In a constantly changing world of trends and technology increasingly being developed to offer more, or featuring something that stands out of the norm, it is important for Hotels to, similarly, be changing to keep relevant.

The team at Royal Palm Hotel, headed by General Manager – Simon Bailey, have been gathering information on the latest trends in the conferencing world – some from their own experiences and  some of the trends seen by colleagues so far this year.

1. What’s on offer: The standard conference should no longer just offer the venue as it is, but should incorporate add-ons in order to make it an experience that customers will want to come back to. “More and more we are seeing conferences offering branded water and other extras on the table, that customers can take with them as keepsakes,” says Simon Bailey (General Manager: Royal Palm Hotel). Stimulating textured or colourful sweets, nuts or similar can also be added in place of mints which are normally seen in conference venues. The sweets will not only be an enjoyable extra, but will also give the delegates increased energy which may allow them to focus better and enjoy more presentation time. Generally, common estimates of the attention span (time that people are fully-engaged) of a healthy person is approximately 10 to 20 minutes, before a break is needed. Apart from attending to the details once you have the conference booked, it is also important to make your offering attractive for potential customers, by incorporating more complimentary items into the deal, such as lunch, PA system and projector, WIFI connection, free parking, and more. “We believe in value and quality, and it is for this reason we offer a number of complimentary items within our conferencing packages,” Bailey adds.

2. Getting active: Although most professionals do not enjoy having to interact or get involved in a conference they have been invited to attend, the addition of interactive activities, ice breakers as well as having a variety of speakers with different topics and styles, has become somewhat of a trend. Some conferences also incorporate digital aspects to help add an element of interest.

3. Chain-conferencing: Mutli-day sessions are becoming popular in 2018. Instead of a one day conference where all the information needs to be covered in a few hours, businesses are opting to host more than one conference day in order to achieve a better understanding from the attending delegates. For these conferences, especially if it is a conference that is hosting entrepreneurs or business professionals, WIFI is a must-have offer.

4. Multi-functional: Large venues that can be divided into smaller rooms have also become popular. This is also beneficial for the establishment hosting the event, as they are able to then host more than one conference simultaneously, without the interference of one another. It is also popular for establishments to offer their boardroom for more intimate meetings.

Whatever conference you are looking at hosting, look at ways of making it different in order to grab and keep the attention of your delegates. Looking for a conference venue in uMhalnga, look no further than Royal Palm Hotel. For more information contact 031 581 8000.