Wellness at Meetings: Learn From These Planners

The Incentive Research Foundation surveyed over 100 planners on wellness practices they’ve implemented in their meetings.

The respondent profile predominately consists of planners who:

• Plan numerous meetings of various types throughout the year, some more than 10
• Plan a mix of sales meetings, conferences and trade shows, and incentive travel
• Plan meetings most commonly between 100 and 500 attendees

An interesting finding from the survey revealed that the same practices that received high marks from some planners, were deemed unsuitable for others.

You can’t please everyone, but knowing what the majority of your audience is interested in will help you to select the right wellness features. Survey attendees before (if possible) or after the meeting to better utilize the session content. Some activities may not work because they are not marketed well or lack connection to the meeting strategy. The way wellness and sustainability are communicated is half the battle, knowing what attendees want is the other.

Here are wellness offerings planners said worked for their meetings:

Group Fitness

• Morning/Afternoon fit walks or 5k
• Gamification with prizes to encourage participation
• Yoga/fitness sessions
• Cycling to venue
• Geocache/Scavenger Hunts
• Team Building

Healthy Eating

• Chef taught lessons on how to make a healthy meal, then serve that meal for lunch/dinner
• Locally-sourced/organic ingredients
• Low calorie/Low sodium meals/snacks

Wellness Checks

• Acupuncture
• Skin Rejuvenation
• Massages
• Blood Pressure Checks
• Meditation
• Stretching
• Health Awareness

Creative Experiences

• Artistic projects
• Puppy Play Session
• Speakers

Sustainability 

• Zero Waste/Reduced Waste Meetings

See the full survey results from the Incentive Research Foundation here: The IRF Wellness in Meetings and Incentive Travel Study