The new data from market research specialists Explori was presented at event technology and services platform Hire Space’s event – ‘The Events Outlook’, which brought together over 40 senior event professionals and event heads for a panel discussion and networking, in London’s Bishopsgate. Discussion centred on how to optimise event programmes against stretched teams and rising event costs.
Chloe Richardson, VP of Senior Corporate Relations at Explori, shared findings from the report, including the statistic that 3 in 4 exhibitors said they are feeling some pressure to cut exhibit-related costs, although 7/10 exhibitors do agree that their organisation’s leadership sees exhibits as a “valuable, irreplaceable part of the marketing mix”.
“At Explori, we feel incredibly fortunate to work closely with communities, associations, and networks across the events industry, enabling us to continually gauge the pulse of the sector. With access to this wealth of information and insights, we are committed to sharing our findings whenever possible. We are grateful to Hire Space for providing us with the platform to present our latest data and offer a snapshot of Q1 2023.”
The London event was delivered in connection with the company’s Hire Space 360 service, which provides streamlined event support to corporate event planners.
Hire Space co-founder, Edward Poland, said: “The pressure on event planners is significant, and services such as Hire Space 360 are becoming more and more valuable to provide support on event programmes and help keep events delivered on time and on budget. The idea is to take the strain off event professionals in venue and supplier sourcing, contracting, and onboarding so they can focus on delivering genuinely exciting and engaging events.”
The event is the latest panel hosted by Hire Space for event planners, venues, and the wider industry, with recent topics covering invisible disabilities in events, the journey to sustainable venues and event practices, and forecasts for event experiences.
The Events Outlook panel also featured Nikki Macmillan, head of events at New Financial, Kate McLachlan, events manager at Kennedys Law, and Craig Bennet, general manager at Convene, 22 Bishopsgate. Eliot Sargeant, Head of Business Development at Hire Space, moderated.
The key takeaways from the panel can be found here. They included: ‘Hybrid events aren’t all we were expecting them to be’ and event catering expenses surging from pre-pandemic levels by 40% to 60%.
