Learning from the Pandemic - The VIP’ification of Events

By Jeremy Gross

This past year has challenged the events community in ways that we never could have imagined. We watched as our beloved events and community gatherings were forced to take a hiatus and sadly, we also had to say goodbye to some that were unable to weather this monumental storm. Many have been placed into a state of “hurry-up-and-wait” and have pondered the future of our industry. When can we go back to normal? What will events look like after the pandemic? What will normal look like next season, next year, over the next 5 years? Should we go back to normal? These are all fair questions that everyone has asked many times over this last year. The uncertainty of the future has shifted our perspectives and will challenge us to go even further beyond what we thought we could accomplish to create a new model that can weather this and future storms.

Going forward first requires us to reflect upon the lessons we have learned this past year. As we approached that fateful day in March, Vail’s events were in full swing as we always are that time of year. We had just finished hosting the Burton US Open in late February and were preparing to welcome other large scale, spring events such as Taste of Vail, Spring Back to Vail, Vail Film Fest and Powabunga as the ski season began to wind down ahead of a vibrant summer schedule.

As the disease spread reached the US, then Colorado, I could sense that inevitable call to cancel our events. As the state and county announced positive cases and shutdowns, we began to notify key individuals and local media outlets of our intentions and there was little more to do than to wait and watch.

Those first few days and weeks, we all hoped that a short two-week break would be enough to get the disease spread under control. With every day that passed, it became clearer that we needed to look much farther down the line. We closed our offices, put all remaining events on hold and sent everyone home as we watched and waited for the next phone call or zoom meeting with county or state leaders, or the next press conference from Dr. Fauci. Through the last few weeks of March, as the length of the shutdown became clearer, a new strategy was formulated. We worked with the event producers of those last few spring events to make the incredibly difficult decision to cancel or postpone, a huge economic and emotional blow for our community. We discussed new dates for events, without the slightest idea on when the situation would improve. Short postponements turned into full year delays and cancellations.

Over the next few months we watched as our community modified its behaviors and products to better serve the essential workers and our neighbors. From distilleries producing hand sanitizer, to event producers setting up a COVID testing center, and our restaurants feeding those in need, we banded together at remarkable speeds. Events were temporarily a distant memory. As time went on though, we saw opportunities to gather. In late spring, we started working with our summer event partners on plans to adapt to the pandemic and our new normal.

At the Town of Vail, we consider special events part of the fabric of our community. We saw demand for visitors very early on as people were escaping cities. To meet the needs of our business community and the guests that were coming to town, we rebuilt a robust summer events schedule and were fortunate to be able to host many of our regular events as scheduled, though, all with a great deal of adjustment which we never expected to undertake. These adjustments are now, just one year later, considered to be normal practice, but at the time, these were monumental changes that would need to be strategized to ensure success.

Our weekly, open air, open gate, farmers market now reduced the number of vendors in half to support social distancing and instituted a ticketing system and capacity restrictions. Arrows now indicated one-way directional traffic flow and a new online store was created to purchase goods for pickup for those guests who were not ready to return to in-person shopping.

What historically had been a gathering of 20,000-30,000 people enjoying our 4th of July parade, shoulder to shoulder, was now a flipped parade model. Our partners set up exhibits, or installations, around town and invited guests to move, instead of the floats. This created a full day event instead of what had been a mere 2 hours of enjoyment and allowed our community to enjoy the moment while allowing parties to spread out and move at their own pace. That was until, as if on schedule, Colorado’s infamous weather reminded us that Mother Nature could not be bested as it delivered torrential rain, forcing families to scatter. The bumper to bumper line of cars leaving the garages and families lining up for lunch reservations was alleviated. For the fireworks, we moved the launch site to a higher elevation to allow for the show to be visible from more areas of Town, even from the tops of the parking structures and the frontage roads for guests to watch from their cars. While it was not ideal, this challenge provided an opportunity to rethink what we had been doing for years and we were ultimately able to still meet the needs of even the most particular guest.

We were able to support our vendors and event production partners with opportunities we would have not otherwise worked with at this time of year. With very few events taking place in the state, we were able to rent a mobile stage and PA for 10 weeks to setup a new turn-key concert venue. The park that was historically off limits for events, had ample room for social distancing, and with the addition of painted squares on the grass for distanced seating areas as well as easy to deploy perimeter fencing and stage sound at the flip of a switch, we were able to create a new event that we foresee becoming a staple on our calendar. By putting our resources into creating a venue that is easy and inexpensive to operate, we were able to invite new producers that were displaced from their original venue to host concerts in the park.

