American Express Global Business Travel and Cvent Launch Corporate Responsibility Initiative for Hotel Sourcing
New RFP questions help standardize collection and reporting of sustainability and diversity data for 2022 hotel sourcing season
New York – September 1, 2021 – American Express Global Business Travel (GBT), the world’s leading business partner for managed travel, and Cvent, a leading travel and transient sourcing technology provider, have created a new set of sourcing questions to help drive corporate responsibility within the business travel and meetings sector.
The new questions aim to standardize and increase the availability of sustainability and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) data shared by hotels and other venues. The initiative, developed by GBT’s Global Business Consulting (GBC) team and Cvent, in cooperation with participants across the industry, makes the process of collecting and exchanging pertinent information more efficient as corporate travel managers and suppliers enter the 2022 sourcing season. Hotels will benefit from a reduction in the hours needed to respond to custom requests for related information.
Nina Marcello, a Principal within GBC, first proposed the initiative. She said: “As we accelerate the return to travel and events, customer requests for supplier data on corporate responsibility issues are soaring. Together, GBC and Cvent worked with stakeholders across corporate and meetings travel to deliver a solution that will increase the availability of relevant sustainability and DE&I data. This initiative reflects our own environmental, social, and governance commitments, and enables suppliers and travel managers around the world to further their corporate responsibility goals.”
To develop the questions, Cvent and GBT’s GBC team spoke to corporations, global hotel brands, travel management companies (TMCs) and consultancies. The work involved more than three months of interviews to determine what information stakeholders would find most helpful in addressing sustainability and DE&I goals. The resulting questions supplement the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) module in the GBTA 2013 RFP format and will be supported in Cvent Transient for use by corporate buyers. The questions, which include requests for details about carbon emissions and leadership demographics, provide an opportunity for the industry to support broader corporate strategies around environmental sustainability and diversity along the entire supply chain.
Hotel suppliers answer the 47 supplemental questions in a special section in their property profile within the Cvent Transient solution. Hotel chains can also work with properties to collect information and import it into their respective property profiles. Travel managers can then use Cvent’s reporting functionality to evaluate supplier answers alongside the bid information received during the RFP process, to better align purchasing decisions with their organization’s corporate responsibility goals.
Brian Sullivan, Senior Director of Product Management at Cvent, said: “As an industry leader, Cvent is committed to advancing corporate responsibility efforts by bringing sustainability and DE&I to the forefront of the procurement process. The speed at which we developed these questions reflects the significance of this work, and they are already being used by our hotel clients. This initiative benefits the entire corporate travel supply chain by facilitating the sharing and reporting of important topics that impact every organization.”
The updated CSR questions were released to hoteliers in July and will be available to buyers in Cvent Transient from September for use during the 2022 sourcing season.
Additional Information
In connection with the Business Combination, Dragoneer has filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) a Registration Statement on Form S-4 (the “Registration Statement”), which includes a preliminary prospectus and preliminary proxy statement. Dragoneer has mailed a definitive proxy statement/final prospectus and other relevant documents to its shareholders. This communication is not a substitute for the Registration Statement, the definitive proxy statement/final prospectus or any other document that Dragoneer has sent to its shareholders in connection with the Business Combination. The information filed by Dragoneer contains substantially more information about Cvent than is being furnished with this communication and may contain information that an investor will consider important in making a decision regarding an investment in Dragoneer securities. INVESTORS AND SECURITY HOLDERS OF DRAGONEER ARE ADVISED TO READ THE PROXY STATEMENT/PROSPECTUS IN CONNECTION WITH DRAGONEER’S SOLICITATION OF PROXIES FOR ITS EXTRAORDINARY GENERAL MEETING OF SHAREHOLDERS TO BE HELD TO APPROVE THE BUSINESS COMBINATION (AND RELATED MATTERS), AS WELL AS ANY AMENDMENTS THERETO, AND THE EFFECTIVE REGISTRATION STATEMENT AND DEFINITIVE PROXY STATEMENT/PROSPECTUS IN CONNECTION WITH SUCH SOLICITATION BECAUSE THEY CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT THE BUSINESS COMBINATION AND THE PARTIES TO THE BUSINESS COMBINATION. The definitive proxy statement/final prospectus has been mailed to shareholders of Dragoneer as of the record date of October 29, 2021 for voting on the Business Combination. Shareholders are also able to obtain copies of the proxy statement/prospectus, without charge, at the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov or by directing a request to: Dragoneer Growth Opportunities Corp. II, One Letterman Drive, Building D, Suite M500, San Francisco, California, 94129.
