Survey Asks What Planners Want

Customizable, “white-box” venues instead of hotel ballrooms, virtual tour offerings instead of site visits, and service over space. These are among the latest trends for those planning a meeting or event, according to a recent survey of corporate and social event planners conducted by Convene.

White-Box Vs. All-Inclusive Venues

The survey revealed two main types of event planners—those who want to do everything themselves, and those who want everything sorted before they have to step in.

The highest percentage of event organizers, 34 percent, think that “bespoke is best.” In other words, they prefer to work with “white-box,” general-purpose venues that let them customize the event and bring in their own vendors.

What are they looking to have control over? Space, for one thing. According to one respondent, one of the primary deciders when it came to choosing these venues were how easy it was to find floor plans and capacity charts online. For others, it was inclusion of snacks and beverages in rental fees. “With tightening budgets, something like [free food and drink] is always a bonus and can make a venue stand out from similar competition,” says Sarah Bondar, a senior account executive at The Charles Group.

Aseneth Quiñones, an event specialist at Unilever, had a different suggestion for how white-box spaces can draw in planners. “More spaces should include pictures of their best events, and put them in a slideshow on their site. If they add in the right music, a short video clip, and highlight how much fun people are having, their venue will really pop,” adds Quiñones.

At the other end of the spectrum of respondents, 31 percent of the organizers prefer specialized venues that prepackage almost everything. That way, hosts can focus on engaging with the attendees.

The data shows the largest shift in the decline in preference for hotel settings. Once the gold standard for meeting planners, hotels were preferred by less than 20 percent of respondents.

Service Matters Over Space

As working styles evolve, planners are thinking about their needs in terms of service rather than space. Planners are seeking out venues that leave the door open for high-end service, and they’re also looking to venues for help in sourcing service providers.

Of all the social events respondents hosted, networking receptions and happy hours topped the list as most popular. Even among corporate events, networking and holiday parties were only second to conferences and summits, with client meetings in third. Despite their popularity, however, many respondents indicated that they struggled to find venues that could provide unique mixers. “Unfortunately I haven’t actually been to any happy hour events where anything was elevated,” says Bondar. “I would suggest that venues include something like karaoke, especially if prizes are involved. That could make a happy hour really memorable.”

Where else are planners looking for help? Nearly 11 percent want event spaces to provide lists of preferred local venues, like bars for happy hours and restaurants for attendee networking; 12.5 percent of respondents want a list of preferred vendors – florists, printers, facilitators, planners, etc.

What’s Missing for Meeting Planners

Adequate and available staff—whether a point of contact for VIPs, a local marketer, volunteers, drivers or caterers—is a major bugaboo for planners; 17 percent of respondents indicated that venues typically don’t provide enough staff to support their events.

Additionally, a significant number of respondents said virtual tours of event spaces were absent from their meeting planning process. “I’d love virtual venue tours to become commonplace,” adds Bondar. “It’s great to have access to venues from the comfort of my desk as often as needed, without incurring flight costs or having to take the time away from my busy schedule for travel!”