Lead times continued to get shorter during 2011, according to data collated by P&MM Events & Communications. Of the 22,000 event bookings managed by P&MM and its sister companies Zibrant and AYMTM in 2011, 85 per cent had less than a 90-day lead time and 64 per cent had less than a 30-day lead time. More than 2,500 venue bookings were received with less than 24 hours' notice.

The data appears in the P&MM 2012 Metrics Report, which also surveyed companies about their expected events budget for the coming year, with 27 per cent forecasting a decrease and only 10 per cent an increase.

However, almost 41 per cent of those questioned expected that the number of delegates at their events would increase in 2012 and only 16 per cent thought their delegate numbers would go down.

Nigel Cooper, managing director, P&MM said: “The expected increases and continuity in delegate numbers provide a positive endorsement for the effectiveness of face-to-face meetings even though budgets are ever more tightly controlled. Lead times will no doubt be counted in days and not weeks in 2012.”

The full report will be published in early in 2012. To receive an alert when it is available for download, please email: marketing@p-mm.co.uk