Dan BergerCEOSocial TablesOctober 2017

Predictions for the Future of our Industry

Meetings in 2025

@danberger | @mpioregon

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Presenter-Audience Agreement

I am a participant.

I am a planner.

I am a supplier.

100 employees

Raised $22.6 million

Founded in 2011

Social Tables is a turnkey marketing, sales, and operations platform for venue and hotel events.

Sales

Operations

Your Network Our Network

Marketing

100k+ planners

Execution

Search | Convert

Propose

Diagram

Seat & Check-In

product name category

● Free diagramming for planners

● Free check-in app for planners(Seating will be free soon, too)

● Free search & discovery platform with access to thousands of floor plans at search.socialtables.com

Free Planner Essentials

4,350 customers creating

2 million events with

250 million participants

I am a participant.

I am a planner.

I am a believer.

I am a supplier.

We envision a world where face-to-face events achieve great things

Sample of the 40+ awards Social Tables and its leadership have received.

GROUP DISCUSSION

How has meeting planning changed over the past two decades?

Information Symmetry

Planners rely on their networks and online

research to learn about destinations before

speaking to sales reps.

Information Asymmetry

Planners used to rely on hotel sales

professionals for research and information.

Pre-Event: Destination Sourcing

Pre-Event: Event Marketing

Permission Marketing

Marketers deliver anticipated, personal, and

relevant messages to people who actually want

to get them thanks to new advertising

technology.

Traditional Marketing

Marketers used to buy email lists, mail

invitations, and add everyone to their

newsletters.

Pre-Event: Networking

Online

Participants have access to fellow attendees and

technology matches people thanks to

algorithms.

On Site

People let serendipity and networking sessions

do all of the work.

An Afterthought

There was no real software built for planners or

event goers.

Integrated

Planners think about what objectives they are

trying to achieve and use the technology that fits

best.

Pre-Event: Technology

Online Collaboration

Information is centralized online for efficient

stakeholder communication.

Offline Redundancy

Back-and-forth calls, emails, and faxes to

coordinate events and communicate changes.

Pre-Event: Working Together

During-Event: Educating Attendees

Participants

Speakers have a dialogue with participants. They

use technology to engage them and apply adult

learning best practices.

Attendees

Presenters spoke at attendees.

During-Event: Physically Attending

Attending in the Flesh

The only way to attend an event was to

physically be there.

Virtual Attendance

Live-streaming is free and is used to build future

attendance.

During-Event: Disseminating Information

The Mobile App

Real-time information is distributed digitally

through an app, social, and email.

The Event Guide

Information, including the schedule and attendee

list, was distributed through physical collateral.

Continuous and Regular Feedback

Attendees provide feedback real-time through

social media channels/surveys and planners

react accordingly.

One-time Evaluations

Attendees would complete a survey at the end

of a meeting.

During-Event: Feedback

1. Describe the way the hospitality industry has evolved over the past 2 decades.

2. Discover what the future holds for meetings and events.

3. Examine strategies to manage these changes.

@danberger | @mpioregon

Learning Objectives

1. Describe the way the hospitality industry has evolved over the past 2 decades.

2. Discover what the future holds for meetings and events.

3. Examine strategies to manage these changes.

@danberger | @mpioregon

Learning Objectives

Post-Event: Event Lifespan

Events were Finite

The life of an event spanned was limited to its

allocated time.

Events are Evergreen

The lifespan of an event extends past its

allocated time. People connect and share online

afterwards.

Post-Event: Event ROI

ROI is Measurable

Events are considered a marketing product.

Their impact can be measured thanks to

software and hardware products.

ROI was an Unknown

Event and meeting spending went into a

marketing black hole.

Post-Event: Sharing Information

Information is Shared

Content is distributed far and wide by speakers.

It is amplified by participants through live

tweeting, live streaming, and social media

posting.

Information was Withheld

Content was held closely by speakers.

@danberger | @mpioregon

1. Describe the way the hospitality industry has evolved over the past 2 decades.

2. Discover what the future holds for meetings and events.

3. Examine strategies to manage these changes.

Learning Objectives

GROUP DISCUSSION

What do you think meetings will look like in 10 years?

@danberger | @mpioregon

Current trends & supporting data

This is the framework

A series of mini-predictions Mega prediction

TREND ALERT

Hotels are more cognizant than ever of their cost structure.

