Trend 1: Planners anticipate a surge in future bookings
Looking into 2023 and beyond, event professionals are more optimistic than ever about the meetings and events industry. The October 2022 Cvent Planner Sourcing Report: Europe Edition, revealed that 83% of event planners said that they expect to host more in-person events in 2023 compared to 2019.
This is positive news, as long as venues are prepared to efficiently handle the influx of meetings and events. It’s more important than ever to have informed and experienced staff on hand to respond to planners’ needs.
Trend 2: A renewed focus on time, experience and investment for attendees
The October 2022 Planner Sourcing Report found that 29% of planners expected hospitality partners to help them maximise the event experience by finding creative space solutions and focusing more time and effort on helping them create better events.
After not being able to meet – or not being able to meet in the ways they were accustomed to – since the onset of the pandemic, there’s now a heightened focus on the return on time, experience, and investment for event attendees. Content is still king, but it’s also about forging meaningful connections and having unique and unforgettable experiences that attendees have missed out on in the past two years.
Trend 3: Venue selection will be influenced by social activism
The pandemic has caused people to be more socially conscious. A Shopkick survey of over 10,000 consumers in 2021 found that 39% are researching company values to assure they align with their own. Valuegraphics, which refers to a more holistic way of looking at a person are also important. David Allison, a consumer behaviour expert, and his team surveyed 750,000 people around the world and identified 56 shared core human values.
Planners can use this information to better understand what motivates their attendees, how to better market to them, and how to provide them with more engaging content. In learning more about their attendees’ core values, planners will want venues to help them create activities and opportunities that reflect those priorities.
Trend 4: The triple threat of hybrid, virtual and in-person event types
At Skift Meetings’ Future of the Event Industry Summit 2022, over half of the attendees polled said they would primarily be using hybrid event formats in the latter part of the year. The digital transformation of the industry, driven by the pandemic, means that hybrid events and virtual components of in-person events are here to stay as they can reach more attendees and the recorded content can live on long after the event is over.
The triple threat of hybrid, virtual and in-person event types is a powerful benefit for businesses and something that venues must be prepared to support. This means having access to the latest technology and being able to help planners create high-quality video content. High-speed internet connections with ample bandwidth are no longer enough. If venues cannot provide all of the necessary elements for a hybrid event onsite, they should be prepared with a list of experienced vendors who can assist planners in bringing their vision to life.