IACC, the global association representing best-in-class, small to mid-size conference and meeting venues, recently released its latest in a series of quarterly Meeting Room of the Future Barometer reports, which covers trends, opinions of operators and cross-industry research tracking the recovery of the global business events sector. 

Combining research and insights into the recovery of IACC venues, demand cycles, labor influences and important trends currently impacting venues, the latest report provides a mixed bag of positivity and caution as the industry continues its post-pandemic recovery while working to return to pre-pandemic operating levels.

Collating industry insights and data, the August 2022 barometer covers several key emerging topics, including the sector’s pace of recovery; client priorities in the new meetings landscape; property and product investment; workforce development and staffing; and social and environmental responsibility.

With rehiring and reskilling the venue workforce continuing to be a key issue preventing venues from reaching their usual operating capacity, this latest report also highlights several additional key findings, including streamlining the sales process for smaller events and automating sales through online bookings.

“The start of 2022 has shown some excellent progress in recovery however, there are still some key areas where venues need support, particularly in staffing,” said Mark Cooper, IACC CEO. “IACC will support its members and community over the next year by providing important personal and professional development opportunities as the industry continues to repair the skills and knowledge shortfall that exist.”

He added that IACC’s extensive stakeholder group across 23 countries allows the association to identify and deliver important perspectives on the pace of the recovery for IACC-certified conference and meeting venues. 

According to association officials, IACC’s Meeting Room of the Future initiative reports on insights from meeting professionals, IACC venues and industry experts from three different continents. This latest edition was created in collaboration with industry research and data sources including Cvent, CBRE, Encore, Events industry Council and Oxford Economics. 

The next quarterly IACC Meeting Room of the Future Barometer will be released in November 2022, according to IACC officials.

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