MEETINGS AND EVENTS

While most meetings and events are on hold for the time being, the rollout of vaccines means we may soon see a return of business gatherings, though they will look a little di erent to before.

Here, we round-up the programmes in place to keep delegates safe – from hybrid events, which combine in-person attendance and virtual participation, to the necessary safety measures such as temperature checks and testing procedures.

Accor

Last year Accor introduced its All Meet Well initiative at 135 hotels in its brand portfolio in Northern Europe. e meetings and events are run according to the group’s ALLSAFE cleanliness programme, with features including: • Daily cleaning during evenings and lunch breaks, including disinfecting light switches, door handles, chairs, tables, hangers and consoles • Vacuum cleaners equipped with

HEPA lters • Cleaning checklists for event organisers prior to meetings taking place is month (April 2021), the group will launch ‘All Connect’, a new hybrid meetings concept powered by Microso Teams technology. e initiative will allow corporate customers and meeting planners around the world to combine “physical in-hotel meetings with virtual interactions across multiple locations”. e concept focuses primarily on smaller meetings of eight to 50 participants, which will take place on the Microso Teams platform.

Today, 55 per cent of Accor hotels with meeting rooms provide hybrid meetings solutions to their clients. e goal is that 100 per cent of its hotels with meeting rooms comply with the new hybrid meetings standard by 2022 across all brands, from economy to ultra-luxury worldwide.

Research by Accor reveals 50 per cent of physical meetings planned by the company’s meeting and events customers in 2021 will switch to virtual formats. More than 70 per cent view hybrid meetings as an important service in the future.

ABOVE: Hilton Eventready with Cleanstay LEFT: Accor launches ‘All Connect’ with Microsoft teams this month (April) BELOW: Accor ALLSAFE

Hilton

e group has extended its cleaning protocols to event experiences, calling it Hilton Eventready with Cleanstay. e key features include: • Room seals, sanitising stations and a room checklist • Flexible pricing, space options and contract terms • Simpli ed agreements for small meetings • A playbook o ering guidance and resources to plan meetings • Physical distancing meal service • Dedicated team members to provide assistance to event planners e group also recently introduced a set of solutions to help event planners organise hybrid meetings at participating hotels around the world. e “hybrid ready” hotels include seamless connectivity, a playbook o ering advice on planning this kind of event, and expertise from dedicated team members.

Select hotels will also have Presentation Stages: re-built stages which are equipped with broadcast technology and staging equipment to record and/or broadcast a high-quality online event. is currently only applies to Conrad Fort Lauderdale Beach, Hilton Atlanta, Hilton Anatole, Hilton Denver and e Beverly Hilton, but is set to be rolled out across Europe, Middle East and Africa by the end of the year. Properties equipped with such event technology will accommodate between two to six on-site presenters and up to 50 in-person attendees.

Hyatt

Hyatt is allowing meetings to simultaneously take place across various properties in Asia Paci c, Europe and the Middle East through a hybrid format. Content can be broadcast to meeting rooms across multiple hotels, allowing attendees around the world to safely connect and engage.

Each location can house 15 attendees and features include wireless internet, a dynamic device with multiple built-in cameras and microphones, a video monitor, and two ipcharts. e meetings and events abide by Hyatt’s Global Care and Cleanliness Commitment, with features including: • Sanitisation of meeting rooms before and a er use • Hand sanitiser stations and ‘care stations’ with PPE • Signage to remind guests of social distancing • Increased usage of linen-less tables where possible • Sanitisation and disinfection of AV equipment between uses • Pre-packaged food items, and bu ets with plexiglass coverings and sta to serve hot dishes measures implemented at all hotels.

Onsite rapid COVID-19 testing:

Provided by Wellness 4 Humanity, testing solutions are available as an option for meeting planners.

Digital collaboration technology:

Provided by weframe to increase collaboration amongst meeting attendees, weframe One, an interactive 86-inch touch screen is a cloud-based technology allowing onsite and remote participants to work collaboratively. Expert Solution: Initially available at nearly 100 hotels in the U.S., Europe, the Middle East and Asia, planners can choose to upweight the Smart Solution with additional services, including: • Virtual technology experiences, with planners able to utilise a full suite of hybrid meeting capabilities allowing in-person and virtual attendees to connect, in addition to advanced audio-visual production and multi-venue linking. • Curated food and beverage experiences, with Williams Sonoma o ering an exclusive catalogue of specialty food, drinks and dessert experiences delivered to o site attendees. It gives all participants a shared meeting experience with opportunities for personalisation.

ABOVE: Hyatt Place Dubai Al Rigga BELOW: IHG Way of Clean

IHG Hotels and Resorts

In 2020, IHG Hotels & Resorts introduced its Meet with Con dence programme to support the changing needs of meeting planners. Last month (March) the programme was expanded to include resources, technology and tools for hybrid events. ese hybrid capabilities can simultaneously connect multiple hotel locations to regional and global business and leisure events through live streaming, creating more shared experiences for virtual and in-person attendees. e hotel group has formed partnerships in the U.S. with Wellness 4 Humanity, Williams-Sonoma, Inc. and weframe providing solutions spanning rapid onsite COVID-19 testing; customised food and beverage experiences; and technology to enable digital collaboration. Bookers and planners can choose from two hybrid events solutions – Smart and Expert – to plan the right experience for in-person and virtual attendees across one or multiple locations. New options include: Smart Solution: e Smart Solution is available at participating IHG Hotels & Resorts globally, except in Greater China. IHG Way of Clean: At the core of the programme, with enhanced cleanliness, social distancing and safety

