Outdoor Maxxing: Could 30 minutes outside be the most valuable part of your next conference agenda?
The term ‘Maxxing’ seems to be everywhere at the moment. Spend five minutes on TikTok and you’ll come across everything from Hotel Breakfast Maxxing to Nostalgia Maxxing – the idea of making the most of life’s simple pleasures.
What if we applied that same mindset to meetings and events?
For years, we’ve talked about maximising budgets, maximising attendance and maximising ROI. But perhaps we’re overlooking one of the biggest opportunities sitting right outside the meeting room door, says Caroline Dyos, Director of Sales at Storyboard at Holiday Inn Shepperton.
“At Storyboard at Shepperton we are jokingly calling it Outdoor Maxxing,” Caroline explains. “As someone who works with event planners every day, there has been a shift in what clients are asking for, and it’s no longer just about finding a venue with enough meeting rooms or the latest AV technology. They want spaces and experiences that keep delegates engaged from the moment the arrive until the moment they leave, and that often means making better use of outdoor spaces.”
Holiday Inn London Shepperton and its on-site events venue, Storyboard, is set in eleven acres of grounds, and includes a covered riverside terrace that’s increasingly popular with clients looking for alternative spaces for their events. Alongside the outdoor spaces, all of the meeting and event rooms feature floor-to-ceiling windows, bringing in plenty of natural daylight. It’s another simple way to create a brighter, more energising environment for delegates.
“It’s safe to say that the best conversations I’ve seen at events rarely happen around the boardroom table,” she continues. “They happen while people are grabbing a coffee in the sunshine, taking a walk between sessions or chatting over lunch outside. Those unplanned moments are often where relationships are built and ideas take shape.”
There’s growing evidence that stepping outside could do more than simply give delegates a breath of fresh air. A 2025 systematic review and meta-analysis of 80 studies found that exposure to nature was more restorative for cognitive capacity than non-natural environments, with the largest differences seen after around 30 minutes. A change of environment, even for half an hour, can therefore completely reset the energy in the room. Whether it’s moving a breakout session outside, swapping an afternoon coffee break for a team challenge or ending the day with an informal barbecue, those moments help create an event that people actually remember.
This doesn’t mean that every meeting needs to become an outdoor festival! Sometimes a simple change of scenery is enough, making sure outdoor spaces are considered part of the event itself, not just as somewhere people drift through between sessions.
“Storyboard is available for exclusive hire,” Caroline explains. “And this means we can include any of our outdoor spaces as part of the hire for whatever our clients want and need. For some, that includes outdoor teambuilding activities or wellness activities, and for others it’s a simple breakout session on the lawn or a cocktail on the terrace. No two events are the same, and that’s exactly the point!”
As expectations of corporate events continue to evolve, organisers are becoming more creative with how they use every square metre of a venue. Outdoor space isn’t just a nice extra to have in the summer months; it’s an opportunity to build more engaging, memorable and human experiences. For hotels, this makes outdoor space far more than a seasonal amenity. Although ‘Outdoor Maxxing’ may be based on a social media buzzword, it does summarise the thinking behind making the most of the space beyond the meeting room to give delegates a change of scene, fresh air, movement and a more natural way to connect. Because sometimes the best way to get people thinking differently is simply to get them out of the room!
