What's hot and what's not in event planning

SITE and Cvent recently co-hosted a webinar, "2023 Event Predictions: Clearing the Fog with Cvent's Crystal Ball", shining a spotlight on digital, sustainability, and event costs, while examining the latest trends, challenges, and opportunities in the events sector during the first quarter of 2023.

Moderated by SITE and featuring Scott Lockey, senior director of partnerships at Cvent, and Matt Davies, Cvent team lead for account management, third-party partnerships, the webinar examined the key event trends amid a "perfect venue sourcing storm" of rising costs, tight budgets, staffing shortages, tech stack consolidation, among other concerns.

Get faster and be smarter

"Venues take between 30% to 40% of an event's total budget, so it's definitely important to make the right choice and ensure the best value possible," said Davies. "Start sourcing as early as possible. People have been stung in the pandemic with contracts that they couldn't quite easily get out of, but hesitation is of course costing money and reducing your options."

To negotiate the best possible deals with suppliers, Davies recommended tapping into historical data and advised planners to get "faster and smarter" in their approach to requests for proposals (RFPs). This includes asking the right questions and providing hotel partners with as much insight into the programme and decision-making process as possible to minimise back and forth.

Lockey identified another trend where event planners are taking a holistic view of their total event programme. "If you manage incentive programmes, these are likely part of a much larger overall event programme," he said. "How do you make sure it's connected to that year-round messaging or branding or experience the organisation is trying to convey? And what are you doing with all your event content when you're not running the event?"

Digital dominance

Another trend discussed was the embrace of more digital elements in in-person events. Davies noted that digital touchpoints allow organisers to build a sense of community and extend engagement further.

"Cleverly curated content drives maximum engagement, a kind of connection to the company and that desire to be there - that fear of missing out," he said. "Hybrid is a term that may be feared by some, but really when we're talking about hybrid, it's about ways in which to look at those opportunities for digitisation and content delivery that can really supplement the in-person experience."

Centralising your tech stack can also help you derive better data, as Lockey summarised, "It provides better insights first and foremost, but it's also about easier access to data, which leads to better-informed decision-making and follow-ups for all teams."

During the webinar, the drive for sustainability was also highlighted, with participants emphasising the importance of having tangible goals from the outset. This includes choosing the right venue, assessing its sustainability, and having management and tracking systems in place.

"Ask yourself the following: how easy is the destination to reach - can you reach it with one direct flight or two or three connecting flights, can you take trains?" asked Davies. "What are the options that allow you to deliver a high-quality event but without a massive carbon impact? From a programming perspective, what is the most sustainable format for the event? Do we host one big incentive and fly everybody in from around the world? Or do we look at staging several smaller events closer to our offices and satellite locations?"

According to Davies and Lockey, it is crucial to take responsibility for your sustainability objectives and not avoid sharing or evaluating the results, whether they are favorable or unfavorable. This means being accountable for your actions and identifying areas for improvement in future endeavours.