7 minute read
HOW EVENTS WILL RETURN TO THE CONVENTION CENTERS FROM A PCO PERSPECTIVE
from The PCO - July 2021
by IAPCO
Four leading IAPCO PCOs from LATAM give their thoughts and opinions as to how venues will be affected, and how they need to adapt, from 2021 onwards, to ensure a return of meetings within their facilities.
The statistics compiled from the IAPCO 2020 Member Survey regarding PCO expectations of a venue in terms of their virtual technology offerings revealed that: • 79.5% agreed that they had a strong preference to use external meeting platform suppliers of the PCO choice
• 70.2% agreed that their expectations were that venues should have a full virtual technology infrastructure
• 46% had a strong preference for in-house venue hybrid meeting platform capabilities.
IF VENUES WANT TO HOST ASSOCIATION MEETINGS IN THE FUTURE
Opinion: André Vietor Managing Director, Bco Congresos
In my opinion venues and convention centres should see the future with a degree of optimism as long as they know how to adapt to the changing market requirements.
After more than 12 months of organizing solely virtual events we can already see a certain fatigue of meeting online resulting in a strong desire to meet in person. The meetings formats, however, that will dominate the market tomorrow are Hybrid Events and Hub & Spoke. Both have direct implications for venues who want to host association meetings:
• The meeting size will most probably shrink. The primary reason for using less space than in the past is due to the fact that a percentage of attendees and exhibitors will wish to continue to participate online.
• Creativity and flexibility of venues with regard to meeting design in order to enhance the overall experience of the conference participants will dominate. Venues will have to show an ability to meet the increasing client expectations and to offer innovative solutions in this regard.
• Going Hybrid as well as Hub & Spoke are increasing the overall cost structure of the event for clients and therefore competitive pricing is key to attract them.
• Showing flexibility with regard to postponement or cancellation of the conference relating to Force Majeure, or offering an insurance covering these aspects, will be needed in order to make feel clients comfortable and “safe”. • A more sophisticated infrastructure regarding technology able to deal with live streaming of sessions from all meeting rooms and offering a wide range of technological solutions becomes a must for venues.
One positive aspect of Hub & Spoke events is that several venues will be needed in multiple geographical regions for one and the same meeting. This opens up a whole new range of opportunities for venues to become a satellite hub for a conference connecting with the central hub chosen at a determined location.
For everyone who is part of the business events industry, all we can do at this moment is be prepared to adapt to a fast-changing environment.
WHAT THE ORGANIZERS/ PCOS NEED
Opinion: Vicky Marmolejo, Kenes Group Latin America
We are looking for destinations, venues and local infrastructures which have solid safety protocols in place in order to reduce the health risks at events thus creating an environment where our clients can hold inspiring meetings.
Venues and convention centres which have many of the services needed by conference organizers in-house will benefit, in part by being able to guarantee that strict safety regulations are followed. Those structures which have extensive space will further benefit, making social distancing a possibility even for larger events.
Many of the convention centres around the world are equipped with high-speed internet, essential for broadcasting to virtual audiences and which will be of great importance to attract future bookings. Some venues have made adaptations during the pandemic creating top-notch studios within their facilities, offering a variety of possibilities and creating yet another dimension for hybrid events.
CVBs will have to work closely with their partners to ensure that regulations are correctly implemented and communicated to PCOs. Face-to-face meetings are a crucial component of the world economy and continue to be a strategic tool for associations and companies alike. Having competitive pricing, good protocols in place, and booking flexibility, will all play a part in future bookings.
We believe in the potential of LATAM venues, and we are looking forward to returning to in-person events soon. With the advancement of administered vaccines in the region, the fact that borders are mostly open, conferences and events will, in my view, return in-person very soon to the region.
WHERE ARE THE STATES, THE CITIES?
Opinion: Mariano Castex, Managing Director Latam Region, MCI GROUP
My opinion is not going to say anything new but it needs emphasising.
After a year without any real operations in convention centers and hotels with convention facilities, one can only admire the magic of the administrators of these venues in keeping them open. Indeed, today, many have developed interesting television studios within their facilities, adapting the halls and pavilions to a new reality: that of virtuality.
The issue on which I want to focus is how these structures are going to reach the end of this prohibition to meet. I say this because I think that COVID-19 will not go away. We are going to have to operate meetings whilst living with this virus for many years. Hybridity will be the new reality.
But not knowing when the end will be reached is generating tension between venues and organizers. The flexibility that was key throughout 2020 seems to have faded. The venues
are now asking the organizers for guarantees with their events, guarantees that the organizers are unable to give due to t he variables beyond their control. From the moment an organizer decides to start organising/hosting a meeting, thousands of dollars have to be invested in order for it to be activated - investments that do not have the support of Governments. The organizer also has to manage for 365 days without being able to invoice for any revenue - with debts and many without liquidity.
It is understandable that venues require payments and guarantees in order to maintain their assets. But what I'm wondering is where are the states, where are the cities in this scenario? What role do they play and will they, in the future, play? As is already well known and amply demonstrated, local communities always benefit from holding these meetings which, in turn, implies that cities must also play a role in enabling these meetings to be held in their communities. The states, the cities, need to collaborate to neutralize the financial tensions, with concrete realities.
EDUCATION AND TRAINING THROUGH DIGITAL AND TECHNOLOGICAL TOOLS
Opinion: Alejandro Ramirez Tabche, CEO, BTC, Mexico
The business model has evolved as a result of the global situation; the market today is not only focused on meetings but the communication expectations which demand to stay connected through the different platforms that today have demonstrated an evolution in daily life.
To this end, it is essential that venues and convention centers can accommodate the current needs of education, training and communication through digital and technological tools that generate a low touch experience by adopting measures involving low touch interactions to both the organizer and participant such as optical code reading, facial recognition, streaming, broadcasting, among others.
The market discovered a new form of interaction across customizable digital platforms and, in turn, the events have a lower financial capacity as a result of a battered economy in a recovery process stage.
The industry is aware that it is essential to achieve market re-uptake strategies: finding in exhibitions an opportunity to reactivate the events; obtaining a greater presence of participants eager for interaction; attending to a sociological need of the human being; adapting its duration; and prioritizing the controlled capacity per day.
Venues and convention centers must become a strategic ally of the organizer taking into account the facilities and flexibility that the market itself will demand, both economically and operationally.
