Are you ready for post-Covid meetings and events?

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.