planit inc. has a 25-year track record for producing successful events for clients that inspire, foster connections and leave a lasting impression. As industry leaders, we constantly learn and evolve to keep events fresh, innovative and efficient. Here are the top five emerging event trends we’re forecasting for 2024:

Leaner Budgets

Over the past few years, the event industry has been grossly affected by the tight U.S. labor market. Employment numbers in the U.S. have now rebounded, with the leisure and hospitality industry sector almost at the same level as in January 2020. Inflation was another big challenge in 2023 that has begun to follow a downward trend, with food prices following suit.  While hope is on the horizon with unemployment and inflation easing, it takes time for these economic improvements to translate to tangible business benefits. Organizations are cutting 2024 budgets to recoup losses and weather future economic uncertainty as well as ongoing supply chain disruptions.

We continue to partner with clients to produce successful and meaningful events within their budgets and address global events’ impact on business and society, offering customized insights and solutions. We have also aided clients in producing professional development events that explore future work trends, skills development and talent acquisition.

Prioritizing Healthy, Inclusive and Sustainable Events

Developing events that are healthy, inclusive and sustainable remains a priority. planit inc. continues to plan events with the utmost level of health and well-being for all using our evolving meet well. meet safe. initiative as our guide. We design events with diverse abilities and backgrounds in mind; we ensure presentations have captions and that there are multiple touchpoints during events with different learning formats. We create inclusive food and drink menus with healthy and diverse options and source food and supplies from local-, woman- and minority-owned businesses when possible.

We also strive to work with venues with high sustainability standards. We reduce, reuse and recycle event materials as allowed and responsibly source new materials to stay mindful of our environmental impact.

Deeper Connections and Balanced Schedules

People are craving more connection during events. We have planned events that act as community-building platforms to foster long-term connections for attendees with shared interests. Authentic storytelling during events and less crowded event agendas give attendees intentional opportunities to build deeper connections. More break time in between main events also leaves more room for self-care and reflection and accommodates various work modalities.

This trend of leaning into the “in-between” space of events benefits the attendees by giving them the space to connect, answer emails or complete important daily work tasks. It also results in greater attention and information retention during the key aspects of the event.

A “Bleisure” Destination for the Whole Family

People have started to maximize their time away from home for business conferences and events by bringing family along for the ride to explore new and exciting cities together. This blend of business and leisure travel (hello, bleisure!) is a growing trend that seizes the opportunity of travel for business with added fun and togetherness. We have embraced this trend over the past year with our clients, selecting venues that cater to families and planning family-friendly activities during the event.

Elevated Personalized and Immersive Experiences with Technology

Artificial intelligence (AI) is a trend that is advancing rapidly. We have already begun to harness its power to elevate and personalize event experiences through our dedicated team of certified digital experts and comprehensive attend!t event planning platform. AI provides an opportunity for more personalized recommendations to automate tasks, matches attendees with like-minded interests and further streamlines event management practices. Gamification for learning and networking and interactive live streaming are new, exciting tools that planit inc. has added to its technology toolbox.

Hybrid events are an ongoing trend increasingly becoming more seamless, blending the digital and real world for diverse preferences and accessibility to events for more attendees.

Analyzing the extensive influx of data from attendees and events continues to open doors to more personalization and helps us inform decisions to optimize future events.

As we navigate the dynamic landscape of event planning in 2024, embracing these trends will be vital to delivering memorable and impactful experiences. Let’s create the future of events together! We partner with clients at every planning stage to develop the best solutions that align with budget, culture and goals. Contact us today to schedule a free consultation with our event planners.