2018 was a busy year for IACC, a group comprised of the top 1 percent of small- and medium-size meeting venues worldwide.
With the meetings focus shifting evermore to wellness and the complexities that often arise in catering to the individual dietary requirements of attendees, the company released the “Guide to Managing Conference Delegate Dietary Requirements” in collaboration with the World Obesity Foundation and MPI. The goal, according to Mark Cooper, CEO of IACC, is to help both planners and the venue community ensure delegate health and well-being without compromising on the event experience. Topics include health-related allergens and emerging diets (including religious requirements), with advice and practical tips on how to place the health and well-being of attendees at the heart of events.
IACC also launched another tool for planners this year that allows them to gauge the bandwidth of IACC venues based on required usage level before booking. This, Cooper says, aligns with a larger “meetings of the future” initiative that strives to place planners at the forefront of meeting design and technology therein. To this regard, a meeting of the future report was launched by IACC.
Here are the top 5 insights on the future of meeting design gleaned from 50 venues and suppliers across six continents:
1.) High quality internet will be the most important meeting element in the coming years
2.) Experience creation is expected to become more important
3.) Flexible meeting spaces are growing in popularity
4.) Easy screen-sharing between devices is becoming more important for collaboration in meetings
5.) Continuous refreshment service (instead of time-limited breaks) are becoming more common
