TREND SPOTTER: RENTAL FURNITURE
When’s the last time you took a hard look at the rental furniture you’re using for parties and gala events? The right choice can make — or break — an off-site event. The Buzz checked in with rental furniture specialists to get the skinny on the latest trends. One tip: get modern. “The trend now is a very clean look,” says Vanessa Cancilla, General Manager at RentQuest.“Nothing too funky or creative, just clean, crisp and very white. Everyone wants that clean, modern look.” Another trend? Bringing outdoor furniture inside, and vice versa. “In is out and out is in as a design concept,” says Awny Khashoggi, Creative Director at Unique Option. “A lot of people are leveraging outdoor furniture indoors with natural organic materials like wicker.When you use it indoors, it can become a theme — it adds an element of surprise. You’re not expecting it, so you notice it.” Khashoggi says 30 percent of Unique Options’ rentals this year have been for outdoor furniture for indoor use.

66%
The percentage of respondents to a Champion Exposition Services survey on social media who say they plan on incorporating more digital tools and experiences into their events in the future.

DO YOU WAVE?
Google does it again. The latest buzz-worthy launch by the Internet juggernaut is Google Wave, a tool that allows participants to communicate and collaborate on documents in real time.Wave essentially combines e-mail, instant messaging and social networking into one super-powered messaging system. While it should certainly make chatting with groups of friends more fun, it also holds promise for employees (like, say, show organizers who are logging a lot of time on the road) who need an easy,more efficient way to collaborate with their counterparts in the home office. One key feature: Google Wave allows multiple people to edit copy and documents at one time (think: show copy and collateral) and add other participants throughout the process to get their input. But don’t get too excited; because Google Wave is currently in beta, only limited invites are available right now as Google preps it for a full-scale release. Check out www.google.com/wave for more info.