The team at the Golden Jubilee Conference Hotel are currently researching upcoming trends within the events industry and looking at how live events could run in the near future.
With long distance travel and mass gatherings likely to be off the cards for some time, there is a large question mark surrounding large scale national and international conferences at the moment. Instead of hosting one large event in a central location, industry experts have suggested that programmes of smaller regional events, held simultaneously and using a hybrid element to link up may be the solution event organisers are looking for.
The conference industry is driven by bringing people together and recent research from across the industry has shown that organisers and delegates do have a desire to continue to meet in person when it is safe to do so. The regional events model would allow small groups to get together, whilst maintaining social distancing in a safe space and have the face to face contact that we are all craving after months of lockdown.
By hosting a programme of regional events, delegates can take part in the full conference experience and the social aspects this involves – networking and face to face collaboration with colleagues and being able to focus on the meeting content without the distractions that come with being in the office or working from home. Organisers can also ensure that their event is held in a professional setting and can utilise the expertise of a venue’s events, AV and catering team to help to ensure that their meeting runs smoothly.
Many large associations and organisations have a regional element anyway and so can discuss any issues at a regional level, privately and as part of the main event programme. With all delegates likely to be based locally, the need for travel and additional overnight stays would also be reduced. This would help to cut down the cost of attendance and may well attract more delegates per region than one event in a single location. Speaker travel would also be reduced as they would be able to choose which location is most convenient for them to attend.
With the new shift towards hybrid meetings, each regional location would be able to link up via video conferencing or streaming platform to join together plenary sessions and keynote addresses. Whilst breakout sessions and workshops could be held as face to face sessions in each regional meeting space. This may well simplify the virtual element of the conference, with five to six video streams easier to manage than each individual delegate and speaker joining remotely from home.
In these new and uncertain times, event organisers are being challenged to think outside the box and run meetings in a different way. As a member of Venues of Excellence, the Golden Jubilee Conference Hotel are linked to many other fantastic venues across the UK. To discuss how the Golden Jubilee may be able to help with your next conference, get in touch with our Sales team on 0141 951 6003 or at conferences@goldenjubilee.scot.nhs.uk
