As the nation reopens and COVID-19 travel restrictions are eased, in-person business meetings and events are beginning to resume.
With many in the multifamily industry weighing their business travel decisions and plans for the remainder of 2021, Freddie Mac Multifamily recently surveyed its Optigo lender network to gain insight on industry expectations in the coming months.
The government-sponsored enterprise conducted two surveys in April and May, targeting two customer segments: the general customer population at its Optigo lenders and the senior executives at these organizations.
In the May results, more senior executives are hosting meetings of all sizes, and many have advanced their time frames and expect to host conference room-sized events ranging from 11 to 50 people by Aug. 31 and larger events before Nov. 30.
Many responding companies also are allowing employees to attend meetings of all sizes, nearly doubling since the April survey. According to the May findings, most senior executives said their companies allow employees to attend individual or small meetings, and half expect to allow employees to attend larger meetings before Aug. 31.
More of the general customer population also plan to resume attending individual and small meetings before Aug. 31. However, Freddie Mac Multifamily found that more than a third reported that they will wait until Dec. 1 or later to attend events with more than 50 people.
While virtual events and meetings became commonplace during the COVID-19 pandemic, Freddie Mac Multifamily also found that there is an increasing preference for attending in-person events of all sizes versus virtually. In the May survey, 40% responded that they prefer to attend individual and small events in person versus 30% in April. In addition, most customers said they will opt to either attend in-person events as much as possible or about the same amount they did pre-pandemic.
