The Top 5 Conferencing Trends of 2018

Fresh ideas for your conference

It’s a new year, which brings fresh opportunities to make your 2018 conferences the best that they can be.

You may have an idea of the speakers you’ll approach and topics for discussion at your next conference, but do you have the ideal venue booked where you can create an engaging and industry-leading event?

That’s where we come in, as eight of our collection’s hotels have unrivaled conferencing facilities, complete with dedicated events managers to help you plan and execute a day to remember.

Browse these hotels here, but first take a look at our predictions of the trends which will emerge this year, not to be missed from your planning.

Attendee engagement

In 2018, PowerPoint slides will be less of a conferencing staple and instead engagement activities will take centre stage, such as live social feeds, on-site blogging, and video.

In order to increase attendee conversation on social channels, conference planners should ensure that they have created a dedicated event hashtag to prompt a live social feed, where attendees can monitor the conference’s developments and take part in digital discussions. You could gain an insight from guests that might not have been possible without audience participation, and an interactive experience aids in memory and learning.

Embrace technology

Free Wi-Fi? Nowadays that should be a given so be sure to choose a venue which offers this. Additionally, 2018 is an opportunity for conference planners to show off their businesses’ latest technology to impress delegates. Technology is your best friend when looking to deliver a bespoke conference experience.

Possible trends that can be adopted are event apps, featuring takeaway learning materials and an online chatroom or forum. Why not go that extra mile and create in-built event locators and navigation assistance, or notifications with rolling announcements?

Time-out

It’s important to remember that conferences need to be engaging, not monotonous drawn-out events with little creativity displayed. In 2018, a big trend will be to incorporate breakout rooms and zones, ranging from an area to grab a coffee and bite to eat, to a room with chilled music and the chance to chat with fellow delegates in a more relaxed environment.

By having these areas within the conference, attendees are more likely to absorb the information shared and remember the event and your business for the right reasons.

Going green

Today, more and more people are committing to helping the environment, and this trend will also apply to conference planners in 2018. From encouraging attendees to reuse and recycle, and making the effort to donate unused products to local charities, it could be easier than you think to jump on board with this trend by giving your conference a quirky edge in the form of green initiatives like environmentally-friendly goodie bags and a paper-free policy.

Collaboration

Gone are the days when conferences were more about listening than taking part; and one of the biggest trends for this year is collaboration, whereby conference planners look to encourage two-way conversations with speakers and attendees, driving participation through new strategies.

Collaborative speaking, such as workshops and round-tables give attendees the opportunity to work together to solve their own problems. Conference speakers should become antagonists, provoking debate and reaction from attendees.

Now you know what to factor into your conference in order for it to live up to delegates expectations, let us assist you in planning a flawless event.

Browse our hotels and get in touch with our planners here.