Watching in-person meetings and events return has been exciting. Industry trends have shifted rapidly over the past year which has kept event planners on their toes. Our Winter 2022 Planner Pulse Report indicates that 70% of planners are currently booking or sourcing new events. The industry is getting back on its feet and many events are making up for lost time, causing the race to book venues to become more competitive than ever.
Hotels have traditionally been a steady venue strategy and recent reports show that events at hotels are expected to increase. In fact, hotels account for 57% of all in-person event venues planned for the next 12 months (from 49% according to the Summer 2022 Planner Pulse Report). Why are hotels increasing in popularity? Meeting space layout and on-site technology.
Benefits of Booking a Hotel Venue
Events at hotels are expected to increase in 2023 with all other venue types expected to have the same amount or fewer compared to our previous report results. Hotel venues offer the benefit of varying layout options, updated technology and the ability to have guests stay onsite. A strong onsite event technology partner can help planners achieve all of their meeting and event needs from breakouts to general sessions and networking events.
Elements such as high-tech A/V, ballroom space utilization and layout are driving venue selections. Layout is shown to be most important while meeting space technology and service levels round out the top three priorities. Ensuring that your chosen venue offers a strong team of end-to-end technology experts and solutions that meet your event needs can save you time and help your budget.
Embrace Creativity and Imagination
On more than one occasion, for example, our team has taken what could be considered an obstacle as an opportunity to get creative in an event space. In 2022, our team was tasked with transforming a former hotel parking garage turned exhibit hall into a PCMA educational and motivational general session experience. Niki and team used imagination, collaboration, and innovative technical solutions to overhaul the uncompromising space. In the end, our customer’s attendees were none the wiser about the level of out-of-the-box creativity it took to transform the room and deliver a successful event.
We work hard to keep the pulse on the meeting and event industry. The key findings and data on event planning industry trends from our quarterly Planner Pulse Report are crucial to how We See Solutions every day for our customers.
- From Planner Pulse Insights to a Senior Producer’s Real-World Experiences - January 27, 2023
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