The hospitality sector was one of the hardest hit during the pandemic-induced lockdowns and travel restrictions last year. Since their business hinges on a physical location — and people visiting that location — hotels in particular were not able to pivot online throughout the last year the way many event planners were.
However, recovery is now underway as major hotel brands have spent the last few months enhancing their meeting and events offerings to support planners’ needs moving forward.
The Four Seasons Silicon Valley went so far as to build an onsite Virtual Event Studio last fall, which “has provided clients with a solution not only to stream and broadcast live events, but to connect local and remote participants in safe, clean, and engaging presentation environment,” says Noelia Roblero, Director of Events and Group Services at Four Seasons Hotel Silicon Valley. “The dynamic technology has sparked interest for engaging interviews, panel sessions, keynote session and virtual all-hands meetings.”
In addition, Roblero shares that the hotel has enhanced its boardrooms with 360-degree cameras and state-of-the-art sound-detection technology to support hybrid meetings. The Virtual Event Studio can also be used for hybrid events if needed, as the LED screen can be shifted to allow room for about 50 in-person attendees.
Steve Enselein, SVP of Events at Hyatt, explains that “many Hyatt hotels are using technology from Owl Labs that offers a 360°, voice-activated conferencing camera allowing operators to feature any area of the room” in order to provide a more immersive experience to virtual attendees.
Hyatt also recently launched a new suite of event offerings, Together by Hyatt, for which they have partnered with Swapcard to provide access to a bespoke platform for hybrid events that take place at Hyatt hotels. Hyatt’s Support Squad provides dedicated tech support for virtual attendees and speakers during events to ensure everything run smoothly.
In addition, Hyatt has created the role of Hybrid Event Expert in response to the changing events landscape and has hired a team of Hybrid Event Experts with expertise in technology and events, as well as specialized training in hybrid events from Virtual Events Institute and Swapcard, to help support the virtual components of hybrid meetings and events.
Looking towards the future, Enselein shares that Hyatt and is seeing strong demand for the remainder of 2021 and 2022 for both in-person and hybrid options.
“Even once the pandemic is behind us, we believe there is tremendous value in hybrid formats because they provide an opportunity to make events more inclusive,” he says. “People cannot always travel to an event for a variety of reasons, so hybrid events are a great option for planners to significantly grow the reach of their events and include more attendees than ever before.”
Roblero echoes this sentiment: “As the demand for future in-person engagements increases, there is also uncertainty on behalf of planners on what the physical presence turnout will be. This has resulted in more planners opting for hybrid solutions to ensure they extend the ability for attendees to participate in the way that best suits their needs and level of comfort. I strongly feel that giving participants the option of in-person/virtual attendance will remain relevant for a while.”