A lot goes into booking an out-of-town business meeting or event, and meeting planners have scaled back due to rising costs in acquiring space and organizing every element contributing to a successful convention. As the prices of arranging such gatherings have risen, accommodations (particularly those with event spaces) see an increased interest in booking conferences on a smaller scale, with most of these bookings arriving via the venue’s website.

According to 2017 data from Meetingsbooker.com, 95 percent of meeting planners who booked an event space online were organizing smaller events, fewer than 20 people. Reserving space online is quick and, if booking last minute, often can provide deals in the way of a property’s unreserved space for a specific time period.

Clearly meeting planners for smaller events opt to handle the planning processes on the internet versus contacting a hotel by phone to arrange the details, which can take an average of 47 minutes per call. The web-based planning process saves time and is ideal for smaller events requiring fewer details.