Dear WuBookers,
among the various opportunities offered by business tourism are those of so-called MICE hospitality: a precise type of travel related to events and conferences that can boost hotel revenue.

Here is what it is and what benefits it brings.

MICE: definition and meaning

MICE is an acronym that stands for Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions.
More specifically:

• by Meetings we generally mean single-day events organized by companies to share information, goals, and results with their employees or shareholders. The size can range from a small group of people to larger reunions. Meetings of this type are often hosted in a hotel conference room or convention center;
• Incentives, also known as “reward trips,” include all types of travel that a company offers to individual employees, teams, or partners. Also included in this category are stays and experiences dedicated to team building, since the common goal is to thank people for their performance and increase or maintain high participation in company life;
• Conferences, on the other hand, are larger meetings of varying size and duration, often lasting several days. As in the case of incentives, conferences can follow very different dynamics depending on the organizers and their industry: they can have educational or networking purposes and be professional or commercial in nature;
• finally, Exhibitions or trade shows, are usually massive events that attract hundreds of visitors and exhibitors from all over the world. They can last from a few days to a week and involve the purchase of an entrance fee. Exhibitions are usually very industry-specific and have a well-defined target market.

MICE Tourism is thus that generated by this whole series of events, organized locally, nationally or internationally by companies and associations from various fields and on various occasions.

Can hotels benefit from this? Trend data for the industry tell us yes.

Congress tourism in Italy: numbers and opportunities

We had mentioned it when talking about the various types of tourism in Italy: business and conference tourism in particular, represent a very interesting niche for the hospitality industry. In 2022 more than 300 thousand business events were registered in Italy, with a total of 31.7 million attendees, a sharp increase from the year before. Numbers noted by the Italian Congress and Events Observatory (Oice) in a recent research promoted by Federcongressi&eventi and carried out by the Alta Scuola di economia e relazioni internazionali of the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore – Aseri.
Based on ISTAT data, the study continues, it is possible to estimate that events longer than one day accounted for 8.1 percent of the attendance found at total hotel properties that year.

And in fact, hotels with meeting rooms are among the preferred destinations for organizing these types of meetings, being active more than 77 percent of the time. Despite being among the locations most affected by the restrictive health measures for the containment of the Covid-19 pandemic, hotel properties in fact show excellent resilience considering that “in 2019 they concentrated a total of 80.9 percent of the events held in Italy” (Oice).

Regarding the origin of participants, OICE finds a decrease in national events, to the advantage of local and international ones. A trend also confirmed by ENIT National Tourism Agency, according to which Italy is third globally for MICE tourism and second in Europe, with more than 520 meetings after Spain (528) and the U.S. (690).

A closer look at projected trends and behavior of the segment helps to understand its potential even better. 

Scenarios and trends in MICE tourism

Indeed, the two surveys mentioned above offer insight into expectations for the coming years, starting with the evolution of supply and demand.

The new forms of hybrid work, partly in the office and partly at home, spread on a large scale by the pandemic and often maintained beyond the return of the emergency, has led to a growing need for in-person meetings. In fact, this mode responds to the need for sociability and professional relationship building considered more effective when done in person. 

On the other hand, the configuration of the venue is also important: with this in mind, we are increasingly seeing the renovation and upgrading of environments, especially with regard to digital equipment. The authenticity of the property, surrounded by nature or in exclusive areas, is a plus especially for certain types of events. As is, on the other hand, its complete adaptability, with modular spaces that can be modified as needed.

Not only work: the other major trend in tourism in Italy, is precisely the so-called “bleisure,” or the combination of business (business) and leisure (leisure) travel, in a single stay. According to data collected by Enit, in fact, we are increasingly seeing mixed payments (“mixed payment”), i.e., shared forms of payment between the company and the traveler, who draws on his or her personal funds to add vacation days to the business trip.
A convenient formula for both companies and hotels, since it frequently involves longer overnight stays.

But what, in summary, are the benefits of MICE for those working in hospitality? 

MICE Hospitality: the benefits 

The benefits of MICE tourism for hotels are numerous, starting with increased revenues. Event participants need accommodations, but they also need meeting space and other services to make the experience complete and comfortable. Here, beyond what is needed for the meeting itself, favorable opportunities for upselling and cross-selling are created.

MICE events are held year-round and provide an opportunity to improve occupancy rates and increase revenue even during the off-season or times of lower demand.
Not only that, the aforementioned “blended” formula (mixing business and leisure travel), allows the seasonal adjustment of reservations to be used to one’s advantage, which can be further aided by offering lower rates for off-season overnight stays. 

Often, as we said, mixed work-vacation stays lead to an increase in the average stay, with reservations extending over several days.

Finally, the value of word of mouth should not be forgotten. If satisfied, event guests can turn into true brand ambassadors with other potential customers. On a larger scale, especially for events of a certain scale and that are repeated with some regularity year on year, this can also translate into a general increase in destination awareness, with long-term positive spillovers to a larger customer base.

Strategies and tools needed 

To attract business and MICE travelers, stating the capacity of the venue and the options available may not be enough. The marketing strategy must also adapt to this target audience, not only in content but also in promotion methods.
First, you need to structure a dedicated MICE offering with an identity all its own, just as you would with a seasonal promotion or vacation package.

Second, it may be necessary to turn to specialized entities that book MICE properties for business, national, and international clients.
Indeed, agencies and event planners offer MICE planning, organization, and on-site management services and are continually looking for new venues to partner with. Similarly, when hotels directly receive a request related to a MICE event, they may need hands-on help to enhance the guest experience-an outside event planner can help with this as well.

But none of this can be accomplished without appropriate technological support, which allows group reservations and any ancillary services required by guests to be managed quickly and neatly. With this in mind, it is essential to have a hotel PMS, that is, software that allows for centralized control and modification of reservations, room assignments, and management of check-ins and payments. WuBook’s Zak is a management software for hospitality properties that allows hoteliers and property managers to govern the entire room sales process and internal operations, while also providing data to optimize pricing strategies and commercial offers. All from a single platform.

The PMS is therefore an indispensable tool for those who intend to take advantage of such a promising segment as MICE tourism.