Following extensive research among the 355 members of the International Association of Conference Centres, the association released its Top 10 Meeting Tech Trends for 2015, which are influencing meeting planners and venue operators across the globe.
6. The sky’s the limit… for now! – We have seen a dramatic rise in the use of drones in extreme sports — and now conference organisers are using this affordable technology to capture creative event photos and map out the venue for GPS integrated conferences. What will “tomorrow’s” technology bring to outpace the functionality of drones!
7. The days of the cable are numbered – Just when venues think their under-counter box of chargers is current and complete, technology moves on and we get closer to a single standard for wireless charging technology, after years of competing standards. Currently pushing for a single standard, QI Consortium boasts wireless charging points in 3,000 hotels. With large scale furniture makers such as IKEA installing standardised wireless charging into tables and desks they sell, the writing is on the wall for meeting venues to incorporate wireless charging points into bar tops, meeting room tables and guestrooms. They better do so this year, as 2015 is sizing up to be the year the hospitality industry finally took standardising wireless charging technology and its availability seriously!
8. Meet your virtual colleague – There are times when its just not possible to get everybody in the same place at the same time. Conference venues understand this and are making the virtual attendee experience much better. How? Venues are developing meeting rooms with multiple ceiling-mounted microphones, high-bandwidth connectivity and advanced software solutions to provide seamless integration into the meeting for virtual attendees, faculty and guest speakers. Additionally, there is an increase in clients wanting to capture video to send to another physical location, where a second group of participants are gathered.
9. Conference venues welcome streetview technology – The trend toward part-time meeting planners who are NOT full-time professional planners but may be an executive assistant, marketing coordinator, human resource professional or department head, is on the increase. Today’s meeting planner, therefore, expects and requires more from their venue partners, in terms of evaluating venues’ capabilities to support their meeting or event. When a planner cannot conduct an in-person venue inspection, technology is fast evolving using the Google Street View concept to provide valuable virtual venue tours, multiple room images showing different meeting layouts and even property video footage.
10. Buying your meeting online – More and more clients are using the web as their primary tool for making purchasing decisions. One IACC venue recently reported 70% of all new business comes via online search activities and they expect that number to grow. The venues that will be the most successful in capturing this business will have websites that serve not only as marketing brochures but as the primary tool for their clients to plan, book, purchase, and engage with them for their next meeting.
IACC is the only global professional association, which represents small to medium sized venues focused on meetings, training courses and conferences. All members conform to a comprehensive global set of criteria and standards. The association serves its members by being the global thought-leader in the meetings industry and currently has 355 members in 21 countries in the Americas, Europe and Australasia.
