DMC Industry 2023 Forecast

With the pandemic finally ending, we find ourselves focusing on the best ways to take the lessons (and growth!) experienced from the past few years and use them to re-calibrate our focus to the future.  Despite talks of a recession, the DMC industry remains strong.  And while the pendulum of change has swung heavily, current pace for 2023 is in line with the high demand we’ve experienced in 2022.

With a growing demand for DMC support, we are seeing a shift in the needs of our clients. There is a need, not only to provide critical local insight, as venues and providers re-emerge post pandemic, but to help fill in the gaps where our clients may have previously had in-house support.  With this, DMC’s are recognizing that their teams and intellectual property are their greatest asset.  There is a slow, but definite shift towards supply chain purchasing and how much work a DMC will put in before requiring a financial commitment from our clients.  It is necessary to evaluate each opportunity and the overall effect on the company before spending critical resources.  This has resulted in us not undertaking every opportunity presented, but taking a strategic approach in aligning our values and strengths with an opportunity, to provide a consultative service to our client partners. The need to be more selective reinforces how incredibly important long-term partnerships are in our business.

Managing client expectations remains one of our greatest opportunities.  Communication, education and clear expectations should be part of the conversation at every level.  I believe we sometimes forget that our clients live in other industries, some who have experienced significant growth the past few years.  With this, labor will continue to be a determining factor in all business, especially in hospitality.  Service is its own form of currency right now and the staffing levels of the hospitality industry from 2020 are no longer the reality.  

This presents an even greater need to be laser-focused on creating a workplace environment where employees want to be.  This could mean taking a step towards strengthening the core of who we are: our people, by showcasing the specialized talents of our team and vendor partners, to best serve our clients.  Providing opportunities for talented employees is essential to keeping them motivated and fulfilled in their careers. Employees expect to grow and develop during their tenure with a company, and the clearer the career path we can set for our employees, the more they envision a future with the organization and plan to stay long term.

The future of our industry is strong, but not without more work to be done.  Driving consistency through employee retention and acquisition will be key in 2023, as our industry strives for a healthy balance of employee, vendor and client partnerships to generate business while delivering unparalleled experiences.