Business Traveller (Middle East)
EVENT HORIZONS
FROM HYBRID EVENTS THAT BLEND THE REAL AND VIRTUAL WORLDS TO MORE CREATIVE USE OF VENUES AND HOTEL SPACES, THE REGION’S MICE INDUSTRY IS FINDING NEW WAYS TO BRING THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY TOGETHER
Hotels and venues are reimagining their spaces to help bring business communities back together
When the world went into lockdown, with offices and venues closing their doors and business travel virtually grinding to a halt, the meetings and events industry took a huge hit. The working population and businesses adapted quickly, thanks to video conferencing technology, leaving hotels and venues wondering how they would fit into the ‘new normal’ given the effectiveness of these online solutions.
Zoom emerged as the pandemic’s global success story; for the quarter ending April 2020, the USheadquartered video communications specialist reported a massive 169 per cent year-on-year revenue hike to reach US$328.2 million, while daily meeting participants peaked at more than 300 million during the period, up from 10 million in 2019.
Zoom’s measurement of “annualised meeting minutes” jumped 20-fold, from 100 billion at the end of January to more than two trillion in April.
“We were humbled by the accelerated adoption of the Zoom platform around the globe in Q1,” says Eric S. Yuan, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Zoom.
“The COVID-19 crisis has driven higher demand for distributed, face-toface interactions and collaboration using Zoom. Use cases have grown rapidly as people integrated Zoom into their work, learning and personal lives.”
Despite restrictions on work, travel and events easing in many countries around the world, Zoom and similar platforms have become integrated into every facet of life and are now commonplace for meetings, conferences and more, even mega sporting events.
Most recently, Formula 1 and Zoom Video Communications announced a new digital partnership to deliver the first ever virtual Paddock Club.
Guests who join the Virtual Paddock Club through Zoom access a bespoke hospitality experience including live updates and insights from paddock legends, with more features planned.
Hybrid is the ‘new black’
With virtual tools proving their worth as a viable alternative to face-to-face interaction, where does that leave the MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions) sector?
According to Tim Cordon, Area Senior Vice President Middle East & Africa, Radisson Hotel Group, the MICE market is one of the “biggest challenges” facing the hospitality industry given the post- COVID-19 recovery will be “mainly driven by a rebound in domestic travel”.
“The meetings that will take place in person will need to have a very strong reason to happen. They will likely be limited to domestic events and have virtual alternatives as a replacement until there is a vaccine or other cure,” he says.
“Small and local safe meetings will be the way the event industry rebuilds and makes its comeback: internal meetings, small workshops and seminars held locally with attendees from the near vicinity and the same geographic area.” Cordon says while most face-to-face events will resume when possible, “a lasting trend of COVID-19 will be the increasing popularity of hybrid events”, blending live and online participation.
“Hybrid is the new black,” he declares, adding: “Perhaps the biggest shift the hospitality industry has seen over the past few months is the ‘pivot’ from in-person events to virtual ones.”
Milou van Zweeden, Events, Sales & Meetings Manager at Qasr Al Sarab Desert Resort by Anantara in Abu Dhabi, agrees that hybrid meetings will dominate in the near future.
“Some people will use the hotel [venues] in person and others will attend the meeting [online] from overseas,” she says. “By leveraging the latest technology we can ensure meetings are easily accessible. [For example], QR codes will also be available to help guests register and manage event experiences.”
The resort, which recently received the Go Safe health and safety certification programme endorsed by the Abu Dhabi Government, plans to
Tim Cordon, Radisson Hotel Group “A lasting trend of COVID-19 will be the increasing popularity of hybrid events”
make the most of its outdoor venues, including Camp Nujum (Camp of the Stars), providing a tent and majlis setup in the desert valley.
“We are also offering buyouts for our Royal Pavilion private villas or the entire resort,” adds van Zweeden.
Although Abu Dhabi had not given the MICE industry the go ahead to resume operations at time of press, sister property, Anantara Eastern Mangroves Hotel, which is located in the city, was witnessing demand for “social events, weddings, corporate trainings and budget and sales meetings with local focus due to travel restrictions”, according to Group and Events Manager, Lamiaa Fatihi.
