Ahead of his Oct. 10 IMEX America session, “Design for maximum attendee impact,” CORT Events’ Jack Scafide discusses current and future event furnishing trends.

This year, have there been one or two event seating trends that caught your attention?

Biophilic design has continued to be an important trend not only in commercial and residential applications/structures, but also in events and meetings. The idea behind biophilic design is bringing the outdoors in and creating environments where humans can subconsciously connect with nature. Plenty of greenery, water features and natural materials to allow for meaningful spaces where attendees can be comfortable and engage. We see this trend increasing as we get into 2025.

How, if at all, are you seeing generational differences impact event furnishing needs/desires?

Wellness is a huge trend we’re still seeing at events and meetings. [In light of] COVID, we’re increasingly being asked to provide ideas for “wellness” spaces for attendees to relax, unplug or just space out during programs. Providing these resources to attendees is key in keeping them engaged and onsite. Think specific areas of ballrooms, foyers or meeting rooms, close by the show or general session. These areas can contain, but are not limited to, resources such as charging, quiet spaces, private work pods or lounge furniture. This allows attendees to get the resources they need [without having] to leave to go home or back to their hotel room to seek out those resources. This makes it very easy for attendees to re-engage vs. losing those folks for a day, or even for the remainder of the program.

Is there anything else you’re looking out for in 2025—something in seating or design that you expect to either become popular or perhaps something that planners will kick to the curb?

Attendees are eager to continue to gather in person, so we are phasing out some of the earlier COVID-era items we had. Clear dividers are seeing a regeneration, and many planners are personalizing them and using them as dividers for quiet zones or work spaces.

What key points do you hope attendees will take away from your session, “Design for maximum attendee impact”?

Seating can easily be overlooked when talking to stakeholders. Allowing people to be comfortable and offering varied styles of seating, keeps attendees engaged and helps them absorb whatever the message or purpose of the gathering may be. CORT hopes that our experience being on the front lines of creating environments, we can help educate every level of meetings and events to make the attendee experience as positive as possible. CORT Events doesn’t plan events or meetings, we’re solely in the industry to support and educate our customers so they can succeed in creating the best experiences.