London Meetings & Conferences Report 2019

Online Venue Booking Makes Waves in London Business

Tagvenue, one of the world’s fastest growing online venue hire platforms, is delighted to present a data-driven industry report on meetings and conferences in London. Based on data collected from its digital platform in 2017 and 2018, the study covers trends and insights into online venue booking in the London area. The report separates the findings into two categories: meetings and conferences.

London is the #1 EMEA city for meetings and events. The business events market is growing rapidly, with conferences and meetings generating approximately £18.1 billion of expenditure. So, what is the current state of the corporate events industry in London? What are the 2019 meeting trends?

What’s the difference between meetings and conferences?

As mentioned above, this market study covers meetings and conferences in London separately. The names sound similar, but what are the main differences between these two?

Meeting	Conference
Average of 14 delegates	Average of 75 delegates
Booked about 19 days in advance	Booked about 75 days in advance
Standard boardrooms, classrooms, quirky hotels and converted venues	University lecture theatres, contemporary hotel suites and industrial-type versatile venues

So, where does the money go? The data speaks for itself:

Meetings | London-based businesses spent 20% less per person on meetings in 2018

Costs

Average Daily Delegate Rate (for meetings) 2017 vs 2018 — The average daily delegate rate decreased by 20% from 58.28 GBP in 2017 to 46.50 GBP in 2018.

Average spent per meeting in London 2017 vs 2018 — The average spend per meeting decreased by 1.9% from 670.88 GBP in 2017 to 657.77 GBP in 2018.

The average daily delegate rate decreased by 20% year-on-year from 58.28 GBP to 46.50 GBP.
On the other hand, the average spend per meeting remained virtually the same, decreasing only by 1.9% from 670.88 GBP in 2017 to 657.77 GBP in 2018.

Average price per person per hour vs room type in 2018 (meetings) — The average price per person per hour for a quirky, unconventional meeting room or creative space in 2018 was 7 GBP, while the average price per person per hour for a standard meeting room in 2018 was 5.10 GBP.

The average hourly rate for an unconventional meeting room is slightly higher than for a traditional one. Quirky meeting rooms vary highly in pricing – some are more affordable, others are very expensive. Standard meeting rooms are usually affordable or averagely priced.

Size

The average size of meetings increased by 16% from 12 delegates in 2017 to 14 in 2018.

Locations

The most popular London districts for meetings in 2018 included: the City of London, Kensington, Fitzrovia, Farringdon, Spitalfields, Bermondsey, Shoreditch, Bethnal Green, Kings Cross and Belgravia.

Have a look at our interactive heatmap with the most popular meeting locations in London to see more details:

Timings

The most popular days of the week for meetings in 2018 were Thursdays, followed by Wednesdays and Tuesdays.

Meeting booking share in 2018 per day of the week — Meeting bookings share in 2018 per day of the week.

Trends

53.8% of meeting rooms booked in 2018 were categorised as quirky, unconventional and creative spaces, while 46.2% were considered standard meeting rooms.

Meetings bookings share in 2018 per room type — 53.8% of meeting rooms booked in 2018 were categorised as quirky, unconventional and creative spaces, while 46.2% were considered standard meeting rooms.

Which types of meeting spaces were popular in London? Here’s a short list of the most sought-after kinds:

Unconventional spaces

The Bedouin Tent at 78 Bishopsgate (St. Ethelburga’s)
Sunnyvale at Huckletree Shoreditch
The Terrace at The Collective Venues – Bedford Square

Affordable, standard meeting rooms

Meeting / Conference Room at Meeting Room near London Liverpool St

Quirky hotel meeting rooms

Flexible creative spaces

Will the same tendencies be visible in 2019 meeting trends? We are yet to know – stay tuned!