Home Meeting Planner Resources 9 Key Trends Driving the Future of Meeting Spaces

9 Key Trends Driving the Future of Meeting Spaces

November 20, 2024

What will the future of meeting spaces look like? Here are 9 key trends identified in a recent report — and their implications for future conference planning.

Which came first, the meeting space or the conferences planned to take place in those venues? While once it may have been the opportunities and limitations of the venues that drove what could happen at meetings and events, today’s forward-thinking venues have flipped that paradigm and are now seeking to understand the needs of today’s, and tomorrow’s, conference organizers and attendees so they can provide for future needs as they emerge.

“Staying ahead of trends is crucial for venues aiming to provide exceptional experiences,” said Mark Cooper, CEO of the International Association of Conference Centers (IACC) on the release of the global association for meeting and conference venue professionals’ its 2024 Meeting Room of the Future Report. The report, which IACC has been producing since 2016 by gathering insights from meeting planners, venue operators and other global industry experts, found several emerging trends that are both driven by changes in how meetings and events are planned now, and have implications for future conference planning.

Attendee experience. With “experience creation” for attendees now being a top priority for 80% of meeting planners, attendee expectations, especially those of the younger generations, are driving venues to make spaces that can accommodate the need for more breaks, personal time and one-on-one engagement.
Connections to nature. Even as meetings get more technology-focused, the need to balance tech with biophilic design elements is on the rise. More than 70% of venues now offer more ways for meeting attendees to connect to the natural world through outdoor meeting spaces, walking trails and meeting rooms that feature large windows that let in lots of natural light.
Flexible spaces. As meeting planners experiment with new ways to encourage collaboration and teamwork, venues are responding by providing more collaborative spaces outside of the formal meeting rooms. Even inside those more traditional rooms, 71% of venues said that at least three-quarters of their furniture is designed to accommodate flexible room sets.
Food and beverage. Almost half of venues noting a decrease in alcohol consumption, while a whopping 89% said they had seen a rise in complex and specific special dietary needs and a desire to create memorable experiences through themed F&B events. Budget-friendly menu options that use lower priced ingredients also are key to meeting groups’ F&B budgetary restraints, said 70% of venues.
Sustainability. Venues are responding to requests from corporate groups needing to adhere to their company’s sustainable development (SDG) goals and associations asking about how to make their meeting more environmentally friendly with implementing programs to cut food waste (83%), putting programs in place to eliminate single-use plastics (88%) and achieving environmental and/or sustainability certifications (75%).
Artificial intelligence. While AI is gaining traction for planning meetings, AI adoption on the venue side is still on the low side, where venues mainly use it for marketing, data analysis and revenue management. However, more than a third said they are thinking about using AI in more areas, especially when it comes to sustainability. For example, some venues said they saw an opportunity to use AI for creative menu planning that incorporates locally produced ingredients and minimizes food waste.
Virtual reality. The main application of VR in meeting venues to date is to use it to provide VR site visits. Though only 28% said they’re doing this now, another 28% said they plan to offer VR venue tours within the next year.
Cybersecurity. Along with the rise of AI comes the rise of criminals using AI for deepfake social engineering and AI-powered malware to hit hospitality venues worldwide. According to hospitalitytech.com, “With more sophisticated, more dangerous attacks on the horizon, hospitality organizations need to ready their systems, defenses, and teams to withstand a new class of threats.” The IACC report found that venues are well aware of this threat, with 89% saying they see cybersecurity becoming an even bigger concern over the next three years.
Social responsibility. With social responsibility becoming a central theme to many of the trends identified in the report, venues are putting more emphasis on their approaches to sustainability, inclusivity and community engagement.

These findings indicate that venues are noticing a shift towards more personalized, sustainable and technologically integrated meeting experiences, with a strong emphasis on attendee well-being and engagement. In the near future, if it’s not already happening, they expect that planners likely will come from a more holistic approach that balances technological advancements with human-centric experiences, sustainability initiatives and flexible design concepts.