Similarly, Rove Hotels, part of Emaar Hospitality Group (EHG), has received “more interest in hosting
smaller training sessions, workshops and brainstorming sessions,” reveals Corporate Director of Operations Paul Bridger.
The team is also noticing tremendous traction on temporary office spaces where employees can continue working remotely in their own private space [at the hotel],” he adds.
Customisable spaces are core to the Rove hospitality model and this has paid dividends during the pandemic with clients using a variety of venues – from meeting rooms to guest rooms – to work or stage meetings and hybrid events.
Many of Rove’s meeting rooms have been repurposed, notes Bridger, with standout examples including “the new self-service Rove Podcast Studio at Rove Downtown Dubai, which gives budding and established digital content creators the chance to utilise a dedicated room setup”.
“We are definitely going down the route of hybrid events, so we have implemented smooth and fuss-free videoconferencing technology [at our hotels],” he adds.
The brand has also teamed up with Letswork to launch its guest rooms as private hotel offices.
Day passes are bookable via the Letswork app giving guests access to specially fitted-out rooms at Rove properties to use as their office from 6am to 10pm.
Unlimited tea, water and coffee and high-speed Wi-Fi are part of the package.
Mix and match
Hybrid meeting requests have challenged the events teams at InterContinental Hotels Group
Paul Bridger, Rove Hotels “We have received more interest in hosting smaller training sessions, workshops and brainstorming sessions”
(IHG) to think outside the box, according to Head of Operations MEA, David Todd.
“It’s definitely the time to get creative and we expect to receive some unusual requests,” he says. “As an example, a financial institution requested that for one of its smaller meetings, the speakers and delegates be seated in separate rooms. As a solution, the hotel split the speakers into different hotel rooms with an AV set up in each and a reduced number of delegates in the main room with the presentations broadcast on the main screen. Initially, the organiser was apprehensive about the information flow, however, the event proceeded smoothly and the technology support was commended.”
Todd says the MICE sector needs re-thinking in the short term as larger meetings in most Middle East destinations have been cancelled or postponed.
“At IHG we have already started to look at whitespace areas of the hotel that can be used for impromptu meetings for smaller gatherings or social hubs that can incorporate the new guidelines but allow for more flexibility,” he explains.
David Todd, IHG “It’s definitely the time to get creative and we expect to receive some unusual requests”
“Technology will now play an even more important role as virtual hybrid meetings evolve and those with more creative AV solutions can certainly use it to their advantage as the competition grows in this area.”
Dubai goes live
Just as Dubai was one of the first regional destinations to open its doors to tourism, so it has taken the lead in re-invigorating its MICE industry and last month (August), the government released a directive allowing live indoor and outdoor meetings and events to resume in the city.
Concerts, conferences, exhibitions, seminars, training sessions, banquets, product launches, weddings and more are now permitted in the emirate, although venues must implement strict health and safety measures, including sanitisation, thermal screening, social distancing seating plans and capacity limits, to name a few.
Venues were quick to react, with the Festive Arena at InterContinental Dubai Festival City hosting Dubai’s first ‘live’ concert since the start of the pandemic.
“While the arena’s physical capacity is more than 5,000 people, this time the venue was kitted out with booths that could be booked for small groups. The concert was also livestreamed on the day to allow for greater attendance,” explains Todd.
“There are already more discussions for concerts later this year, at the same venue with a similar setup.”
Meanwhile, Dubai’s Coca- Cola Arena, located in City Walk offers versatile indoor spaces that can safely accommodate corporate and private events of all shapes and sizes, says CEO Guy Ngata.
“Thanks to the unique layout of the main bowl in the arena, which can be changed due to the built-in automatic drape reduction and retractable seating systems, any layout is possible across a floor area covering 3,870sq metres,” he notes.
“This adaptability means social distancing guidelines and preventative measures can be adhered to at all times for gatherings of between 50 and 3,000 people while providing creative floor plans and experiences.”
Coca- Cola Arena also offers multiple rooms outside of the main
Guy Ngata, Coca-Cola Arena “There is no doubt that the event industry is going to look a lot different in the medium term”
bowl that can be utilised by smaller groups.
