.com/plan/)
- [Case Studies](https://craster.com/case-studies/)

# Business Events, Reborn

**Why growth is concentrating in smaller, experience-led events, and how hotels can win that business.**

Business events came back after the pandemic, but in a different shape. This **2026 White Paper**, written for general managers, banqueting and events directors, conference and events teams and F&B directors, sets out where the growth now is, how planners choose a venue, and what it means for your property, whatever its size.

[Download the white paper](https://support.craster.com/business-events-reborn#get-the-white-paper)

## Key findings

### Growth is in smaller, experience-led formats

Incentive travel is forecast to grow 10.2% a year to 2033, and meetings of 50 to 149 delegates 9.0%, against 8.6% for the market as a whole. *(Grand View Research, 2026)*

### Shortlists are decided before the first conversation

Meeting-room specifications are the most influential resource in a planner's decision to enquire (50%), followed by images and video (48%) and floor plans (46%). *(Cvent, 2026)*

### Four days to respond

80% of planners expect a reply to an enquiry within four days, rising to 83% in Europe. *(Cvent, 2026)*

### AI now reads your listing first

Three-quarters of planners use AI somewhere in sourcing, and 43% use it to find and select venues. *(Cvent, 2026)*

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- [Food & Beverage](https://craster.com/food-beverage/)
- [Conference & Events](https://craster.com/conference-events/)
- [PLAN](https://craster.com/plan/)
- [Case Studies](https://craster.com/case-studies/)

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