A failure by venues to provide adequate health and safety protocols against Covid is a bigger barrier to events being held in 2021 than the venues themselves being closed, according to new research.
Some 58 per cent of event planners who took part in Cvent’s 2020 planner sentiment and sourcing report for Europe said that the main reason they were having difficulty rescheduling postponed events was that these protocols were not sufficient, against the 51 per cent who said the main reason was venues not being open.
The report says planners now expect venues to provide a clean, sanitised environment, offer daily temperature checks during the event, and provide on‐site medical personnel.
Graham Pope, head of Europe, Cvent Hospitalty Cloud, told BTN Europe, “If you look at any corporation, duty of care is a big thing. There is a big reluctance to make employees or customers go to an event unless you can ensure that it can meet health and safety requirements.”
He said, “Planners are saying they can’t reschedule because they can’t get clarity. It goes beyond how many hand sanitation stations they have or the ballroom capacity chart. It is around the whole attendee experience. Are there going to be bottlenecks in registration for example? There is an opportunity for venues to stand out by being proactive.”
Cvent says there is clearly still appetite for events. It says it has delivered more than 60,000 events since March and handled more than five million delegates.
The report contained some positive news for both planners and venues. More than half of planners expected their in-person events spend to be more than that in 2019, with the expectation that restrictions around Covid would be lifted to some extent.
Pope said, “There is a huge pent-up demand for in-person events to come back. You will never replace that in-person experience.”
If and when they do return, in person events will be different. 30 per cent of planners said that the primary change they would make for 2021 would be having fewer attendees. The same percentage said they would rely more on technology, such as virtual event software. 22 per cent said they wanted different F&B options, such as open-air dining or prepacked food.
Three quarters of those surveyed said that the enforced introduction to virtual technology such as Zoom during the pandemic means that hybrid meetings are here to stay.
Pope said, “This crisis has forced people to adopt new technology, which had been a 'dark art' for planners and venues and hoteliers. By going hybrid, you can amplify that and gain a much wider reach for your brand.”
Pope cited the case of this week’s Cvent Connect Europe event. Last year, the in-person event attracted 1,400 delegates; this year’s virtual event reached more than 7,000.
He said, “Managing a virtual or hybrid event is not cheap. It is not just about scheduling a Zoom meeting. There is a lot more to it. Budgets [for virtual and hybrid events] will increase as I can use technology to justify the return on investment. If instead of reaching 1,000 people you can reach 8,000 it becomes easier to justify the ROI."
Cvent’s survey polled 711 event planners in France, Germany, Netherlands, Spain and the United Kingdom in August and September.