You’ve undoubtedly been hearing a lot lately – and not just in this space – about the COVID-19 pandemic giving rise to something often described as the Zoom Era. Virtual events, you see, have been a necessary function of maintaining public health, social distancing and general decorum. Whether it’s a work meeting, symposium, classroom or concert, we’ve all been dutifully doing our part to suck it up, hunker down and log on. For now.

As 2020 draws to close, COVID-19-weary event planners are looking towards a fresh start, a reboot for 2021. Whether planning for a conference, meeting or trade show, there are plenty of things to do beforehand to let your guests know they are walking into a clean and healthy environment. While there is no silver bullet, keeping proper cleaning protocols in place will help keep your event safe and secure. Clean is not only the new cool, it is critical for success.

Imagine an events ecoysystem where speakers can present remotely via engaging holograms. Where online events can have unlimited attendees and virtual reality can transport those attendees to unexpected and immersive environments. Where brands can geolocate customers at an event, make relevant recommendations based on their past buying behaviors, and distribute hyper-personalized content every step of the way. 5G technology will soon make it all possible.

Now that the novelty of online and virtual events has worn off a bit, organizations are looking for new ways to keep their audiences engaged. Many are turning to a perhaps unexpected source for inspiration: Hollywood.

It makes sense when you think about it — Hollywood knows how to tell a good story, and their stars are engaging. Plus, they know how to keep their audiences coming back for more, and that is pretty much what every company wants, no matter the specifics of their business objectives.

When Covid-19 hit and dashed all travel plans, the scholarly community saw a wave of conference cancellations and a rapid scramble to virtual formats. Nine months down the line (and with another wave of the virus bearing down in many countries) it has become increasingly clear that conferences will not be returning to their pre-Covid formats any time soon. This is the new normal, one that offers a rare opportunity to reframe the traditional conference format and create better, more inclusive ways to bring the scholarly community together.

with modern technology, it has become easier than ever to create online events. Event planning, whether in-person or digital, requires many of the same processes. Luckily, event planners are notoriously resilient folk and take the new paradigm in stride. Virtual events are opportunities for people, connected by common interests, to share their thoughts, ideas, knowledge and opportunities. The best virtual events will find a way to capture this and celebrate it — and you can do this effectively by using a social wall. Here’s how.

If your event has a trade show component and you're shifting it online, make sure to focus on your exhibitors. While virtual events are a new format for almost all the stakeholders involved, exhibitors in particular may be apprehensive about this change. It is important you convey to them, that regardless of where you host the event, they will get the same return on investment.  

Here’s how you can live up to that promise:

It’s become increasingly apparent that we, as a society, should level-set our expectations for a post-COVID world. While a vaccine may be available as early as this winter (or even sooner), it is unrealistic to believe a vaccine will be the elixir that immediately returns life to normal. Realistically, we’re going to have to manage the lasting results of this pandemic over at least the next two to three years.

If we’re keeping score from home, it sure seems like 2020 is winning.

On the heels of record-breaking travel and tourism numbers in calendar year 2019 — when, per VISA Analytics & Consulting, our industry was on pace to generate $1 trillion annually by 2025 — travel as we know it has come to a screeching halt for the bulk of this year, as indicated by some of tourism’s foremost data authorities:

The hospitality and events industry is always changing, forcing properties to consistently adapt in order to stay current. In March, when most of the world was placed on pause, adapting took on a whole new definition, especially when it comes to the food and beverage industry. So what will food and beverage look like at meeting and convention venues once we’re back to hosting live events again?

Here are a few changes that food and beverage is likely to experience in our new normal: