Cover of the IACC report on the meeting room of the future

The IACC report highlights the importance of creating

CHICAGO — The International Association of Conference Centers (IACC) has published its Report “Meeting Room of the Future”an analysis of event planner survey responses on trends in lodging, dining, technology and more, which showed that using space creatively at events and curating intentional experiences for attendees is critical to the success of in-person events.

The report says 80% of event planners said their role is to create more attendee experiences compared to pre-pandemic trends. One reason for this, the report says, is that events need to have higher value when held in person, as opposed to virtual, post-pandemic.

“Business events provide travel opportunities that can benefit individual delegates as much as leisure travellers, where they can gain insight into a region’s culture, traditions, gastronomy, retail, initiatives and values,” said Mark Cooper, President of the IACC. “These can include day trips to local attractions or landmarks, team building and motivational experiences, thrilling activities or even tastings of goods and services at local hotels, shops and restaurants. Supporting a destination’s services and commerce then stimulates local economic growth while enriching the lives of delegates.”

When asked how the event spaces organizers are looking for are different than before the pandemic, the report found that the top five differences were more space, outdoors, flexible, hybrid and advanced technology.

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“The goal of most intersections is to share knowledge and best practices among participants, which requires creating an environment that helps digest and retain information. Since memory is enhanced when multiple senses are engaged, the venue can help by creating a sensory experience that will be more memorable and enjoyable for guests,” Cooper said. “We’re currently seeing creative combinations of meeting spaces such as outdoor spaces used for sessions, forest breakout areas, and even treetop gatherings. There is still an appetite for dedicated meeting spaces with solid acoustics, good lighting, and HVAC systems, but in these spaces, the flexibility to reconfigure is also important.”

The report also found that organizers are looking for venues with strong technology services when choosing an event location. The report found that 37% of organizers said affordable or free high-speed wireless internet access is the most critical technology for events in the next three years. This was followed by data security (23%), interactive technology (16%) and streaming support (11%). Virtual streaming capabilities and event apps were the two most implemented technologies since 2020.

Contact Mark Cooper at mcooper@iacconline.org

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