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  • 1.  How we can contribute to restart meeting and events

    Posted 04-05-2021 11:23

    Hello, all! We're back with our next Huddle of the Week discussion.

    It is a special week, as this Thursday, April 8th is Global Meetings Industry Day. Reflecting on the past year, our industry has been through a lot, and it's important to recognize the hardships and celebrate any win, small or large, we've experienced.

    Moving forward, we're looking towards a brighter future for the industry, and are excited to see our industry grow to its strongest again. We know it may not be as quick as a switch, which is why we need to continue to come together and support each other. With that in mind,

    • How can we contribute, as a collective and individuals, to restart meeting and events?

    Let us know your thoughts and ideas below! Be on the lookout for some great stories from Cvent this week as we celebrate this day. #HuddleoftheWeek #VoiceIt #GMID2021


    #BiddingonGroupBusiness
    #ManagingVirtualEvents
    #ExecutingStrategicMeetingsManagement

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    Danni Czark
    Senior Associate, Online Community Marketing
    Cvent
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  • 2.  RE: How we can contribute to restart meeting and events

    Posted 04-07-2021 12:03
    We need to work collectively to make in-person meetings safe. People want to attend events but they are not sure they are safe yet. Now we are having another wave of positive cases. As long as this continues and government restrictions exist it will be hard to get people to come to in person meetings and to get corporations comfortable to hold in person meetings.

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    Scott Sward
    Global Travel and Events Manager
    Viewpoint, Inc.
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  • 3.  RE: How we can contribute to restart meeting and events

    Community MVP
    Posted 04-07-2021 16:26
    We need to continue to keep each other educated on what is happening at a state and local level and share what works and what doesn't.   Cvent Community is the perfect forum for sharing!  The Westin Tampa Bay has been involved with two worldwide events since the start of 2021.  Tampa's success with hosting this years Super Bowl (February 2021) and WWE WrestleMania (April 2021) proves that events can happen.  In Tampa we work closely with our Airport, stadiums/venues, convention centers and hotels to collectively make face-to-face events as safe as possible. Our hotel has worked with many different travel segments; from professional sports teams to corporate meetings/trainings many best practices for safe meetings have been developed over the past year.  The key is communication! 



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    Colleen Beck
    Director of Sales & Marketing
    The Westin Tampa Bay
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  • 4.  RE: How we can contribute to restart meeting and events

    Posted 04-08-2021 08:35

    We need to be mindful of the taxing toll that an onslaught of Zoom meetings has taken on everyone. Meetings are fantastic, but they need to serve a purpose. Is the meeting nothing more than people in a room sharing information that could have been shared on a phone call or in a series of emails? We turned our entire lives in Zoom meetings non-stop at the beginning of the pandemic. Our company has set a Meetings Guideline and Policy where our staff is given certain blocks of time that are meeting free zones, and there are guidelines on what constitutes a good and productive meeting. 

    Sure, brainstorming needs to happen, but I know we've all ended up in a meeting where there's a presenter, then the meeting host talking... then silence. No one has questions, no one needs or wants clarification, no one speaks up about much but to pat everyone on the back for presenting or attending or hosting. A meeting of that nature is not as productive as on-demand content could be, in our opinions. We have also replaced brainstorming meetings with smaller Thought Solution Task Forces... these small groups gather ideas to bring to the table and cull them for the good of the group. There's also an anonymous Thought Solution brainstorming sheet where people can toss in any idea that is reviewed and categorized by the Task Force. We don't feel it necessary to all sit in a meeting and halfway pay attention because the meeting only slightly pertains to our role. 

    Meetings need purpose, preparation, function, and results. Without that, we are often spinning our wheels. 



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    Amanda Adams
    Mid-Atlantic Territory Client Services Coordinator
    Cognia, Inc.
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  • 5.  RE: How we can contribute to restart meeting and events

    User Group Member
    Posted 04-08-2021 09:14
    Edited by Mary Ann Hall 04-08-2021 09:16
    • How can we contribute, as a collective and individuals, to restart meeting and events?
    Attendees want to know they are safe and feel comfortable slowly moving back into events. For some, it might mean making sure that everyone has had their vaccinations, for others it will be making sure attendees are wearing masks, social distancing, and sanitizing stations located throughout the event.  Education to the masses is key right now since there are other strains of the virus happening (it seems) daily. When the attendees finally do get back to in-person meetings (whenever that will be) then identifying which attendees are comfortable with shaking hands and having contact vs those that want to keep the social distancing. This can be done with color bands, color lanyards, color badges, or logos on the badges. 
    Most of attendees, and event staff (at this point) have Zoom/WebEx fatigue. In the beginning everyone was on camera, now there are very few people that will open their camera. I think it all comes down to the comfort level of the attendee and what is going on with the pandemic...no matter what is marketed from the event.

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    Mary Ann Hall
    Event Planner
    Federal Reserve System
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  • 6.  RE: How we can contribute to restart meeting and events

    User Group Member
    Posted 04-08-2021 13:23
    • How can we contribute, as a collective and individuals, to restart meeting and events?
    I think safety and communication will be key to bringing back in person meetings and events. We know that our clients want to see these happen again but we also don't want to see our event becoming the cause of exposure/sickness. If those in the industry can keep that in mind and be flexible, open and communicate with vendors and teams we can start to look at restarting meetings and events. Not everyone has the same comfort level when it comes to COVID (vaccinated or not) so allowing for attendees to change their plans without fees/consequences will also need to be key. 

    Working for a global company with employees in over 35 countries it is also important to note that not every country has even started their vaccination roll out along with travel restrictions are still in place. Staying updated on updates on a global scale is also an important factor.

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    Megan Ridgway
    Sr. Specialist, Event Operations
    S&P Global Market Intelligence(PreviouslySNL Financial LC)
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  • 7.  RE: How we can contribute to restart meeting and events

    User Group Member
    Posted 04-09-2021 14:39
    • How can we contribute, as a collective and individuals, to restart meeting and events?
    Need other companies to be responsible and take precautions and not rush and ruin it for everyone else.

    Additionally we all need to understand everyone was hit hard so it's not the best to gouge prices, but also companies should be willing to pay the price and not try and negotiate and take advantage.

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    Rachel
    NJ
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