Dial Events

Five meeting trends for 2012

We all know that budgets are still tight and companies are looking to make savings and add value. But what sort of impact will that have on meetings? Here’s the top five trends for meetings in 2012.

Meetings will be shorter – and smaller

As the Age of Austerity truly kicks in, organisations will be looking to get as much bang for their buck as possible. With much on the agenda (and those agendas are likely be fuller), the number of meetings is set to increase – but companies will be looking to reduce the number of people attending and the length of time meetings last. Groups will meet in venues closer to their workplace – a trend that will help keep costs down.

Customised meetings – they’re the in thing

Planners will be tailoring their site selections to the strategy and goals of the meeting. They are likely to be taking a step back and thinking: “What’s the goal of the meeting, what are we going to accomplish?” Gone are the days when planners will just book Venue X  “because that’s where we’ve always gone”.

Do it yourself – using apps and social media to support meetings

There’s a strong business case being made for using mobile apps and social media apps at events. These include better real time distribution of conference information, better onsite networking, polling, feedback and branding. Twitter, YouTube and WordPress can all help support meetings, and you can always encourage those attending to upload photos from the event to Flickr.com – giving others a chance to see what happened! So if you’re running a venue, make sure you’ve got WiFi.

Meetings will be greener

More than 47% of meeting planners now have green requests and requirements for the events. That trend is likely to increase in the coming year as organisations seek to further reduce their impact on the environment and boost their green credentials. Check out the spring-summer edition of Dial magazine for our guide to the best eco-venues around.

Tucking in…what’s new in food

The growth in locally grown and locally reared produce will continue throughout 2012 as venues continue to buy fresh produce from local farmers markets. Greater account will be taken of personal diet preferences, and if you’re having a glass of wine with an evening dinner – chances are that it will be a higher-quality, value-priced wine from Spain or South America!

This feature was written by DialExpotel for Expotel, the UK’s leading hotel, travel and venue booking agency. To find out more about Expotel or LateMeetings.com, call 0844 793 7300.

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