THE EVENT OUTLOOK 93%

of organisers plan to invest in virtual events moving forward

76%

of planners executed a virtual event in 2020

Marriott

Marriott launched a ‘Connect with Con dence’ programme last year, which includes enhanced sanitation guidelines, new operational training for associates, and increased use of conference technologies. Hotel teams will consult with clients to review new practices including: • More frequent cleaning in high tra c areas and during breaks • Hand sanitiser stations • Social distancing of attendees • Contactless registration • Touchless payment options via

Marriott’s Meeting Services app • Removal of non-essential items such as linens, pre-set plates and glassware • Pre-packaged, grab-and-go or plated meals, and modi ed bu ets • Sanitised AV equipment • Live streaming support to facilitate hybrid meetings with virtual attendees e Marriott Bonvoy Events team has also created a series of physically distant oor plans to help event planners visualise room con gurations.

As part of the group’s ‘Connect with Con dence’ programme, Marriott is also o ering COVID-19 tests to meetings customers at selected properties in the US. is can either be self-administered by the guest prior to travel or by a third-party testing provider on site at the hotel.

Additionally, there will be daily and/or pre-arrival health screening questions via a dedicated mobile app, and daily temperature checks to enter the event area. e initiative is currently active at Marriott’s Gaylord Hotels in Florida, Tennessee, Texas and Colorado, with plans to roll it out to certain other Marriott branded hotels in the US.

In January 2021, Marriott held an event at Gaylord Rockies Resort and Convention Center for 100 in-person attendees and 800 virtual attendees. Survey results from the event revealed that 51 per cent of meeting and event professionals plan to host a hybrid event within the next six to 12 months, and 95 per cent of attendees said that they would attend another event if it were to be designed with the same principles. e group will also provide new resources for hybrid meetings and events, including providers and pricing, from March 2021 at Marriott Hotels across the US and Canada. is will be available globally “in the near future”.

Marriott has also released a ‘Hybrid Meetings Insights Report’, available to download atmarriottbonvoyevents.com

6x – 8x

the number of registrations virtual events often capture compared to the equivalent live event

(Source: Post Covid-19 Event Outlook Report)

CLOCKWISE FROM BELOW:

Marriott’s virtual event at Gaylord Rockies Resort and Convention Center; Connect with Confidence as been rolled out at Gaylord Hotels in Florida

3D platforms take centre stage

As hybrid meetings and events have taken o , so too has the technology to host them, with the Middle East region’s first 3D virtual events platform, eve, proving a big hit.

The brainchild of Mohammed Tayem, CEO and founder of UAE-based events and marketing agency, Entourage, and o icially launched in July last year in response to the pandemic, eve is a customisable platform with integrated features such as video conferencing, live chat and e-commerce, live studio integration, one-on-one meeting rooms, backstage management and streaming.

More than 50 virtual events were executed on eve from September to November, including several that took place during the G20 Leaders’ Summit, which was staged virtually from November 21 to 22. It enabled high-profile leaders from across the global to connect to Riyadh where sessions were being live-streamed.

Eve has also successfully hosted the international WETEX conference for DEWA Dubai, the All Levels of Trauma Care of AOS USA, the famous music and creators experience Payne Play City, UK, and a major Arab concert attended by more than 200,000 people.

The platform translated WETEX – an events that has taken place physically for the last 20 years – to a 3D virtual world.

In an interview with AME.info, Tayem revealed this took three months of customisation, working with 385 exhibitors, four main stages, six live workshops, five live language translations and creating the exhibitor portal.

The platform has also been used to replicate the o ice environment of an international pharmaceutical company. Employees could attend work virtually in a 3D environment identical to the real-life set up. Each employee was invited to create his/her own avatar to attend meetings, return to their workstations, chat, share ideas and conduct business as usual.

Eve, which is now working with schools to create similar virtual environments, has already hit one million users.

Tayem says demand for 3D virtual concepts is rocketing, with malls, retail outlets and travel and tourism all reaching out.

Radisson Hotel Group

e group has partnered with certi cation company SGS to create a 10-step protocol for meetings and events spaces in its worldwide locations. Guests will have their personal belongings safely handled in designated areas, while stationary items will be placed in a “disinfect box” a er events. Further features include: • Sanitising stations • Increased cleaning and disinfection • Improved air circulation processes • Door hangings detailing the cleaning and disinfection information • Frequent cleaning and disinfection of co ee machines

A hotel event manager will also be on hand to assist with requests via a device. e protocols are adapted to local requirements and recommendations based on the location of the hotel.

Radisson has also partnered with communication platform Zoom to facilitate virtual and hybrid meetings.

Tim Cordon, Area Senior Vice President Middle East & Africa, Radisson Hotel Group, says hybrid solutions are not only convenient, but provide “a great opportunity for any organisation to progress its sustainability mission, as the carbon footprint is greatly reduced without completely eliminating true human connection”.

Helping guests to stage hybrid meetings also ties in with Radisson’s Responsible Business Strategy, which aims to reduce the company’s carbon and water footprint by 10 per cent until 2022. Radisson Meetings has also forged a global partnership with First Climate, one of the world’s largest carbon o set organisations, to achieve a 100 per cent carbon neutral meetings goal. By automatically o setting the carbon footprint for every single meeting and event taking place at its hotels, Radisson Hotel Group already o sets more than 38,300 CO2e-tones annually, which is the equivalent of taking 8,300 cars o the road per year. Encouraging meeting planners to support the cause and make sustainability a part of their meeting, Radisson says it aims to be “the brand of choice for sustainability minded and environment friendly meetings.”