Replacing The Request For Proposal Model In Event And Travel Tech

For years, the events and hospitality world has treated the request for proposal (RFP) process as a given. People complain about it in private, work around it in practice and then return to it for the next venue search or hotel negotiation. That persistence stands out because so much else in travel has already changed.

On the consumer side, discovery, comparison and booking now happen in minutes. Travelers can evaluate options and complete purchases in a single flow. But business sourcing still often relies on spreadsheets, PDFs and long email chains. In markets where pricing shifts quickly and availability changes in real time, that gap is becoming harder to ignore.

Why The RFP Model No Longer Works

The RFP process was designed for slower planning cycles, more stable rates and fewer real-time variables. Modern event and travel tech operates under different conditions.

The issue is most visible in meetings and group bookings, where multiple variables shift at once. Availability, pricing and policies evolve during the decision cycle, yet the process still depends on repeated back-and-forth rather than structured data.

In Cvent’s 2025 Europe planner sourcing research, 83% of planners expect responses within four days, and 20% want more tailored answers. Speed matters, but the system is not built for it.

From an operational perspective, the process often creates work without improving decisions. Suppliers spend time formatting responses instead of surfacing relevant insights. Buyers receive proposals that look standardized but remain difficult to compare because inputs are inconsistent. What appears structured is often a workaround for missing data.

Where The Model Breaks

Much of the hospitality industry still relies on layers of property management systems, reservation systems and channel managers designed for distribution control rather than flexible collaboration. Group and event sourcing continues to sit on top of this fragmented stack.

Consumer platforms have largely adapted to this complexity. Platforms like Booking.com helped normalize instant comparison and dynamic pricing, shaping user expectations across the market. Those expectations now extend into business travel and events.

The result is a widening gap where consumers complete bookings in one flow, while event teams collect proposals through disconnected documents. As a result, meaningful comparison happens late in the process, which also affects decision quality.

An AI And Infrastructure Story

AI is increasing pressure on this model. While it may help suppliers respond to RFPs faster, it also raises expectations around speed. Document-heavy workflows start to feel inefficient. At the same time, much of the process still depends on unstructured information that has to be manually interpreted before any real comparison can happen.

Industry signals, like Deloitte’s 2025 European hotel industry survey, show a shift toward automation. Meanwhile, Skift’s Event Tech & AI roundup points to consolidation and platform-driven solutions. Further, Mews’ 2026 outlook highlights the move toward integrated, conversational booking experiences and the importance of structured data.

What Replaces RFP

The shift is already visible across several dimensions. First, structured data is replacing static documents. Rates, availability and policies are increasingly captured in formats that allow consistent comparison, creating pressure for standardization across the ecosystem.

Also, batch requests are giving way to more continuous matching based on live inventory and constraints, aligning sourcing with how supply and demand behave. Next, pricing logic is becoming more system-driven, extending revenue management principles into group and event workflows.

AI-assisted discovery reduces manual qualification by surfacing relevant options and highlighting tradeoffs. Human input remains central but focuses more on evaluation than data gathering.

A large part of why the RFP model persists is because it signals fairness and structure. As responsibilities across meetings, travel and procurement converge, formal processes can feel safer. According to the 2025 Global Cvent Travel Managers Report, 91% of travel managers now handle venue sourcing, increasing reliance on standardized workflows. Legacy systems reinforce these patterns by shaping what teams believe is possible.

What Leaders Should Do Next

Leaders can start by separating complex sourcing from repeatable, data-rich use cases. Investing in structured inventory and system connectivity often has more impact than adding process layers. It is also useful to question whether current workflows genuinely support comparison or compensate for missing data upstream.

Event and travel tech is moving toward faster discovery, dynamic pricing and connected data. As those capabilities improve, document-based workflows become harder to justify.

Adoption will likely be gradual, with teams combining structured data, real-time matching and AI-assisted workflows. Over time, this will reshape how sourcing decisions are made and reduce reliance on traditional RFP processes.

Source: Forbes.com