As 2020 comes to a close, we are left with no shortage of questions when considering what the future holds in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The specific details related to timelines, long-term impact, and industry trajectories, in many cases, remain relatively unclear. However, one thing is sure: the events and meeting landscape is forever changed, but not forgotten. While this has been a notably difficult year for everyone that relies on in-person, high-traffic experiences, the importance of in-person gatherings in a corporate setting is well understood across businesses that are now making safety-conscious plans for 2021 events and business travel. The demand for events and meetings has not dissipated; their proposed design has simply received a makeover.

In the coming months, companies must consider their meetings and travel programs under a new, more proactive lens while relying on travel and meetings management technology that can help to simplify and ameliorate the event planning process.

A Hybrid Experience

A recent survey revealed that 63% of planners predict that their companies or clients will host in-person meetings and incentives sometime in the first half of 2021, provided that destinations allow gatherings and health protocols are in place. The design of events will focus on small gatherings at local and regional destinations in favor of large meetings, with attendee and staff safety considerations at the forefront of the planning and implementation process.

The rise of hybrid events that welcome attendees in-person and online presents new engagement opportunities across meetings and events. With the right approach and technology in place, companies now have a chance to expand the reach and impact of their events while connecting with new audiences. With this in mind, convention centers such as Houston's George R. Brown Convention Center have already begun adding hybrid-meetings studios to their venues.

A Closer Look at the New Normal

In the American Express Meetings and Events 2021 Global Meetings and Events Forecast, respondents made a note of the following considerations when deciding to hold an in-person event:

- Confidence in attendee health and safety components (63%)
- Flexible cancellation and attrition terms (59%)
- The capacity to accommodate social distancing (77%)
- Disinfection protocols (52%)

As attendee health and safety concerns and the demand for social distancing remain paramount, venue spaces must offer enhanced transparency and personalization when working with planners on future events. For corporations, a venue's COVID-19 risk-mitigation policy should guide the vetting process for future events. Corporations will require enhanced visibility and streamlined workflows throughout the process.

Technology to the Rescue

There is now a global push from organizations of all sizes for a structured meeting management program to be in place - taking a closer look at the policies and procedures they have in place. Technology is the key to helping companies implement a program and initiate a level of compliance, management, and oversight that may have been on the back burner before the pandemic.

Even though COVID-19 cases are once again starting to rise in the U.S. and abroad, airline and hotel industry executives are saying that seven months of pent-up consumer demand bodes well for the future of the struggling travel business. To rebound and recover safely, companies will have to adhere to new standards in regards to formalized meeting policies, best practices, and cohesive event planning strategy empowered by travel and meeting management technology. What begins as a hybrid of virtual and small in-person events at select, non-traditional venue spaces will gain momentum. Ultimately, the pandemic will likely mean an influx of meetings and events as corporations hit reset in 2021 and strive to make up for lost time and lost opportunities.

Why Professionals say Groupize is the Meetings, Travel, & Risk Management Solution of Choice for your Program.

The whole world is focusing on health and recovery… getting “better”… medically, economically, and collaboratively at our jobs and our schools.

The current global crisis has articulated the importance of strategic partnerships and precise agreements to ensure the mitigation of risk and increases the value and the importance of a meetings program. Visibility and access to negotiated agreements that expose the company to financial and legal obligations emphasize the importance of minimizing risk in addition to access to critical data of meetings category spend and usage. The further conversation surrounding event cancellation insurance and other ways to mitigate risk in future commitments should also be evaluated and possibly implemented into the meeting’s program.

In order to understand how industry experts will approach corporate meetings for the new world, we have to first identify the goals of a meeting management program. What should you care about? Well, each company is likely to have a different answer. Consider the following examples:

• Visibility: Ability to “register all meetings” to a company calendar. How many meetings do we have? How much do we spend?
• Spend Management: Budgets, approvals, invoices, payment method, reconciliation.
• Duty of Care: Where are my travelers attending meetings?
• Savings: You can save 10%-20% with a meetings management program.
• Risk Mitigation: Who is signing hotel contracts?
• Security: Are we using GDPR compliant tools? What about PII?
• Brand Integrity: Do we put our best foot forward?
• Productivity: How much time can we save?

Identifying Savings Opportunities 

It’s also important to identify savings opportunities and, moreover, what savings formula your procurement group has in place: Options may include:

• Year-over-year savings (not apples-to-apples comparisons, but, how much does it matter to you or your organization).
• Savings from budget (business units hold a budget for their events, so how much you helped them to under-run this budget).
• Incremental savings (the differential between last year/last quarter and this quarter – could be savings or dissavings).
• Competitive bid process & negotiations (savings could reflect the difference between the original quote and the final negotiated agreement)

As aforementioned, studies show that corporations can achieve an average of 10% - 20% savings when they implement best practices in sourcing, supplier optimization, processes, and policy compliance. Considering the costs associated with corporate meetings, this is incredibly valuable.

