According to experts, the future workplace should be seen as a meeting or a gathering space. Photo Credit: Adobe Stock/Pixel-Shot
The business of events is becoming a core driver of workplace and cultural strategy, with workplaces increasingly being seen as spaces for hosting events, while experiences will be a key theme for the industry in 2025.
These findings were shared by Ryan Simonetti, CEO and co-founder of Convene, a meeting, event, and flexible workspace provider across the US and UK. He unveiled his 2025 event industry predictions in a webinar produced by BTN Group.
Simonetti said bringing teams together for an event will be more important than ever to drive business strategy and workplace culture. While he acknowledged that some companies have called an end to remote working and asked employees to return to the office five days a week, he said this would be the exception rather than the norm. The future workplace should be seen as a meeting or a gathering space and this is being reflected in modern workplace design.
“In this hybrid world, the need to bring your teams together with your clients is more important than ever to drive strategy and to maintain and enhance culture,” he said. “When, where and how you bring your teams together is now a critical pillar of an organisation's workplace and cultural strategy.”
He added that companies are opting for smaller offices with less meeting space, leading to more demand for external meeting and event venues where more people can gather at a defined time. The trend meanwhile for ‘experience over everything’ is also resulting in longer lead times for events and a desire for greater production levels.
“This is not just technology production, this is experience production - it’s about how you create immersive brand experiences,” said Simonetti. “What are unique innovations? How do you enhance the food and beverage experience?”
Simonetti pointed to industry statistics from the 2025 Planner Sourcing Report by Cvent, citing that 83% of planners are utilising experience and entertainment service providers to enhance events and said that a number of Convene’s clients are starting to work not just with production companies, but also with creative agencies, bringing these immersive experiences to life. He added that much of Convene’s contract growth is also being driven by the enhancement of experience.
This trend is prompting longer lead times for events, as Simonetti explained that planning experiential events takes more time and energy. This ‘flight to experience’ is also encouraging a greater take up of AI technologies for more routine event tasks, as planners want more free time to plan more complex areas.
This demand for bespoke, high-impact events is also driving a greater take-up of non-hotel venues for events, offering planners an environment with no competing interest between an event and a travel client.