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IACC, a global association for meeting venue professionals, has published its latest Meeting Room of the Future report with insights into event industry trends and preferences. More than 205 event planners from across Europe and North America were surveyed for the research, which was conducted by IACC and Development Counsellors International.
The majority of respondents work on events with 50 to 200 attendees. Just over one-third (34 percent) specialize in corporate events. Meanwhile, 30 percent plan association and non-profit events and 11 percent work in academia. The remaining 25 percent of respondents include a mix of government, third-party and professional conference planners.
What's driving site selection?
According to the survey findings, hotels and conference venues are the most popular venue types, each accounting for 41 percent of responses. Only 10 percent of planners said they use specialist venues like museums and vineyards, and 8 percent rely on other venue types.
When asked which venue elements are the most important, the top two responses were location/travel time and access (68 percent) and food-and-beverage offerings (63 percent). Other factors that influence the site-selection process include flexibility of meeting space (52 percent), whether networking spaces are located adjacent to the meeting rooms (46 percent), access to interactive technology (28 percent), and ethical/sustainable venue practices (10 percent).
Catering to younger generations
Meeting planners are also considering evolving attendee preferences when designing gatherings. In an effort to better engage younger generations, 68 percent of planners polled said they are increasing the integration of new technology and 67 percent are adapting content for shorter attention spans, by cutting down on presentation times or adding more collaboration, for instance. An additional 31 percent are focusing more on creativity during the event design process.
Top technology needs
Given the amount of buzz generated by AI, it's somewhat surprising that only 14 percent of planners listed AI as one of their top tech needs for events over the next three years. Instead, affordable or free WiFi and data security came out on top at 41 percent and 17 percent, respectively. Other less-critical tech needs include interactive technology (11 percent), streaming support (9 percent) and apps for networking, scheduling and communication (8 percent).
Cybersecurity seems to be an issue that planners are not very concerned with at the moment, but they do expect it to become a bigger challenge in the coming years. When asked about their outlook on cybersecurity, few planners said they have had to had to deal with cybersecurity issues at past events; similarly, few have cybersecurity briefs ready that they share with their venues and contractors. In terms of its impact on current venue sourcing, cybersecurity ranked as a 4.9 on a scale of 1 to 10, but planners rated it as 8.1 for becoming a priority in the next three to five years.
Sustainability and other considerations
Another interesting finding is that only 7 percent of planners currently ask their venues to measure the carbon footprint of their events. Among this group, only 10 percent say all the venues they asked have provided this information, while 40 percent say few to none of the venues have provided the data and 50 percent say that only some venues have shared the requested information for sustainability purposes.
When it comes to ethical and sustainable venue sourcing, planners listed accessibility as their No. 1 priority (42 percent). This was followed by health considerations such as fitness and food options (25 percent), human issues like DEI policies and being LGBTQ+ friendly (17 percent), and environmentally friendly initiatives (16 percent).
Inside look at the data
This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Meeting Room of the Future report. The full report can be downloaded for free on IACC's website. IACC CEO Mark Cooper will lead a session on June 18 at Meeting Professionals International's World Education Congress in St. Louis, breaking down the results and discussing trends in more detail.
"Since the launch of our first Meeting Room of the Future report ten years ago, it's exciting to see the industry embracing bold approaches to event design, experimenting with dynamic formats and investing more in delegate experiences, all of which are driving greater value in live events," said Cooper in a press release. "With shifting demographics, advancing technology and growing sustainability goals shaping the industry, our report is designed to serve as a bellwether for emerging trends — and a practical resource for meeting planners as they navigate future challenges."