What's Happening?
The 2025 IACC Meeting Room of the Future Barometer, released by IACC in collaboration with Development Counsellors International, reveals a significant shift in meeting planners' priorities. The report, based on responses from over 200 meeting planners across North America and Europe, indicates an increased emphasis on venue amenities. Specifically, 55 percent of meeting planners now consider a venue's physical characteristics crucial for achieving meeting objectives, up from 36 percent in 2023. Additionally, the importance of food and beverage offerings has risen, with 50 percent of planners citing it as important, compared to 30 percent previously. Conversely, the focus on content and education has declined, with only 50 percent of planners identifying it as key, down from 65 percent in 2023.
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Why It's Important?
This shift in priorities among meeting planners reflects broader trends in the event industry, emphasizing the need for venues to offer unique and adaptable spaces. As planners increasingly seek distinctive locations like stadiums, museums, and vineyards, venues must adapt to provide flexible layouts and personalized attendee experiences. The demand for adaptable meeting spaces challenges venues to move beyond static layouts, requiring infrastructure and services that can quickly adapt to changing content needs. This trend also highlights the industry's ongoing post-pandemic adaptation, with a growing emphasis on creating unique and engaging experiences for attendees.
What's Next?
Meeting planners are likely to continue prioritizing flexible room layouts, authentic food and beverage offerings, and distinctive local experiences to enhance the overall event experience. Venues may need to invest in infrastructure that supports diverse session formats and personalized attendee experiences. Additionally, planners' disenchantment with the complexity of hosting hybrid or livestreamed events suggests a potential decline in such formats, with 42 percent of planners not planning to livestream, up from 21 percent. Venues may need to focus on providing strong internet connections while simplifying the process for hybrid events.
Beyond the Headlines
The report also touches on social responsibility, noting that planners prioritize accessibility but show less concern for the environmental impact of their events. A significant 82 percent of planners do not require a carbon footprint measurement for their events. This indicates a potential area for growth in the industry, as venues and planners may increasingly consider environmental sustainability in their planning processes.
