Key trends for future meeting and business events

Biodegradable meeting spaces, artificial intelligence and other micro trends are set to play a significant role in the future of meetings and business events.

The Future of Meetings and Events conference that took place in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, early this month, saw the coming together of industry leaders supported by the PCMA Foundation and Marriott International. Their goal was to identify five trends with the potential to dramatically disrupt the business events industry over the next five years.

The study, conducted by Fahrenheit 212, identified the top tends that had the potential to seriously change the way in which we host meetings and business events:

• Emotional Intelligence: How to design events with the end user in mind.
• Orchestrated Serendipity: Engineering unexpected, but meaningful moments.
• Multi-modal design: Creating adaptive spaces such as one that is a biodegradable and 3D-printed.
• Bigger than Oneself: Think social impact, sustainability and meaningfulness.
• Clear Sense of Place: Leveraging the surroundings where business events are held.

“The meetings and events industry’s future is being shaped by so many factors,” said Tammy Routh, senior vice president for global sales at Marriott International. “From people’s desire to be part of a broader community to their expectations when they travel. This study brings a real-world and provocative lens to where planners, attendees and suppliers will be heading in the years to come.”

The study concluded that meeting participants want to be fully immersed in the event they are attending. Making sure that people feel that they are satisfied emotionally as well as socially allows for organisers to explore levels of greater creativity and organised serendipity when trying to capture the attention of their audiences.

Contact PA Life  Twitter and let us know what trends you feel will be key for event organisers in the future: @PALifeMag