Participants in the Solicitation
Dragoneer, Cvent and certain of their respective directors, executive officers, other members of management, and employees, under SEC rules, may be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies of Dragoneer’s shareholders in connection with the Business Combination. DRAGONEER’S SHAREHOLDERS AND OTHER INTERESTED PERSONS MAY OBTAIN, WITHOUT CHARGE, MORE DETAILED INFORMATION REGARDING THE DIRECTORS AND OFFICERS OF DRAGONEER IN ITS ANNUAL REPORT ON FORM 10-K FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2020, WHICH WAS FILED WITH THE SEC ON MARCH 31, 2021 AND IN ITS QUARTERLY REPORTS ON FORM 10-Q FOR THE QUARTERS ENDED MARCH 31, 2021, JUNE 30, 2021 AND SEPTEMBER 30, 2021, WHICH WERE FILED WITH THE SEC ON JUNE 21, 2021, AUGUST 16, 2021 AND NOVEMBER 15, 2021, RESPECTIVELY. INFORMATION REGARDING THE PERSONS WHO MAY, UNDER SEC RULES, BE DEEMED PARTICIPANTS IN THE SOLICITATION OF PROXIES TO DRAGONEER’S SHAREHOLDERS IN CONNECTION WITH THE PROPOSED TRANSACTION AND OTHER MATTERS TO BE VOTED AT THE SPECIAL MEETING ARE SET FORTH IN THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT FOR THE BUSINESS COMBINATION. Investors and Dragoneer’s shareholders may obtain more detailed information regarding the names and interests in the Business Combination of Dragoneer’s directors and officers in Dragoneer’s filings with the SEC, including the Registration Statement filed with the SEC by Dragoneer, which includes the proxy statement of Dragoneer for the Business Combination, and such information and names of Cvent’s directors and executive officers are also in the Registration Statement filed with the SEC by Dragoneer, which includes the proxy statement of Dragoneer for the Business Combination.
Forward Looking Statements
This communication contains forward-looking statements that are based on beliefs and assumptions and on information currently available. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by the following words: “may,” “will,” “could,” “would,” “should,” “expect,” “intend,” “plan,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “predict,” “project,” “potential,” “continue,” “ongoing” or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology, although not all forward-looking statements contain these words. These statements involve risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from the information expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. We caution you that these statements are based on a combination of facts and factors currently known by us and our projections of the future, which are subject to a number of risks. Forward-looking statements in this communication include, but are not limited to, statements regarding future events, such as the proposed Business Combination between Dragoneer and Cvent, including the timing and structure of the transaction, the likelihood and ability of the parties to successfully consummate the Business Combination, the PIPE and the Forward Purchase Agreement, the amount of funds available in the trust account as a result of shareholder redemptions or otherwise, as well as statements about the composition of the board of directors of the company. We cannot assure you that the forward-looking statements in this communication will prove to be accurate. These forward looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, including, among others, the general economic, political, business and competitive conditions; the inability of the parties to consummate the Business Combination or the occurrence of any event, change or other circumstances that could give rise to the termination of the Business Combination Agreement or any related agreements or could otherwise cause the transaction to fail to close; the outcome of any legal proceedings that may be instituted against the parties following the announcement of the Business Combination and the transactions contemplated by the Business Combination; the ability of existing investors to redeem the ability to complete the Business Combination due to the failure to obtain approval from Dragoneer’s shareholders, or the risk that the approval of the shareholders of Dragoneer for the potential transaction is otherwise not obtained; the failure to satisfy other closing conditions in the Business Combination Agreement or otherwise, the occurrence of any event that could give rise to the termination of the Business Combination Agreement; the failure to obtain financing to complete the Business Combination, including to consummate the PIPE or the transactions contemplated by the Forward Purchase Agreement; the ability to recognize the anticipated benefits of the Business Combination; the impact of COVID-19 on Cvent’s business and/or the ability of the parties to complete the Business Combination; the receipt of an unsolicited offer from another party for an alternative business transaction that could interfere with the Business Combination; changes to the proposed structure of the Business Combination that may be required or appropriate as a result of applicable laws or regulations or as a condition to obtaining regulatory approval of the Business Combination; failure to