Companies should also consider BAR vs. negotiated transient rates (preferred hotel program) vs. group rates, as this represents a true market comparison. Further, we must take into account average attendee cost year over year (YOY). From a savings perspective, companies should consider multi-property or multi-year agreement savings, group air (ticketing fees & booking window savings), labor savings by moving to self-service, and potential technology savings by not having user fees, lower licensing cost, etc..

Modern Risk Mitigation Measures for Events

While many ‘security checklists’ exist online, not all security needs are universal. You know there are risks to bringing people together, so selecting a venue that has defined, existing protocols can reduce the time you spend on ensuring the health and safety of your attendees.

Going in, you should understand precisely what you are protecting beyond attendees – company secrets? Celebrity or political speakers? Executives? Innovation samples or exhibits? Party crashers? Prior to the meeting, companies should walk the venue with security to understand vulnerabilities and actively modify strategies such as:

• Is surveillance active or passively reviewed?
• Staff to entry point ratios? Fire exits and sprinklers?
• First Aid and first responder access?
• Was your list of contacts for emergencies distributed to the right people?

Adopting a proactive approach, any risky structures should be removed or blocked in lieu of the upcoming meeting/event and, in a post-pandemic world, it will become especially important for sanitation measures to be readily accessible to all. Before the day of the meeting arrives, you should be satisfied with the following:

• The venue has adequate insurance
• There is an Active Shooter response plan
• The venue’s prior experience with your event profile especially if it is large, if media is not welcome, or if your featured speakers are controversial.

As always, communication is integral to success. Prior to their arrival, you should communicate clearly with all guests/attendees and clarify expectations so they know if bags will be inspected, metal detectors will be used, social distancing is encouraged, and if a ‘see something, say something’ campaign is appropriate.

When it Comes to Meetings, Visibility Matters

You might find yourself wondering, what exactly does ‘event visibility’ entail? To answer that, companies should consider the following:

• Do you have visibility of 100% of your meetings?
• When and where are they being held?
• Who is attending your meetings, and where are they at all times?
• Who has approved the meeting expense?
• Was the contract reviewed before signing?
• What is your risk if the meeting must be canceled or postponed?
• Is your meeting data GDPR and PCI compliant?

Ultimately, full visibility means you have a complete picture of all your meetings globally; you can see where people are going, and if needed, where people have been.

Lessons Learned from the Pandemic

In the wake of the COVID-19, we all just gained an in-depth understanding of these challenges. Those companies which had the data were able to support their senior leadership with strategic decision-making as the crisis evolved. Because, as we know, data is key in a crisis. Those that didn’t have a meetings program enforced, however, had to scramble. In limited time frames and with limited information, they had to determine which employees were in regions that were exposed and then had to determine if there were any executed contracts that exposed the company to risk if they needed to cancel or postpone the meeting. Without easy access to the data around the meetings and contracts, companies were forced to endure a fire drill to get the data. Decisions were made ad-hoc as opposed to strategically due to the lack of data.

And it is not just about the contracts and knowing what the location of the meeting is. Companies need to be able to access all the attendee data easily; and yet, many of them rely exclusively on GDS data, which typically only includes flight data. The hotels’ bookings are typically offline in a room block, and not all travelers fly to events, so they will not be displayed in the GDS. Due to this, companies need to identify and approve the attendee registration solutions utilized in their companies, and these systems need to push data to the company’s traveler tracking solutions. As we already identified, these traveler tracking tools typically only pull transient travel data, and it needs to include your meeting data as well.

Simply stated, it is no longer acceptable to only manage large marketing and incentive events. Moving forward, companies need to seamlessly manage all groups that are greater than two people.

These are unprecedented times, and we can expect some sea-change impacts on business, behaviors, and expectations. Everyone will be required to respond and modify their business models for the new post-crisis ecosystem. How we plan, how we communicate and collaborate, and how we interact is all going to change. That being said, those who are quick to adjust will lead the way for the industry to follow. While so many may be taking things day-by-day, it’s critical to look to the future to determine the best course of action moving forward. 

 

In the midst of all of this uncertainty, what we do know is that nothing lasts forever, not even the Coronavirus crisis. Undoubtedly, organizations hope to quickly bounce back to their pre-pandemic business as usual though all signs point to the creation of a new normal on every level.

The entry point for corporations to manage expense, travel and risk for all meetings & events.

Groupize goes beyond hybrid meetings and counters risk challenges of a global meetings program in the era of COVID-19 with Groupize Assurance.