Event clients and attendees make high demands of contemporary events - and not just over the content, production and marketing. The latest demand in events is that event spaces lend themselves perfectly to the type of event - so much so that the right space seamlessly promotes the event activities and atmosphere, whilst the wrong space can have just the reverse impact on success.
Thanks to the release of Event Academy’s recent Industry Trend Report, the truth about what’s hot - or not - in event spaces for 2019 is now revealed. So what should event managers be looking for, to deliver on-trend event spaces?
According to around 35% of Event Academy’s industry experts, a taste for the unusual is in great demand. Ultimately, a twist of the unusual is a well-known tactic for creating memorable experiences in events, so producing an event in an unusual location can be a sure way of literally immersing attendees in something unforgettable.
And with unforgettable in mind, museums are certainly stepping up as examples of unusual venues, particularly for celebration events like weddings and parties. Beautifully preserved heritage properties, including Graded and Listed properties, such as the Victorian Bath House in London, also offer the taste of unusual with a modern twist - such as a bath of ice for the event refreshments - so that both memorable spaces and events are delivered for clients and attendees alike.
At a very close second with 33% of respondents, flexible spaces are proving to be on trend. Indeed, across all event types much of what can be demanded of an event space isn’t just aesthetics and quirks - it’s functionality. Take conferences for example. Spacious auditoriums for meet and greet and conferencing can be ideal, but in diverse, imaginative events, break-out space, networking hubs and dedicated digital spaces are also needed, so the trend for 2019 is spaces which are flexible enough to offer all of these.
Claire Derrick, Principal of Event Academy recognises that flexibility is a trend which specifically applies to venues this year. “In 2019 the key word is flexibility - clients want everything packaged neatly in one place, and event organisers need to respond positively to this. Venues will need to work hard to offer workable rates, provide spaces that are versatile and be 100% ‘client focused’. This involves listening and I mean really listening to the needs and requirements of the client and responding in a way that wows.”
So whilst event managers themselves have to be versatile, event spaces also have to be the same. Hotels remain a popular choice when it comes to flexibility, as often hotel layouts include a selection of large as well as more intimate spaces, terraces and easily accessed refreshment and hospitality facilities.
At #3, just over 31% of Event Academy’s respondents identify technologically-advanced venues as being extremely on trend. After all, technology is so fast-moving in event management that if a venue or event space doesn’t keep up, then it can find itself just as quickly forgotten. Now we’re almost into the third decade of the 21st century, when it comes to event spaces ‘technologically advanced’ doesn’t just mean sharing the WiFi password; fast WiFi is now as much a utility as running water in event venues, so it’s an assumed facility, not an extra one.
Instead, ‘technologically advanced’ means venues which offer the extras of innovation, such as:
Event Academy’s report also reveals less popular trends which are losing out in 2019. What shows is that most of those which are out, are out: out of town and outdoor locations. Although some of the quirkier outdoor venues enjoy popularity through the ‘unusual locations’ trend, overall outdoor and out of town venues aren’t leading event space trends as clients prioritise convenience in travel, transport and accessibility over the quirks of taking things outside.
And as Eventopedia’s Art Deco Venues in London blog shows, you don’t have to go out of town to give clients a taste of something both unusual and extraordinary. Why add travel time to getting to an out of town venue when clients and event attendees can instead enjoy a little time travel, immersed in the lavish decor of another era, yet still in a conveniently accessible, highly functional event space in the city?
Finally, although the popularity of pop ups as we’ve known them has dropped off and these are no longer trending at the top, they may yet return. Instead of being retail events, their latest evolution is as a tool for online brands. As Mark Beaver identifies in the Industry Trend Report: “e-commerce businesses [are] bringing themselves to life by creating pop up brand environments in prominent places.”
In this way, brands which only have a digital presence can move into communities for exposure and engagement with customers through pop up events. Those ‘prominent places’ include empty spaces where there is footfall and passing trade, including in shopping centres, galleries and transport hubs.
Overall, venue trends remain exciting and extremely relevant for event managers. As 2019 progresses, the top three trends look to gain even more traction and, as technology in events particularly continues to dominate the industry, it seems likely that the trend for technologically-advanced venues is going to remain well into the next decade too.
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Contributed by Event Academy, the UK’s leading event training provider and the only event management courses accredited by the Chartered Institute of Marketing.
