89% of companies to go virtual for Christmas this year

A survey of corporate event professionals has found that 89% of businesses are actively seeking virtual Christmas parties this year, as an alternative to the traditional Christmas party.

With any prospect of in-person festivities dealt a final blow by the government’s three tier lockdown system and tightened restrictions across the nation, businesses are looking at online parties to take the place of the traditional Christmas festivities.

Hire Space surveyed its Hire Space Professional clients, who in usual times book corporate socials, conferences, launches and events through the platform.

It comes amid a wider trend of businesses switching to online events during the pandemic, with recent research finding that 94% of businesses plan to run an virtual event in the next 12 months.

Tushar Agarwal, CEO of HubbleHQ, London’s largest flexible office space platform, is one such advocate of online events: He said “Christmas parties are really important for our company culture, but we clearly can’t hold one as usual this year. We’re going virtual instead, with some brilliantly innovative options available in the market.”

With research by ticketing platform Eventbrite finding that companies traditionally splash out almost a billion pounds on Christmas parties for their employees, the demand for virtual events is likely to grow.  

Will Swannell, co-founder of Hire Space, said: “The virtual market is huge at the moment, with companies hosting everything from conferences to product launches online. Success depends largely on creativity, which is why our Big Top Christmas party product is so proving so popular.”