New JLL report examines global hotel investment trends

@danberger | @mpioregon

The way we book

● Owners will demand even higher profit margins.

● Most group business booking will be automated.

● Most group business will be booked direct thanks to matching algorithms.

● Supplier pricing power will be even stronger due to consolidation.

Commissions will decrease significantly.

TREND ALERT

Predictable physical work is being replaced by machines.

Where machines could replace humans—and where they can’t (yet). McKinsey.

Deals To Robotics Startups Drop For Third-Straight Quarter

● The best photographers will know how to fly.

● Robots will replace some security personnel.

● Robot will be used in to setup/teardown events.

● Interacting with robots will be socially acceptable.

● The price of robots will decrease below labor costs.

@danberger | @mpioregon

Our relationship with machines

Robots will be used in event operations.

TREND ALERT

New ways to travel are changing our behavior.

● Autonomous vehicles will unlock new destinations.

● Homesharing will add inventory everywhere.

● Events could happen anywhere.

● We will have CVBs for virtual venues.

@danberger | @mpioregon

The destinations we partner with

Remote destinations will compete with traditional ones.

TREND ALERT

A new computing platform is emerging.

What’s Next In Computing? Dixon, Chris. | Internet Trends 2017 Report. Meeker, Mary.

● Site visits won’t be as common.

● Telepresence will be hyper-realistic.

● The way we experience events will change.

@danberger | @mpioregon

The technology we experience

Virtual and real events will become one.

TREND ALERT

We are entering a new industrial revolution centered around artificial intelligence.

Sapiens. Hariri, Yuval Noah.

The fourth industrial revolution: a primer on Artificial Intelligence. Kelnar, David

@danberger | @mpioregon

The work we do

● Administrative planning work will be automated.

● Attendee preferences will follow them around.

● Events will have higher ROI because we will rely less on serendipity.

AI will impact events in many ways.

TREND ALERT

A new generation is entering our industry and bringing its own set of principles.

@danberger | @mpioregon

● Transparency will be one of our core values.

● Trust will be measured digitally.

● We will be more comfortable sharing information with our industry partners.

● Hotel sales professionals will be measured by the success of their meetings.

The way we do business

There will be a culture shift in our industry.

TREND ALERT

Events are getting a facelift as face-to-face becomes more coveted.

Internet Trends 2017 Report. Meeker, Mary.

● User conferences will replace some traditional meetings.

● Large meetings will warehouse smaller ones.

● Influencer marketing will play an important role in driving attendance.

● Influencers will create popup events.

● Festivilized events (“experiences”) will be the norm.

@danberger | @mpioregon

The DNA of events

Attention will be a planner’s most coveted commodity.

TREND ALERT

The meeting planning profession is entering primetime.

● The value of meetings will be universally understood.

● The meeting planning profession will be more respected.

● Meeting planners will interact with executives on a regular basis.

@danberger | @mpioregon

The value we bring

The meetings industry will be taken more seriously.

GROUP DISCUSSION

What did I miss? What are predictions you anticipate?

@danberger | @mpioregon

1. Describe the way the hospitality industry has evolved over the past 2 decades.

2. Discover what the future holds for meetings and events.

3. Examine strategies to manage these changes.

Learning Objectives

@danberger | @mpioregon

Step UpLet the machine do the things that are beneath you and be more strategic.

Step ForwardTake part in constructing the next generation of computing and AI tools.

Step InMonitor and modify the work of machines.

Step NarrowlyFind a specialty within your profession that wouldn’t be economical to automate.

What can you do to stay ahead of the curve?

Step AsidePut your other intelligences (e.g. EQ) to work.

Adapted from Beyond Automation, HBR, 2015

We’re all born with a natural curiosity. We want to learn. But the demands of work and personal life often diminish our time and will to engage that natural curiosity. Developing specific learning habits can be a route to both continued professional relevance and deep personal happiness.

- John Coleman, Passion & Purpose

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Check out slideshare.net/socialtables for this full presentation

● Free diagramming for planners

● Free check-in app for planners(Seating will be free soon, too)

● Free search & discovery platform with access to thousands of floor plans at search.socialtables.com

Free Planner Essentials

Staying in touchtwitter: @danberger

snapchat: @danjberger

email: dan@socialtables.com

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