SALES & MARKETING
THE SMALL MEETING
scores
BIG
IN-DEMAND EXPERIENTIAL MEETINGS DON ’ T NEED A LOT OF SPACE .
By CHLOE RILEY , ASSOCIATE EDITOR , AND BARBARA BOHN , MANAGING EDITOR
The Vortex meeting room at Montreal ’ s Fairmont
Queen Elizabeth
The experiential meeting is on the rise .
According to American Express ’ 2018 Global Meetings and Events forecast , hoteliers are predicting an increase of almost 4 % in demand for nontraditional meeting facilities . And getting that experience to land often requires smaller meeting spaces .
Ron Shah is founder and CEO of Bizly , a small meetings booking platform that launched in September . He says the utilization rate for smaller corporate meeting spaces at hotels and restaurants is approximately 20 %, way below demand for those same spaces .
“ What we ’ ve seen is , this large conference investment is often being traded out for several small events ,” Shah says .
“ And it ’ s because you just have this more intimate opportunity to connect .”
Meeting and event planning industry association Meeting Professionals International defines an experiential meeting as one designed with participant engagement at the forefront , with every component of the meeting adding up to an opportunity to create lasting impressions .
Traditional meetings are usually planned with a focus on the logistics , like selecting menus , outlining tech needs and determining room setup , says Matthew Marcial , vice president , education and events for Meeting Professionals International .
“ Meeting and conference attendees today have busier schedules and shorter attention spans , so their time out of the office has to be optimized ,” he says . “ Meetings that are designed to be more experiential will evaluate all aspects of the program to purposefully engage a participant ’ s senses and create experiences that leave lasting impressions .”
Meeting planners , therefore , are looking for more non-traditional and unique spaces for events and require more flexibility with setup requirements , according to Marcial .
Montreal ’ s Fairmont Queen Elizabeth was a traditional convention hotel that was cutting-edge when it opened in 1958 – it was the first hotel in North America to have telephones in each of its 982 rooms . Recently , it underwent a C $ 140 million ( US $ 110.6 million ) renovation , completed in July , that removed 32 guest
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