“There is no doubt the event industry is going to look a lot different in the medium term as organisers and venues adapt to new procedures, protocols and etiquette and we will all need to work together to bring back to life this thriving sector of Dubai,” says Ngata.
“We are talking to many event organisers locally and internationally and we are very pleased to see a confidence in the market to return to some degree of event activity, certainly around conferences and networking events. Many dates that were scheduled across Dubai in Q1 and Q2 are now looking at how they can proceed in Q4 with new objectives and needs and we are very happy to have those conversations.”
Coca- Cola Arena is a VenueShield protected venue.
VenueShield is a new environmental hygiene protocol with a comprehensive, best-in-class programme deployed across all of the arenas, stadia and theatres globally managed by Coca- Cola Arena’s management company, ASM Global.
Measures adopted include advanced hygienic safeguards, thermal cameras at all entrances, hand sanitiser freely available, increased sanitisation and cleaning sweeps before, during and after events and social distancing protocols.
Event ready
Hotels have also implemented stringent health and safety programmes to protect guests attending face-to-face meetings and events.
Hilton Hotels was one of the first to announce it sector-specific measures, which leverage its partnership with RB, makers of Lysol and Dettol and is an extension of the Hilton CleanStay programme.
Hilton EventReady with CleanStay applies cleanliness protocols to
“every touchpoint of the meeting experience”. These include meeting rooms seals and an extensive EventReady Room Checklist.
In addition, a Hilton EventReady Playbook delivers “expert guidance
and curated resources for solutions, such as hybrid meetings that seamlessly combine on-site attendees with those in remote locations, room sets and creative networking”.
“In today’s new normal we know that people planning and attending events of any size are focused on their health and safety,” says Chris Nassetta, President and CEO, Hilton. “Hilton EventReady delivers innovative solutions for the entire event experience – from flexibility in planning and physical distancing protocols to transparency in cleanliness policies and inspiring catering options.”
Radisson has introduced a 10-step protocol for meeting and event spaces at its hotels, developed in collaboration with partner SGS, a leading inspection, verification, testing and certification company.
Focal points range from personal belongings, sanitising stations and increased cleaning and disinfecting to physical distancing and food safety.
Cordon says this new commitment to health and safety builds on the established wellness trend, which is more important than ever in 2020.
“From more fitness centres to an onus on healthy food options, mindfulness and getting a good sleep, health has been an important factor at events for years and COVID-19 has amplified this focus on being bodysmart,” he notes.
IHG’s MICE facilities fall under the IHG Clean Promise programme.
“Additionally, we have had to rethink how we sell large meeting space within government guidelines and how to generate demand as markets recover,” says Todd.
“For this we have created a programme called Mindful Meetings to reassure guests and MICE organisers that in addition to the enhanced cleanliness standards, they can continue to expect a great meeting experience with greater flexibility in meeting room setups, as well as terms and conditions.”
Rove Hotels was quick to implement strict safety measures and as a result, was the first mid-scale brand in Dubai to receive a Safeguard label from Bureau Veritas, another leading testing, inspection, and certification ( TIC) services provider.
Anantara’s three Abu Dhabi properties are adhering to strict government protocols, with mandatory temperature checks on arrival a key focus.
Only guests with a temperature of 37.3 º C or below are permitted to enter a meeting room. If their temperature is higher they are asked to stay in a dedicated hotel isolation room and their case is reported to
the Department of Health’s ‘Estijaba’ service for COVID-19 control.
Temperature checks are standard at Rove too, as are individually packed meals and private catering for meetings delegates.
Most hotels have eliminated buffet stations from the meeting experience, notes Todd, “but in specific markets or where a greater footfall is expected, we have assisted buffets in place, which still allow for a safe experience and a greater variety of dishes”.
“We are also looking at the wellbeing offering in terms of healthier choices being considerate of what our guests are asking for at the moment. We do see this space evolving if the buffet service remains restricted in most markets. As an example, the concept of the Japanese style bento box has been around for quite a while and we are sure there is opportunity to add more variations, depending on what the organiser is looking for.”