Planning and pulling off a memorable meeting is no easy feat. The blowout budgets of yesterday are rapidly shrinking yet coordinators of corporate events are still expected to execute fresh, forward-thinking meeting events. To avoid boring your guests and to create high caliber, hassle-free experiences, meeting planners need to shake things up in 2014.

Spring is the time to ditch stale ideas and start anew. Think about a farm-to-table feast or a cycling excursion complete with custom bikes. Use social media to generate buzz beyond the water cooler and make meeting apps user-friendly and actually fun. Whether you’re organizing large conferences or putting together intimate employee outings, these top five meeting trends can help turn your next event into the talk of the season.

Utilizing interactive mobile meeting apps
The mobile app trend isn’t going away any time soon. Meeting planners are tapping into the trend, setting up mobile meeting apps for corporate events. Innovative new mobile apps like Meeting Play help planners keep track of RSVPs and make checking in effortless. Meeting-goers stay engaged with easy access to online discussions and interactive games and can deliver feedback with just a touch.

Infusing meetings with social media #starttweeting
Mobile meeting apps boost the efficiency and effectiveness of events, particularly when equipped with social media features. Attendees can connect and communicate with smartphones or tablets using sites such as shhmooze.com and can let others know about upcoming meetings. Further, planners are hashtagging up a storm in order to encourage employees to tweet about events and ask questions. It’s #genius.

Designing once-in-a-lifetime, multi-sensory meetings
Meetings are meant to inspire. The same-old-same-old just doesn’t cut it anymore — a golf outing is nice, but been there, swung at that. Now planners are stepping it up with an element of escape and surprise. Creating unique sensory experiences facilitates team building and bonding and sets the tone for future events. Whether it’s a group horseback ride or a west coast fitness retreat, “work-related activity” has taken on a whole new meaning.

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