Demand for organizing corporate events has tripled year on year following the results of the winter season

The persistent shortage of personnel in the market forces companies to look for ways to stimulate staff, one of which is corporate events. The demand for them has almost tripled over the year. This led to a 20–40% increase in spending on organizing such events.

The demand for organizing corporate events at the end of the winter season tripled year on year, according to Avito Services. The selected period included the New Year holidays, February 23 and March 8. The company adds that interest in renting lofts, lounges and other event spaces has increased by 82% year over year. Demand is growing at an accelerated pace: the number of proposals for organizing corporate events, according to Avito Services, increased by 58% over the year, and for renting premises for them – by 46%.

Managing Director of Corporate Business at Vipservice Galina Polishchuk speaks of a twofold increase in the number of requests for events. Director of the Trivio Marketing Department Andrey Baturin also notes an increase in demand more than doubling. MICE director of IBC Corporate Travel Olga Stepanenko reported that her company from January 1 to March 19, 2024 received 45% more requests for organizing corporate events than a year earlier.

Mrs. Polishchuk explains that in addition to seasonal corporate events, companies began to often hold events dedicated to internal occasions, such as entering new markets. Now, she says, the share of educational and motivational events is also growing. Such events are usually not tied to a specific date. Although Mr. Baturin notes that the high season is considered to be the period from September to May, in the summer there is a lull in the market. Managing partner of Ivashkevich Hospitality Stanislav Ivashkevich draws attention to the fact that business structures have begun to combine formats more often, holding, for example, banquets after specialized events.

Galina Polishchuk calls corporate events one of the tools of HR strategy. “They cannot be avoided: employees look forward to corporate parties, considering them rightly deserved for their efforts and results,” says Andrey Ruban, head of the Ward Howell leadership development department. In his opinion, this helps maintain staff loyalty and engagement.

At the same time, Mr. Baturin does not rule out that high activity in the corporate events segment is associated with pent-up demand and the situation on the labor market. According to HeadHunter, the total number of vacancies in Russia increased by 30% year-on-year in January, and by 31% in February. Vladimir Putin drew attention to the problem of a shortage of specialists in certain areas as part of his message to the Federal Assembly, announcing the launch of the national project “Personnel” (see “Kommersant” on March 1).

HR Director of Uralenergotel Elena Kosolapova says that in addition to traditional holidays, her company is now organizing an event for the company’s birthday and an annual corporate rafting in August. “During a period of shortage of engineering and working personnel, many candidates choose an employer precisely on the level of values ​​and a similar corporate culture,” she notes.

Olga Stepanenko explains that corporate events are held at various venues – in lofts, restaurants, hotels, conference rooms, and recreation centers. Budgets for events, she said, increased by an average of 20% over the year. “This is due to the general increase in prices for renting premises, equipment, catering, fees for presenters and artists,” she lists. In some cases, according to the expert, fees have increased by 40%.

Avito Services notes that the average cost of renting a site in Russia as a whole is now 1.5 thousand rubles. at one o’clock. Year on year the value increased by 46%. Galina Polishchuk also talks about the growth of event budgets. This trend will continue for some time, she notes. Stanislav Ivashkevich, at the same time, draws attention to the fact that the final cost of renting the site remains the subject of negotiations with a specific customer; against this background, price increases are partially limited by the budgets that the organizers had previously determined.

Alexandra Mertsalova