We are busy people. Seriously busy. In this day and age it can sometimes feel as though we are all too busy to focus on one another, let alone ourselves! In the events industry, this rings extremely true, exacerbated by the late nights, early starts and stress that comes with the job.
Luckily, this has been noticed by more than a few individuals and wellbeing, or wellness, is now a huge topic in the media and across many industries. According to Eventwell (2016), the events industry is the fifth most stressful profession, so it’s no surprise that wellness is making its way into the events world too.
Hire Space is delving into the world of wellbeing for 2020 and found five common ‘dimensions of wellbeing’ and the venues that champion these initiatives.
Physical
We all know that good old fashioned exercise brings with it a plethora of health benefits - releasing endorphins, keeping your organs healthy and improving mental state to name a few. In recent times, the benefits of yoga are becoming more and more prominent - the gentle practice can lower anxiety and bring a sense of peace to our busy lives, especially in the events industry. We predict yoga to really infiltrate the industry in 2020.
Venue Spotlight - The National Gallery offers yoga retreats on their Portico Terrace, as well as meditation in parts of the gallery - all of that art and stretching is sure to bring you peace of mind and set you up for a day of very zen conferencing!
Emotional and Social
Ok, so we’ve tied these two together because they are intrinsically linked! We all need people we can talk to, even at events! The conference or event your delegates are attending may be trying to sell or teach them something, but at the end of the day they are all there among like minded people who may be experiencing the same stress they are… so let them talk! Allow for multiple breaks where delegates can simply talk to one another and enjoy some healthy refreshments such as smoothies or superfood bowls.
Venue spotlight - The Barbican has a beautiful conservatory area that people can go and sit in or explore during breaks. It has been decked out with over 2000 species of tropical plants which is sure to promote happiness, positivity and productivity.
Spiritual
Stick with us on this one. There are plenty of ways we can become more spiritual in our personal lives - meditation, detoxing, reading, crystals...the list is endless. This may be slightly more difficult however to incorporate within events. Some events, such as IMEX in Las Vegas last year, rose to the challenge and offered delegates a wellness centre, with free massages and guided meditation. This provided delegates with a quiet space to switch off and reconnect with themselves during a busy period. We love the concept and would be keen to see this rolled out across more venues and large scale events.
Venue Spotlight - Although on a smaller scale, The Ned is one of the latest to curate a focus on wellbeing. Whilst their event spaces are breathtakingly gorgeous and enough to make anyone feel relaxed, this hotel has drawn attention for the use of its award-winning spa during event days - a lunchtime pamper activity by the pool including head to toe female and male grooming? Yes please! Just make sure your delegates remember why they're actually there...
Intellectual
Make sure your content is interesting and educational! If delegates attend the world’s most boring conference, they are going to leave feeling drained and probably a bit negative that they wasted their day. Instead, engaging, stimulating and intellectual content will inspire your delegates and allow them to leave feeling energized and excited to put their new learnings into practise, whatever that may be. Venues who incorporate educational opportunities into their event packages are also a winner in our eyes.
Venue Spotlight - Illuminate at The Science Museum. This brand new, purpose-built event space opened at this famous museum just last year is not only designed specially to mimic natural daylight, but can be hired in conjunction with Wonderlab: The Equinor Gallery, where delegates can get hands on with scientific experiments in their breaks. Everyday’s a school day!
This list is by no means exhaustive: there are a whole array of actions one can undertake in order to improve daily wellbeing and wellbeing of those at our events. Eventwell’s annual Event Wellbeing Day is 26th February this year - you have a few weeks to get all of your self care practices at the ready for your delegates!
If you would like to chat to us about wellbeing or any of our wonderful venues that can help you reach your wellness goals, get in touch with us today at contact@hirespace.com or on our social channels.
Author
Izzie Lachecki
Izzie brings a deep understanding of the events world to Hire Space, and keeps busy by writing lots of Hire Space and EventLAB content and managing the Hire Space social media presence.
