Eighty per cent of meeting planners agreed that their current role in planning meetings involves more ‘experience creation’ for attendees compared to pre-pandemic, according to the latest Meeting Room of the Future report from IACC. The international venue association’s annual report found that, with people working from home post-pandemic, planners say that it is crucial to create an event which is seen as having more value from attending in-person as opposed to attending virtually. On the report’s findings Mark Cooper, IACC CEO, comments: “Planners must take a step back and ask themselves whether it (the event) can be done over Zoom. If so, it clearly has no place in the room.” Additionally, the report looked at post-pandemic event planning:
- 41% of respondents are continuing to look for venues with larger spaces,
- 33% prioritise outdoor spaces,
- Strong technological capabilities, such as virtual streaming and participation, internet access, AV and cyber security, are also crucial.
Robyn Domber, senior VP, Research at Development Counsellors International says: “Having partnered with IACC on this study in 2017, 2019 and now in 2023, it’s abundantly clear that the meetings industry has undergone some profound transformations.” “The way we live, work and meet has changed and so have, in turn, the spaces and technologies required for business events and conferences.” Report respondents included international meeting professionals, IACC venues and industry experts representing Africa, the Australia-Asia-Pacific region, Europe, and the Americas. At MPI WEC 2023 (13 – 15 June), IACC will create a Meeting Space of the Future where members of its senior leadership team and research partners will discuss the report’s findings across eight different sessions. To download the full report, visit the IACC Meeting Room of the Future website.
