Sandeep Nagpal is a seasoned marketing and business strategist with over three decades of experience. At present, the Vice President & Head of Marketing in India at Cvent, he has held key roles at Microsoft, Nokia and SAP. As a global leader, Nagpal has driven scale and market penetration for numerous technology brands internationally. His strategic leadership has been pivotal in sales, marketing and technology, empowering businesses to achieve exponential growth through innovative, customer-centric solutions
How does Cvent’s Supplier and Venue solutions assist the hoteliers and venue operators throughout the various stages of an event lifecycle?
Hotels now use digital technology to connect with event planners and showcase their properties, standing out in a competitive market. Our mission is to power this connection and foster seamless collaboration among event professionals throughout the entire lifecycle.
With our customised and automated solutions, we enable hoteliers to attract hundreds of thousands of event organisers to our venue-sourcing networks and convert those leads into deals through custom proposals and instant bookings. Then manage those prospects through quicker request for proposal (RFP) responses and efficient room block management. Later, they are able to improve the sales processes and profitability by analysing operational results and measuring marketing ROI through business intelligence tools.
How do the brand’s products enable collaboration between planners, hoteliers and suppliers?
Cvent connects hoteliers and event planners, creating strong network effects. With over 300,000 hoteliers and venue operators on the Cvent Supplier Network (CSN), it becomes increasingly valuable for event planners sourcing venues. For hoteliers, more event planners mean more RFPs.
Planners can streamline venue sourcing on the CSN by customising their accounts, comparing venue responses, using AI to send RFPs, and tracking meeting spend. While suppliers can showcase properties, manage leads, and respond to RFPs efficiently and quickly and measure impact.
With Cvent Event Diagramming and 3D floor plans, planners can visualise events online, saving travel costs. Cvent Passkey allows hoteliers to streamline online booking and confirmation of guest rooms and meetings, reducing human intervention and ensuring data security.
Can you share any success stories or case studies where hotels have significantly benefited from using Cvent’s solutions?
In today’s competitive hospitality landscape, expanding market reach and visibility is crucial. The Leela Ambience Convention Hotel Delhi, one of India’s largest MICE hotels, shows how technology can drive growth. Partnering with Cvent, the hotel increased its presence in India and internationally. In FY 2023-24, they received RFPs worth $7.6 million, with a 68 per cent increase in RFPs and a 52 per cent growth in unique planner organisations.
This is a significant shift in engaging global event planners. This partnership highlights how hotels can leverage technology for growth and underscores the importance of strategic technological partnerships for success.
How does the brand plan to extend its market reach within the hospitality industry?
With in-person events resuming, group meetings are crucial revenue streams for hotels. Hoteliers are increasingly using tech solutions to market venues to actively sourcing planners. Our tools help automate marketing and sales, driving efficiency and maximising resources amid workforce challenges.
Cvent aims to extend its market reach within the hospitality industry through a multi-faceted approach:
Expanding Hospitality Cloud Capabilities: Expand its marketing placements and introduce specialised tiers for hotels and venues, enabling hoteliers to reach more buyers and manage operations more effectively.
Investing in Sales and Marketing: Expanding its direct salesforce and market reach through increased sales and marketing investments. This includes driving leads, expanding sales coverage, and improving sales efficiency. Additionally, strategic partnerships with industry groups, technology providers, and event and travel management companies will be further developed.
Enhancing Platform Through R&D: Continued investment in R&D to enhance its platform with new products, features, updates, and improved user experiences, maintaining its competitive edge and meeting customer needs.
Strategic Acquisitions: Cvent plans to acquire companies with complementary solutions to enhance its platform. Recent acquisitions, like Jifflenow in India, will integrate into Cvent’s sales and marketing channels, boosting customer value.
How does Cvent envision its future in the Indian market and what are some of the upcoming products and services? Cvent sees a strong future in India, driven by the growing hospitality industry and demand for advanced tech solutions. Citing the latest sectoral report by Axis Securities India’s hospitality industry is projected to grow at a Compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10.5 per cent over the next three years. Cvent sourcing data shows a 37 per cent increase in sourcing volume in India in 2024, reaching over INR 500 crore. This growth highlights the stronger integration of tech solutions and AI-powered automation, boosting efficiency, cost savings, and guest service.
Cvent regularly enhances its product experience and leads the way in AI integration across its platform. Soon hotels and venues will have access to below mentioned functionalities:
• New AI capabilities for smarter prospecting will help sales teams automatically match their venues with planners sourcing for their need dates.
• Natural language search will let planners refine hotel and destination searches using conversational language.
• Enabling hotels to quickly respond to meeting RFPs by providing instant answers to planners’ inquiries.
• Hotels will be able to instantly create customised floorplans and room layouts using AI Diagram Assistant powered with natural language functionality.
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