Cameron Roberts, editor, Conference News, rounds out the year by speaking to four industry experts about what to expect from events in 2024.
In the first two parts of this series, we heard from thought leaders about the impact of upcoming legislation, new technologies and personalisation of events. Here, our expert panel discusses ever-shortening lead-times and the need to raise the bar for the quality of events across the industry.
Leading the charge
Post-pandemic, events have had to operate on shorter lead times, as the risk of cancellation is now on the mind of the value chain. Margaret Reeves, managing director, RefTech; and Mark Taylor, Chief Executive, The QEII Centre, talk about the impact of this decreased turnaround time as we go into the new year.
Reeves said: “The trend for last minute events is not going to go away in 2024; it may even be becoming the new norm. We often have requests to supply badges and registration services for events with only two weeks’ notice, or even just a few days.
“People are still happy to be meeting face to face and I think we will see an increase in the number of new meetings and events over the next 12 months, but that said, budgets are still tight, and I don’t think that’s set to change any time soon.
“In summary, we’ll be seeing more events, with shorter lead times and smaller budgets; all of these put together could all contribute to a very stressed event workforce, so all suppliers, agencies and venues will have to ensure that our teams are cared for and equipped to cope with this increase in demands.
Taylor said: “Because of the nature of our industry and its long lead times we are really only experiencing our recovery from Covid now, with a fantastic year of trading just past and another great year forecasted for 2024. We have seen an increase in multi-year and long-term contracts, with some clients booking as far out as 2029. We are in a great position for the future but we’re not complacent.
“Recruitment remains an issue in our industry so it’s vital that we continue to invest in the training, development and wellbeing of our staff. Alongside this we’ll continue to strengthen our technological competitiveness, work towards achieving our sustainability goals and seek new opportunities to further drive commercial revenues.”
Formatting
Mark Field, Operations Director, The Victory Service Club; and David Ogiste, founder, Nobody’s Café, spoke about rising costs and the need for event organisers to create higher-quality events.
Field said: “Cost-effectiveness remains a top priority for corporate organisers, and this is driving the return of the buffet. I know some people cringe at the very thought of a buffet, but they aren’t just beige anymore! And as well as being cost effective, serving food buffet style creates a more informal event, which is another trend for 2024.
“We are seeing a rise in more informal reception style events rather than the traditional formal sit-down dinner and this trend will continue to increase in 2024. The rise of more informal business events is being led by several factors: Networking is far more important to employees because in a work from home culture, they seek peer to peer interaction at company events.
“Post lockdown, employees are now far choosier about who they spent their time with, and this attitude is driving their decision to attend an event, and how long they will stay. A sit-down event does not give them any flexibility to leave when they like, and it also forces them to sit next to and network with two people not of their choosing. And finally, a reception is a very cost-effective way to gather lots of people together, so we will see more events, higher volume of delegates/guests but less income from each event.”
Ogiste said: “I believe more and more businesses are going to be looking for the B2C experience within their B2B activations.
“From conferences to meetings, we will be looking for ways to add the level of excitement and engagement seen at consumer events. With the brands we speak to, the curtain has been lifted and we’ve realised, be it B2B or B2C we’re all people that want to enjoy the events and experiences we attend.”
