Destination Hotels, now part of Two Roads Hospitality, released its fifth annual State of the Meetings Industry survey, including a list of 2017 meeting trends.
The survey analyzed responses from more than 400 corporate, association, government and independent planners to get a pulse on the industry as the New Year is fast approaching. Apart from the typical meeting needs—flexibility with dates and budget—here are five trends that planners believe will continue to popularize in the coming year.
More Effective Team building
Almost 60 percent of respondents said they are more interested in adventure or active team building exercises, while an additional 37 percent of planners citing community service as an opportune team building option.
Bleisure
More and more attendees are extending their stays to combine business trips with personal vacation, a concept that the industry has quickly coined “bleisure.” About 61 percent of planners reported that one out of every 10 attendees either arrived to a meeting early or extended their stay longer in order to get some R&R.
F&B Craze Continued
With an emphasis on local F&B and diet trends, this year’s F&B craze continues into 2017, with F&B being the third-most critical factor when selecting a property after location and room rate. The quirkier, the better in most cases.
Flexible Space Configurations
The importance of multifunction space is on the rise, with nearly 73 percent of planners rating it as an eight, nine or even 10 in importance when choosing a venue. Planners want to be able to make use of as many spaces as possible for business sessions as well as social events.
Technology
Same goes for onsite technology. More than 58 percent of planners ranked onsite technology as having an eight, nine or 10 in importance when choosing a venue. Similarly, almost 72 percent of planners said they rely on a property’s website for most of the information they need when looking for a host property.
