While last-minute bookings used to be an exception rather than the rule, they’re slowly becoming the status quo across many segments of the industry, including government and medical meetings. DMCs, DMOs, agencies, and in-house meeting planners are all voicing concern about condensed planning windows.
To find out what’s really going on, Skift Meetings asked for input from its 2026 Advisory Council members.
Clare Melton, event lead, EMEA and APAC for Advent, described the situation as “commitment phobia.”
Events are being confirmed right up to the wire, with a reluctance to commit until the last possible moment. She’s seeing this affect contracting and planning, as well as registration, where peak pick-up has moved closer and to the event date itself.
“No matter how early we launch, registration peaks are coming far later in the cycle. It really does feel that we’re working on an ‘11th hour’ decision-making model, and it’s hard to see what might change that trend in 2026.”
Ada Allende, director, meetings & events at Inspire Brands, described the environment as “highly reactionary.”
Allende already has RFPs out for 2027 and 2028, but her leadership is forced to pivot constantly, which makes long-term planning difficult. “I anticipate not being able to finalize contracts for our 2027 fall events until June of this year. By then, half of the availability we have today will likely be gone.”
Both Sides Are Affected
This situation is creating tension among hotel partners, who are left holding the bag when planners stall on finalizing agreements. “Multimillion-dollar contracts cannot be signed without proper risk analysis, which is heavily influenced by business conditions and economic forecasts,” said Allende. “Cancellation clauses are rarely favorable to the client, and we simply cannot take that risk.”
As a result, booking windows shrink, and the time crunch continues to create stress for both buyers and sellers.
On the association side, Kyle Jordan, director of meetings at The Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS), says shorter booking windows have become “structural” for some associations.
“Compressed sourcing timelines have become more normal and acceptable, even for large and complex programs,” he said. “After multiple cycles of cancellations and rebookings, some associations have intentionally reduced long-range commitments.”
For international events like his, the broader political environment continues to be an influence, potentially affecting visas, travel confidence, and funding. ”This uncertainty is pushing many organizations to delay sourcing and contracting decisions until there is greater clarity.”
The segment of the business that appears to be least affected is incentive travel, because companies rely on these programs to drive sales, and require a long timeline to promote them to potential qualifiers. Janet Traphagen, president of incentive agency Creative Group, reported “no notable changes” as far as incentive lead times heading into 2026.
Explore this trend and others set to dominate the year ahead in the Skift Meetings Megatrends 2026 report.
