What is more impressive:
A hotel that sends out a complete offer within 12 minutes, or a market where more than three-quarters of all MICE inquiries remain unanswered?

The US MICE market combines both.
Our current benchmark, based on 246 conference hotels surveyed, reveals an area of tension that is relevant for many hotel organizations: exceptional operational speed on the one hand, structural limitations in request handling on the other.

Hotels that respond operate at a world-class level.
At the same time, these processes only handle a portion of the incoming inquiries.

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The US Group Sales Market Benchmark: Two Extremes, One Structural Tension

Since 2023, MICE DESK has been conducting regular benchmark analyses in various markets to bring transparency to convention sales processes and highlight potential for optimization.

All studies follow the same methodology:

actual event requests
professional framework conditions
Evaluation by experienced MICE experts
Standardized criteria throughout the entire bidding process

Following studies in Germany, Switzerland, and Spain, the focus this time was on the US MICE market. A highly efficient market, but one that shows how quickly processes can reach their limits when the volume of inquiries increases.

77% Unanswered RFPs: When Group Sales Volume Outpaces Processes

The key finding of the benchmark is clear:

77.2% of all MICE inquiries remained completely unanswered.
A further 4.1% were actively declined.

This means that over 80% of all inquiries do not result in an offer.
Only 18.7% of the hotels contacted actually provided an offer.

Comparison with other benchmark markets

Spain: 45.9% offers
Germany: 46% offers
Switzerland: 26.9% offers
USA: 18.7% offers

The offer conversion rate in the US market is therefore:

around 60% below Spain
50% below Germany
30% below Switzerland

For hotels, this means:
With average booking values in the five-figure dollar range, significant convention revenue remains untapped— not due to a lack of interest, but because of limited processing capacities.

Exceptional Response Times — For Prioritized Group Sales Requests

The second key finding seems contradictory at first glance:

Of the hotels that respond,78.3% of those that do so (
) replywithin 24 hours.

Response time distribution (only responding hotels)

under 12 hours: 58.7%
12–24 hours: 19.6%
24–48 hours: 17.4%
48–72 hours: 4.3%
over 72 hours: 0%

The average response time is 14.3 hours, with a median of 5.6 hours.

US convention sales teams that respond are among the fastest in the world.
This performance is based on clear templates, streamlined approval processes, and high operational discipline— but it is not scaled to all inquiries.

Needs Analysis as a Bottleneck: Speed Without Context

Another finding reveals a structural gap in the bidding process:

0% of hotels conducted a needs analysis before sending out offers.

No qualifying questions were asked about:

event format
technical requirements
catering preferences
budget framework

The effects:

limited customization
limited upselling
low differentiation
reduced sales potential per inquiry

Speed remains an advantage— but without context, its impact is limited.

Offer quality: Solid standards, limited scaling

Of the offers received:

17.4% rated it as very good
39.1% rated it as good
32.6% as sufficient
10.9% rated as poor or inadequate

More than half of the offerings meet professional standards.
At the same time, around one-third show potential for improvement in terms of completeness and customization.

Benchmark Report USA

Proposal Quality in Group Sales: Solid Standards, Limited Scalability

The results clearly show:
The US MICE market does not suffer from a lack of competence or commitment.

Rather, existing convention sales processes reach their natural scaling limits when there is a high volume of inquiries.

Typical structural conditions are:

sharp increase in the volume of inquiries
limited human resources
Historically developed, manual quotation processes
lack of consistent system support

The result:
High speed for prioritized requests—limited visibility for the rest.

Human-in-the-loop: Scaling existing strengths

This is precisely where technology can provide targeted relief for hotels and scale existing strengths.

The human-in-the-loop principle combines:

Automation in request management

Immediate confirmation of every MICE request
Intelligent routing based on request characteristics
Automated needs analysis
AI-supported quotation creation from templates

Human control at the decisive moment

Review and refinement of each offer
Quality assurance before shipping
Focus on strategic and high-margin inquiries

The result:

100% response rate
consistently fast response times
structured bidding processes
Higher conversion with the same team

Speed Only Creates Value When Group Sales Scale

The benchmark shows:

Speed is controllable
Quality is present
Scaling is the key lever in convention sales

Hotels that extend their operational strengths to all incoming inquiries secure a sustainable competitive advantage in the MICE business.

Experience MICE DESK Rocket in action:

These figures do not have to be your reality.

In a live demo, we will show you:

how 100% of all MICE inquiries are answered professionally
How automated needs analyses work in everyday life
how offers are generated in minutes instead of hours
How convention sales teams can reclaim 60–70% of their time for value-adding work

Book a demo now!