This post is part of the HopSkip Planner Spotlight Series where HopSkip spotlight's planners across the industry to bring awareness of how they adapted to COVID-19, communicating and lessons learned and sharing how they are viewing the meetings and events industry in a post-pandemic world.
Name: Adriana Gallegos
Company Name: Perfect Timing Events, LLC
Job Title: Owner/Chief Event Curator
Years of Experience: 15
How do you think you are positioned, after months of persevering with the pandemic, to take advantage of our new and disrupted meetings/events landscape?
Better now than ever with experience in the virtual event world, now we are are equipped to handle more events. Virtual, In Person or a Hybrid of the two! I believe everything happens for a reason. With change always comes an opportunity to learn new skills.
As our community moves forward with planning in-person meetings, what new technologies or processes are you implementing that you may have not looked at before?
There is an abundance amount of event tech solutions available on the market and it all depends on the client and their event needs. We always try to find a solution that will help solve any current struggles like manual check in and registration desks. There are systems now that allow your guest to register online and check in at your event with a QR code. Gone are the days you are flipping through pages of names and marking their names off. Guest can now check in by scanning a QR Code, confirm their information is correct and print an accurate badge onsite. I love technology and efficiencies it brings with it.
As we see virtual meetings transition back to face to face, hybrid meetings are beginning to be the vehicle to return to normalcy. What are your thoughts on hybrid meetings versus traditional fully in-person meetings?
I think hybrid is the way to go. It meets the needs of both types of attends - those who can travel to attend in person and those who want to attend but maybe aren't ready to travel. I do think it is important to ensure you are engaging your virtual audience as well. Find ways to incorporate them so that they feel part of the meeting or event and not just watching a recording after the meeting.
In your opinion, what do you think the biggest value for your attendees is in regards to returning to live events?
We are humans and humans need humans! There is nothing better than seeing someone in person, hearing their voice, seeing their smile and making a new friend along the way. The biggest value in live events is human interaction!
As the pandemic fades away and we return to face-to-face events what do you hope changes, either for planners or hoteliers, in the traditional RFP and proposal process as a result of all of the learnings from the last 20+ months?
I hope response times change for the better. With a shortage in staffing across the board it is hard to get quick responses from hoteliers.
This post is part of the HopSkip Planner Spotlight Series where HopSkip spotlight's planners across the industry to bring awareness of how they adapted to COVID-19, communicating and lessons learned and sharing how they are viewing the meetings and events industry in a post-pandemic world.