According to new research released by Amadeus, more than 315 hotel and venue sales leaders worldwide said that finding qualified leads and standing out against rising competition are the biggest challenges shaping group and corporate sales in 2026. The findings were detailed in the newly published Global Hotel Sales Leader Insight Report.
The report focused on global hotel and venue sales professionals responsible for managing group, event, and corporate business, and highlighted five themes defining commercial performance this year—from accelerating lead qualification and improving RFP process to strengthening commercial alignment and leveraging intuitive technology.
Five Key Insights Shaping Group, Event & Corporate Sales in 2026
1. Lead Quality is Now a Primary Driver of Growth Amid Selective Demand.
Sales teams globally cited qualified demand and improved lead quality from third‑party channels as the biggest barriers to growth, named by 63 percent and 60 percent of respondents, respectively. In an environment where planners scrutinize options more closely, rapid response and clear differentiation determine competitive wins.
2. Strong Alignment Across Commercial Teams Improves Performance
Sales, revenue management, and marketing are moving toward integrated commercial models. The top two collaboration priorities by a significant margin were:
- Sharing account intelligence and demand signals, cited by 54 percent of respondents
- Aligning pricing, forecasting, and sales strategy, cited by 33 percent of respondents
The report showed that this alignment enables faster decision‑making and more cohesive planning.
3. Corporate Meetings Lead the Global Growth Opportunity
7 out of 10 sales leaders ranked corporate meetings as the #1 opportunity for 2026, followed by non-corporate marketing segments including social, military, educational, religious, and fraternal (S.M.E.R.F.) events. Sales leaders expected a balanced strategy: predictable corporate business supplemented by high‑touch social demand.
4. RFP Speed & Simplicity Are Becoming Key Advantages
Respondents highlighted two urgent needs:
- Consolidating inquiries across fragmented channels
- Qualifying leads faster
Simplifying early‑stage intake remained one of the highest‑impact ways to increase win rates and eliminate operational friction.
5. Technology Expectations Center on Simplicity and Connected Insights.
More than half of sales leaders said that ease of use is the most important requirement for sales technology, followed by connected data and automated workflows. Teams need tools that remove complexity, not add to it—enabling more time with clients and less time on administrative tasks.
AI’s Emerging Influence on Sales Acceleration
While adoption is still early, 86 percent of those surveyed said that they were already using AI. The top applications were:
- Personalizing proposals
- Generating market and competitive insights
- Researching prospects and qualifying leads
As commercial systems become more interconnected, AI will increasingly support how hotels identify, prioritize, and convert opportunities.
“In today’s environment, hotels need to move quickly, align across commercial teams, and focus on the opportunities most likely to convert,” says Iain Saxton, senior vice president of on-property solutions, hospitality, Amadeus. “This report gives the industry a clear view into what top global sales leaders are prioritizing—and how connected intelligence and simpler workflows, available through advanced solutions such as Amadeus Delphi Sales & Catering, can unlock new levels of performance.”
