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: Rebecca Quinn
Company Name: Transplace
Job Title: Corporate Events Manager
Years of Experience: 12
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?
I'm thrilled to re-enter the in-person event world and feel more prepared and informed than ever. With 2 years behind me of planning, un-planning, pivoting, shifting, re-shaping etc, I could not be more ready!
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?
I believe every event moving forward will have some virtual component. As planners, we know this is an easy technology to implement and it can be done in different ways (video, audio only, slides only, etc). This coming year, I plan to utilize the mobile app technologies more so than I did in the past. I've found these are great for both in-person use and desktop use. The desktop version of the mobile app can also be used for your in-person attendees to watch sessions from the comfort of their room, hotel lobby or event foyers. Make them comfortable and give them the best of all worlds!
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 here to stay - with the caveat that in-person meetings will always remain more valuable for attendees. There's no comparison for a human connection.
In your opinion, what do you think the biggest value for your attendees is in regards to returning to live events?
Connecting in-person is invaluable. It's so important to have face to face contact with another person to gauge reactions, demeanor and their physical gestures.
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 have a few favorite features that have come out of the pandemic. The first is instant-book meetings. The idea that I can go onto a hoteliers website, input my details (for small meetings) and it's booked is an ideal scenario - especially for last-minute meetings. The other feature I hope remains is the commitment to health and safety. I appreciate seeing these measures on hoteliers websites, RFPs, etc. and hope these efforts are here to stay.
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.
