Maritz活动价格指数：部分活动成本较2019年上涨146%，2026年人均成本预计再涨约6%

Skift Take

Inflation is slowing, but event pricing isn’t turning around, according to a new price index from Maritz. Planners who keep cutting last year’s program to fit this year’s budget will lose on both cost and experience.

For years, Maritz could confidently budget $400 for a domestic round-trip airline ticket when planning an event. The actual fare often came in closer to $350 or $375.

Today, Maritz budgets approximately $650. 

“That’s stunning to me because it’s not like there’s that much more money that goes into a per-person budget,” said Maritz COO Steve O’Malley. “And that’s taking more away from what we can do to create the experience on the ground.”

The rest of the event budget has moved even faster, according to a new Maritz Event Price Index. Maritz gathered the pricing from hotels, destination management companies, and destination marketing organizations in a tier-one convention market to illustrate the kind of pricing pressures that are creating big challenges for organizations. 

A cocktail centerpiece that cost $25 in 2025 is projected to cost $40 (60% increase) in 2027. A one-way transfer that cost $142 in 2025 is projected to jump to $184 (30% increase) in 2027. And a musical trio that came with a price tag of $5,000 in 2025 will jump to $6,700 next year (34% increase). Rewind even further to the pre-pandemic days, and the price index reveals a staggering jump: Some costs have increased by as much as 146% since 2019.

Is Consolidation Creating Higher Costs?

While airfare hikes have dominated the conversation in travel costs this year, O’Malley pointed to private equity as one possible factor.

“When you look at the impact of private equity on all the companies that are in that space, there’s so much money that’s coming into the event space,” O’Malley said.

Private equity firms have been acquiring companies in event production, audiovisual services, and décor. O'Malley believes the continuing consolidation is producing greater pricing discipline among suppliers.

Inflation Will Slow, But Prices Won’t Fall

Maritz estimates that overall meeting and event costs per attendee will rise approximately 6% in 2026, then another 1% to 2% in 2027. It projects hotel prices up 4% to 6% this year and 1% to 2% next year. It projects airfare up 10% to 20% in 2026 before moderating to 1% to 2% in 2027, and food and beverage up another 3% to 5% next year.

While the rate of increases will slow, those forecasts make it clear that there is no turning back to a more affordable environment. O’Malley said airlines and hotels have become more disciplined about holding prices than they were in past downturns. Airlines, for example, now match capacity more closely to demand by retiring older aircraft and cutting unprofitable routes.

“I just think they’re different businesses today and that pricing is going to remain where it is,” O’Malley said. “I don’t think that anybody’s going to give anything back if things become somewhat cheaper.”

Cutting Back, Rebuilding Programs

Rather than cancel meetings, organizations are rebuilding them. One Maritz automotive client recently cut a three-day dealer meeting to two days. The company still introduced new vehicles, delivered its messaging, and brought dealers together. 

“They still were able to achieve their objectives,” O’Malley said.

Incentive experiences are making similar adjustments. Between 2024 and 2026, the average incentive trip shrank from 4.6 nights to 4.3. Companies are also cutting the number of qualifiers, choosing more affordable destinations, and scaling back gifts.

That is the approach O’Malley is pushing clients toward. He argues that the mistake is trying to reproduce last year’s event for slightly less money.

“Don’t think that trying to do it a little bit cheaper with the same itinerary or agenda that you did in years past is going to necessarily be the right approach,” O’Malley said.