2026 STATE OF VENUE PERFORMANCE · RESEARCH REPORT
Conducted in partnership with AEV, AIPC, and Survey Loop.

Your venue is already great. See the steps to become world class.

Venue leaders rate their own performance a 7.2 out of 10 – a strong foundation. But new research shows even strong operators are sitting on real, measurable performance they can't yet see. This report shows you exactly where it's hiding, and how the highest-performing venues in the world are already capturing it.

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Get the full report

17 pages of data, benchmarks, and operator playbooks — see exactly where your venue's next performance gain is hiding.

300
+
Venue Leaders Surveyed
20
+
Countries Represented
3
M+
Events Analyzed
steve mackenzie
Steve Mackenzie
Chief Innovation Officer, Momentus Technologies
"Ask any venue leader what peak performance looks like, and they can tell you. Ask them how close they are to it today, and most can't answer with confidence. That gap is what this report set out to measure."
TRUSTED BY 4,000+ Venues  WORLDWIDE
What the data reveals

The performance you're missing is hiding in plain sight.

Venues aren't operating at peak performance because they lack ambition or effort. It's because they can't yet see their full operational picture.

87
%
of venues have not reached near-ceiling performance
57
%
aren't tracking the metric that matters most
23
%
estimate losing 11%+ of revenue to leakage
50
%
of teams operate from inconsistent data on the same event
Inside the report

Your roadmap to closing the performance gap.

Five data-backed sections. Real benchmarks. Practical, operational recommendations you can act on this quarter.

01

Performance Today

How close are venues to operating at their full potential? See the answer, benchmarked across the industry.

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Only 13% rate themselves a 9-10
02

The Measurement Gap

Why "success" isn't one metric — and why most venues are tracking the wrong one for their type.

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57% misalignment between practice and priority
03

The Leakage Opportunity

Where revenue is quietly slipping away — missed upsells, unsold space, unbilled services — and how to find it.

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23% estimate losing 11%+ of revenue
04

The Visibility Ceiling

What's really holding growth back — and why it isn't effort, budget, or headcount.

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50% of venue teams work from inconsistent information
05

What Peak Performance Looks Like

The specific, repeatable habits that separate top-performing venues from everyone else.

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79% vs. 10% have structured sales ops

The Central Conclusion

The performance gap is operational, not organizational — and every venue has the opportunity to close it.

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Only 13% rate themselves a 9-10
steve mackenzie
Steve Mackenzie
Chief Innovation Officer, Momentus Technologies
"The highest-performing venues aren't the ones with bigger teams or budgets. Their edge is operational, not structural — which means it's available to any venue willing to build it, regardless of size."

The venues that close this gap first won't just perform better.

They'll make it harder for everyone else to catch up.

Get the full State of Venue Performance report — 17 pages of research, benchmarks, and the operational playbook top performers are already running.