Nour Mouakke, founder and CEO of Wizme, outlines what he believes meetings and events will look like as the world tries to get back to business during and after the Covid-19 pandemic
According to the HBAA,
the UK business events, accommodation and meetings sector is worth £31.2
billion. So why has it taken the government so long to recognise the impact Covid-19
has had on our industry sector and consider ways in which to bring it back to
life?
Industry associations
suggest that the meetings and group accommodation market will not fully recover
for at least 24 months. With this slow movement in mind, I foresee an enormous
shift in the profile of meetings in the future.
During the lockdown,
senior leaders in corporate organisations will have seen and experienced
first-hand the benefits of working from home. We have seen the accelerated
adoption of meeting technologies such as Zoom and Teams, which has boosted
business productivity and the wellbeing of their employees with an increased
work-life balance.
Most business leaders
will have seen seismic shockwaves in profitability. But many will have noted
the significant spend reduction in business travel and meetings resulting from
limited demand during the lockdown work-from-home period.
With financial
stability in mind, it’s only natural that there will be much scrutiny on
managing the demand for travel and meetings as the business world returns to
some kind of normality.
Will the meetings
sector survive?
The government is
encouraging people back to the workplace but do people actually want to return?
A survey carried out for Bright Horizons revealed that just 13 per cent want to
go back to pre-pandemic ways of working, with most people saying they would
prefer to spend a maximum of three days in the office.
Almost one in four
believe that a more flexible working life would have a positive impact on them
and, by extension, their employers. In addition to this, we must consider that
many employees may remain nervous about a return to pre-Covid-19 norms.
However, I firmly
believe that the demand for meetings will come back. There is an urgency for
business to restart, and this will require people meeting face-to-face again –
I for one am missing the human interaction and engagement.
I also believe that strategic
priorities mean the demand will be staggered. It will begin with smaller
planning meetings as business leaders regroup to set out a strategy for a post-Covid-19
economy.
Then will come the
need for bigger communication and engagement events where business leaders can
share this strategy with employees, customers and partners. During the next
phase, larger groups will meet to plan the strategy execution. And this will
lead to training and development to ensure that employees are well-equipped to
deliver the strategy.
Who’s going to get
there first?
Will some venue types
benefit more than others? Hotels are likely to be the first type of venues in
use, considering their scale, infrastructure, stability and resources. But it
is still a matter of venues’ Covid-19 readiness, and who is still operating.
Space will be
business-critical, and venues with the capacities for new social distancing
measures in place will provide confidence to their clients. Many industry
accreditations support a fast post-Covid recovery and we’re already seeing
venues sign up to these – a clear sign that they are making the necessary
changes to make meetings and events safe.
After months of
working remotely, there will be demand for teambuilding but not as we know it.
Venues with outside space will allow for more creative, socially distanced
events. And when it comes to looking at how delegates will travel to meetings, policies
may dictate avoiding public transport wherever possible. Therefore, country
houses might prosper as opposed to city centre locations as people start to
change the mindset of how and where they meet.
For venues to succeed,
they may have to consider reshaping their offering to be attractive
financially, but still in keeping with meeting expectations. Selling on the
value of safety and post-Covid readiness should be a key consideration.
It’s important not to underestimate
delegate resistance to attend such meetings and the level of reassurance they
will need. With so much uncertainty around potential local
lockdowns, venues that will thrive will be those offering flexible cancellation
policies. This will give confidence in people booking if they know the venue
will work with them to reduce risk.
What about
events?
So, we know meetings are
restarting – and venues, intermediaries and corporates are all working together
to make this work – but what about events?
If I were to predict when
we might see some of the national expos and large-scale events, I’d say we’ll
start seeing some early next year. New considerations for 2021 will be around
hybrid events, virtual conferencing, physical space and technology to create
inclusiveness while retaining the safety and comfort controls of social
distancing.
With so many different
types of events, from training and awards dinners to exhibitions and company
conferences, the challenge will be how to make these safe. The way organisers
manage awards dinners will significantly differ from the past and will have take
into consideration alcohol and how this effects social distancing, for example.
The confidence people
have in attending large-scale events will mean a slow return and venues that
specialise in these may have to consider their proposition. What more can they
offer to build the confidence that – in return – helps build their revenues
back up?
As for international
events, it’s a matter of delegate confidence and their willingness to take the
risk with international travel and attendance. Until we can see more stability
in other countries and with changing quarantine rules, there will be much more
of a focus on the domestic agenda for events.
Who are the
winners?
There is a tsunami of
change coming in the meetings and events industry. The industry winners will be
those that see meetings as an integral control component to deliver safety,
spend management and travel demand.
For venues, they will
be technology-enabled, allowing for the use of hybrid multi-site connectivity.
To minimise risk to delegates, tangible actions such as temperature checks will
become natural and part of the new norm for meetings and events. It’s about
creating an environment where employees will not be
reluctant to travel and meet on company business.
Organisations need to
embrace different ways of thinking, consider why people need to meet
face-to-face and put this into policy and practice. It is a significant change,
needing education, the right tools and intelligent solutions.
Are you ready for that
change? We are.