Through all of our event modifications, we attempted to meet our guest’s needs as best we could at their comfort levels to ease the transition into this new normal.

What do these events have in common with all events prior to the pandemic? Overwhelming ingenuity and creativity! Event producers are innately creative by design, but when faced with a challenge, stand back! We regularly create magic as we turn parking lots, ball fields and streets, into concert venues, art galleries, markets and race courses. The original plans for all pre-pandemic events were certainly creative, but how long had they operated under the status quo because they could? If not for the pandemic, would we have adjusted or just kept going? There was no need to ask if legacy events could or even needed to be rethought, reimagined, and reinvented.

Now is the time to consciously evaluate your events and the guest experience with your team and ask the important question, how can we make this better and importantly, can this event last though another 2020?

One common theme we noticed at many of the events last summer was the VIP’ification of the guest experience. When a beer fest is limited to 175 people at a time and run with multiple ticketed sessions, lines are dramatically reduced, and more space is created in what was often an overwhelming event. Brewers now have more time to interact and connect with guests, and the PA can be set to a lower volume to decrease the inevitable event exhaustion. When a parade turns into exhibits and lasts all day, you can eliminate the need for costly rolling road closures and safety and security staff. All the while exposing more businesses to more guests who would have otherwise not moved through town if they had instead set up camp in one spot to watch. You can spread out the traffic throughout the day so all 30,000 people aren’t all trying to eat, shop or drive away at the same time.

Timed entry for vendor-based events (farmers markets and art festivals) created a sense of urgency to buy. The public health requirement for more hand washing stations and restrooms meant shorter lines. Increased seating with social distancing allowed guests to have their own space. While not the red carpet, catered food and open bar of a true VIP offering, these event elements can elicit the feeling of a more VIP experience.

These changes to our events had real impacts both positive and negative. The revenue model for instance is significantly different when you are limited to 175 guests at a time compared to 1000+. Each event producer will need to carefully evaluate their organizations’ goals and their budgets to make this model work if it is right for your event.

Some of the main ways to make the budget work are increased ticket price, increased sponsorship revenue or decreased expenses. Here are a few thoughts to challenge the status quo thinking on these topics.

If you are creating a better guest experience with the operational changes, can you tack on a few dollars to your ticket price?

If you are spreading out the crowd over a longer time and creating a more conducive atmosphere for sponsors to engage with the guests, can you charge more for the sponsorship or find new sponsors who are looking for high quality guest interactions? Will less dense crowds make it easier to see the sponsor banners on the stage/ perimeter fence/signs/etc. Can you add an extra session at the end of the event for a sponsor only experience? What were your traffic patterns in 2020 B.C. (Before COVID)? Did 10,000 people all come at once or did they stream through at a steady pace over 12 hours? Would it negatively affect the guest experience if you had timed entry or would it just give the perception of less crowds and the VIP’ification with little to no additional cost?

Can you save money on the venue setup if you are using a smaller footprint for more “sessions”? It should take less fencing, less security, less PA, to setup a venue for 500 people at a time instead of a large open venue with unrestricted access.

Can you balance the savings of less personnel with the increase in hours operating multiple sessions of an event? How can you sell sponsorships on the quality of your audience, and the interaction with them, compared to the quantity of impressions?

These are just a few of the 1000’s of questions you can ask yourself and your team. The important thing is that you ask them before it’s too late. How many chances do you think we will get to completely re-invent what we do in our lifetimes?

Conclusion

Countless studies have been conducted and thousands of cities and towns have anecdotal evidence on top of that to support the return to large scale events. Beyond the financial benefits of large events, there are social and emotional benefits that need to be considered. I am not lobbying for large, small, VIP, paid, free, or anything else. I am just hoping we all can take some time to reflect on the last year and a half and learn some things from it. There has been so much scary change over the last year in the immediate response to the pandemic, that some operational or programming changes to your events should be a walk in the park.

Jeremy Gross is the Special Event Coordinator at the Town of Vail in Vail, Colorado. He has been in the special event industry since 2012, working in the resort communities of Vail and Beaver Creek and for the municipalities of the Town of Vail and the Town of Eagle in Colorado. Some career highlights have been working on the 2015 World Alpine Ski Championships and the Xterra World Championships, though the 50 competitor river surfing competitions, snowshoe races, and small-town parades bring a lot of joy and fulfillment.

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