Our methodology

for evaluating destination and hotels

THE MEETING EXPERIENCE INDEX

EVALUATION MATRIX

The Meeting Experience Index is one of the most complex destination evaluations that is not based solely on the number of congresses or events taking place at a destination but also delves into analysis holistically. The methodology addresses all key segments of the industry and MICE products. 75 evaluation criteria are used to determine the final destination score. That is why the Meeting Experience Index has become a recognised platform for meeting planners when they select destinations.

125

MTLGs created

Criteria

Visits yearly

HIDDEN CONGRESS GUEST

EVALUATION MATRIX

Hotels evaluated under the Meetings Star certification are assessed by hidden congress guests. They are industry professionals with rich experience in event organising and extensive knowledge in the hotel business. Furthermore, the assessors have verified references in ensuring the quality of their work in the meetings industry, thus ensuring clients get objective insight. Our hidden guest assessors strive for objectivity, are fair, meticulous, reliable, well-organised and pay attention to detail.

654

Criteria

499

Hotels evaluated

238

Certificates awarded

NOVELTIES IN 2023

The corona crisis largely digitalised the meetings industry sector. Consequently, the habits of event organisers changed radically. For 2023, we prepared a slew of novelties that will enable our benchmark to reflect the post-corona situation on the market.

1. Nomad List Overall Score
You may be wondering what digital nomads have in common with the meetings industry. After careful analysis, we concluded that the criteria assessed by the Nomad List correlate with the needs of digital event organisers. Numerous event organisers have already moved their events to digital nomad-friendly destinations. The overall score contains various criteria ranging from internet connection speed, air quality, safety, quality of English and quality of life. The latter is measured through several indicators, including living expenses and visa policies. For these reasons, we added the Nomad List Overall Score to our final mark for 2022/2023.

2. A new addition to the maximum capacities of destinations
The maximum capacities of destinations are complemented with the following information:

• Number of studios for digital and hybrid events
• Average internet speed when organising an event in Mbps

Both segments have become quintessential factors during the corona crisis and are often topics of inquiry by event organisers.

3. ICCA Index
After a hiatus during the covid crisis, ICCA again published its ICCA Index. The study sheds more light on how the pandemic impacted the meetings industry in the past years.

4. ACI Index
In 2022, ACI EUROPE once more published the Airport Industry Connectivity Report, which documents the ongoing effects of the recovery after the COVID-19 crisis on air connectivity. However, as economies have only re-opened, air connectivity is taking time to come back. Recovery is far from uniform, with significant differences between destinations.

5. GDS Index
The 2022 Global Destination Sustainability Index (GDS-Index) represents a sustainably-oriented addition to this year’s evaluation. The index has shown that we must work together to regenerate destinations.

“Fifteen years ago when we started preparing the congress travelogues, we couldn’t possibly have foreseen that our methodology for evaluating destinations would have become such an important reference point for meeting planners. Up to now, we have published 125 travelogues of meeting destinations, all based on hard graft and solid fieldwork. Our unflagging enthusiasm for this has demonstrated that we have been setting quality standards that are also being recognised by the wider international industry public through the Meetings Star Awards. The Meeting Experience Index has established itself as a reference standard. I am proud that our project reflects an accurate image of destinations. Countless professional event organisers appreciate the objectivity of the evaluation.”

Gorazd Čad

Founder of the methodology