realize the anticipated benefits of the Business Combination, including as a result of a delay in consummating the potential transaction or difficulty in integrating the businesses of Dragoneer and Cvent; the risk that the Business Combination disrupts current plans and operations of Dragoneer or Cvent as a result of the announcement and consummation of the Business Combination; the ability of the Company to grow and manage growth profitably and retain its key employees; the inability to obtain or maintain the listing of the post-acquisition company’s securities on Nasdaq following the Business Combination; changes in applicable laws or regulations and delays in obtaining, adverse conditions contained in, or the inability to obtain regulatory approvals required to complete the Business Combination; costs related to the Business Combination; and other risks and uncertainties, including those to be included under the header “Risk Factors” in the registration statement on Form S-4 filed by Dragoneer with the SEC, those included under the header “Risk Factors” in the final prospectus of Dragoneer related to its initial public offering and those under the heading “Summary Risk Factors” in the investor presentation filed as Exhibit 99.3 to Dragoneer’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed on July 23, 2021. Furthermore, if the forward-looking statements prove to be inaccurate, the inaccuracy may be material. In addition, you are cautioned that past performance may not be indicative of future results. In light of the significant uncertainties in these forward-looking statements, you should not rely on these statements in making an investment decision or regard these statements as a representation or warranty by us or any other person that we will achieve our objectives and plans in any specified time frame, or at all. The forward-looking statements in this communication represent our views as of the date of this communication. We anticipate that subsequent events and developments will cause our views to change. However, while we may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the future, we have no current intention of doing so except to the extent required by applicable law. You should, therefore, not rely on these forward-looking statements as representing our views as of any date subsequent to the date of this communication.
Disclaimer
This communication is for informational purposes only and is neither an offer to purchase, nor a solicitation of an offer to sell, subscribe for or buy any securities or the solicitation of any vote in any jurisdiction pursuant to the Business Combination or otherwise, nor shall there be any sale, issuance or transfer or securities in any jurisdiction in contravention of applicable law. No offer of securities shall be made except by means of a prospectus meeting the requirements of Section 10 of the Securities Act.
INVESTMENT IN ANY SECURITIES DESCRIBED HEREIN HAS NOT BEEN APPROVED OR DISAPPROVED BY THE SEC OR ANY OTHER REGULATORY AUTHORITY NOR HAS ANY AUTHORITY PASSED UPON OR ENDORSED THE MERITS OF THE PROPOSED TRANSACTIONS OR THE ACCURACY OR ADEQUACY OF THE INFORMATION CONTAINED HEREIN. ANY REPRESENTATION TO THE CONTRARY IS A CRIMINAL OFFENSE.
About Cvent
Cvent is a leading meetings, events, and hospitality technology provider with 4,800+ employees and ~22,000 customers worldwide as of December 31, 2023. Founded in 1999, the company delivers a comprehensive event marketing and management platform and offers a global marketplace where event professionals collaborate with venues to create engaging, impactful experiences. Cvent is headquartered in Tysons, Virginia, just outside of Washington D.C., and has additional offices around the world to support its growing global customer base. The comprehensive Cvent event marketing and management platform offers software solutions to event organizers and marketers for online event registration, venue selection, event marketing and management, virtual and onsite solutions, and attendee engagement. Cvent’s suite of products automate and simplify the event management lifecycle and maximize the impact of in-person, virtual, and hybrid events. Hotels and venues use Cvent’s supplier and venue solutions to win more group and corporate travel business through Cvent’s sourcing platforms. Cvent solutions optimize the event management value chain and have enabled clients around the world to manage millions of meetings and events. For more information, please visit Cvent.com.
About American Express Global Business Travel
American Express Global Business Travel (GBT) is the world’s leading business partner for managed travel. We help companies and their employees prosper by making sure travelers are present where and when it matters. We keep global business moving with the powerful backing of travel professionals in more than 140 countries. Companies of all sizes, and in all places, rely on GBT to provide travel management services, organize meetings and events, and deliver business travel consulting.
Visit amexglobalbusinesstravel.com for more information about GBT, and follow @amexgbt on Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram.