IACC released phase one of its second annual “Meeting Room of the Future” white paper at MPI’s World Education Congress (WEC) in Las Vegas.
The paper reveals how emerging technology and younger delegates are influencing the way we meet, with memorable individual experiences, interactive presentation and personal development the critical factors for venues and meeting planners to consider.
The report brings together insights from 180 global conference and meeting buyers to identify new trends and illustrate how previous trends have evolved in the past year.
It reveals that attendees continue to want more memorable, personal meeting experiences that have more time for creative thinking, networking and collaboration. This desire is underpinned by the role interactive technology is playing in driving a more flexible approach to meeting attendance as well as the content and style of presentation.
Linked to this is an increased appetite for outdoor space to be integrated into meeting itineraries, with many venues investing heavily in enhancing their surroundings to cater for this desire, offering something unique and different for clients.
“It is clear from our latest report that the format and content of our meetings is being influenced by tech savvy younger generations who are looking for a more individual approached to meetings,” said IACC’s CEO, Mark Cooper. “Delegates want a more memorable experience directly relevant to them and their own personal development with a degree of flexibility in terms of the way they interact with the meeting and the content they take away.
“Unsurprisingly, businesses remain focused on budget and demonstrating return on investment and therefore organizers are assessing the success of meetings through broader metrics than previously, for example whether the meeting impacted their bottom line and met business objectives. As an industry, we need to be conscious of this and look at how we can best demonstrate our value.”
The second half of the Meeting Room of the Future white paper will be launching at IMEX America in Las Vegas on October 10, 2017 and will report on trends and opinions as seen by IACC venues and committed industry suppliers.
Alex Cabañas, CEO of Benchmark, A Global Hospitality Company and IACC President comments; “In a technology laden world where our heads are down looking at screens more often then up looking at faces, memorable and inspiring face to face meetings are required to get attendees attention and participation. IACC’s members are leading the industry and our collective research shows it.”
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