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The Trend Towards Non-Traditional Event Spaces

 

 

Take advantage of non-traditional… 

 

It’s easy to why an event space such as Hinterlands in the uber-trendy Baltic Triangle of Liverpool has won so much business. It represents a new era of industrial chic, a multi-purpose, expansive blank-canvas stretching over 10,500 sq ft that can host a conference or festival, an exhibition or gala dinner and lots more besides. Whether it’s for 10 guests or 1,000, Hinterlands‘ two main event spaces – interconnected with corridors, sprawling staircases and break-out spaces – accommodates them all under one roof while outside is a thriving night-time destination for eating, drinking and shopping.

C & IT magazine calls Hinterlands, “unusual and adaptable to a diverse range of events with a focus towards creative, digital, entertainment and retail”.

Nicholas Baskerville, Venue & Events Director of Hinterlands and its sister space, Constellations, believes the venue represents a new wave of event spaces. “We see a trend emerging that event agencies and the brands they represent are looking for something a little more unusual. The venue has been carefully crafted to accentuate the building’s industrial characteristics, from its vaulted ceilings to its exposed steel structure.” Hinterlands also reflects the trend of maximising new technology. State-of-the-art PAs, multimedia and beacon technology with Hyperopic wifi are standard issue.

So what’s driving this desire for something different? According to Daniela Antognoli, Senior Product Manager at CWT meeting & Events, it’s that delegates don’t want to sit down all day in a staid hotel. “We have constant requests for unusual meeting venues in order to get maximum engagement from the meeting. It comes in tandem with a move to shorter meetings so we no longer organise three-hour sessions anymore, that’s long gone. So have two to three-day events as they have become two, half-day events or an event over one day, from 10am to 5pm.”

Statistics around the globe point to average session lengths decreasing year on year. Not so long ago the average length was 1hr 45 minutes but today, delegates are more likely to sit on a conference chair for 20-30-minute sessions rather than eight hours. They might also enjoy a wellness activity between sessions to get their blood pumping.  The HBAAs Director of Marketing Jenner Carter reckons today’s delegates want “small blasts of inspiration, delivered dynamically and with the opportunity to discuss and interact with the speaker”.

Blog author: Gillian Upton 

 

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