Event planners juggle lean budgets, AI hesitation

VenueNow's latest survey of event organisers across Australia and New Zealand points to tighter budgets, shorter booking lead times and continued hesitation about using artificial intelligence in day-to-day planning.

The Annual Outlook Survey drew 335 responses from professionals responsible for organising small meetings, conferences, gala dinners, team offsites and Christmas parties. It found that event planning remains an add-on duty for most respondents, with many balancing it alongside other workplace responsibilities.

According to the survey, 87% of respondents take on event planning duties alongside their primary roles. Executive, personal and other assistants formed the largest single group of respondents at 35%. Office, administration and business support roles accounted for 25%, while event managers and coordinators represented 18%.

Budget pressure

Cost-of-living concerns featured heavily in the results. Four in 10 respondents, or 39.6%, cited it as the biggest trend set to impact events over the year ahead. Separately, 65% said budget constraints had the greatest influence on how and where events were planned over the past year.

The survey also asked where planners would spend if they had more room in budgets. More than a third, 37%, said additional funds would go to food and beverage.

Faster booking

The survey suggests shorter planning cycles. It found that 85.4% of respondents plan to book events within a zero to six-month window.

Speed of response from venues also emerged as an expectation. More than two-thirds of respondents, 76%, said they expect a response from a venue within 24 hours.

The results also pointed to a preference for bundling services through venues. Some 76.2% of respondents said they would opt to rely on the ease of in-house audio-visual providers.

AI questions

Despite increased attention on AI across corporate functions, the survey found a large share of planners remain uncertain about its role in events work. Almost half, 49%, said they were unsure about using AI in 2026. A further 29% said they do not plan to use it at all.

Concerns about data privacy led the reasons for hesitation, cited by 30% of respondents. Uncertainty about how to use AI tools effectively ranked next at 24%.

"Our research confirms people are stretched, and there's a real appetite for anything that saves time and makes peoples' often-multifaceted jobs easier," said Jake Dimarco, CEO, VenueNow.

Dimarco also pointed to changing expectations around the format and experience of events.

"At the same time, the biggest trend respondents want to leave in 2025 is one-size-fits-all, cookie cutter events. These professionals want to be empowered to succeed with their output, all with the right tools in their corner.

"Filling knowledge gaps about how AI can ease processes in the events industry is a clear way forward. Used well, AI has the potential to take on time-consuming admin, from building event checklists to helping planners quickly find and compare venues, meaning people can focus on the creative side of bringing events to life," said Dimarco.

Speaker wish-list

The survey included a question on dream keynote speakers. Barack Obama and Michelle Obama received 24% of responses as a combined choice. The results also listed Mel Robbins and Simon Sinek among popular selections.

VenueNow operates an online marketplace for discovering and booking venues and event suppliers across Australia and New Zealand. The company said it is used by hundreds of thousands of event planners, ranging from private organisers to corporate teams, and that it has worked with customers including Google, Amazon, Commonwealth Bank and Woolworths.

The survey results indicate many organisations will continue to run events with leaner budgets and shorter timelines, alongside ongoing debate over how and whether AI tools should feature in planning workflows.