Business Events Hybridized – A Revolution in Business Meetings
Predictions for Business Travel in 2022
Companies are looking forward to the future of travel in the next year. The pandemic has caused travel to permanently change, and when you travel to your next business event, you will notice these changes in both your domestic travel and international travel.
International business travel is expected to increase by as much as 34 percent in 2022, most likely to make up for some of the losses due to the pandemic.
Seasoned travelers are looking to take that long-coveted bucket list trip that they have been putting off.
A new trend in business events is the hybrid event. This is when you combine elements of a virtual event with those of a live event.
Read on to learn about hybrid events that are revolutionizing business meetings and the future of event travel
Virtual Corporate Events Are Here To Stay
Although we are (hopefully) through the worst of travel disruptions due to COVID, in-person business events will be slowly returning. These virtual events that took over world commerce will still be prevalent. For instance, a recent poll showed that 62.2% of companies will keep a virtual meeting or hybrid meeting component in the future.
Types of Hybrid Events
These new hybrid events happen both internally (within a company) and externally (customers and prospects). They include:
- Trade shows
- Sales meetings
- Conferences
- Product demonstrations
- Global town halls
Hybrid Corporate Events Will Lead to Profit
Event planners will now shift their focus to these hybrid events as in-person events will become smaller. This is due to social distancing, ever-changing travel restrictions, COVID testing logistics, and sanitation, among other factors. The hybrid events will be the key to helping businesses break even. This is because, at least for the immediate future, a hybrid event will bring better numbers for your sponsors. Planners believe that the majority of in-person meetings will continue to stay smaller in size.
Leverage Virtual To Maximize Engagement
The focus in promoting your hybrid event is to leverage engagement. You can do this in a few ways:
- Use Gamification. You can do this by having special content ready for attendees or a virtual networking opportunity.
- Install Discussion Forums. You can foster many focused conversations with discussion forums.
- Have A Live Feed. You can have your audience engage with you live, and you can use opportunities such as being part of an activity or competition for attendees.
Advantages to Hybrid Events
Increased Attendance: Although many still prefer in-person events, they simply cannot attend due to any number of reasons. Plus, all event venues have capacity limits, and that is not true with a hybrid event. A hybrid event also does not have the costs associated with travel to an in-person event, which makes it the best advantage.
Content Engagement is Enhanced: When hosting a hybrid event, you can stream all sessions for your virtual audience to view. Another advantage is the ability to record all sessions for your attendees to watch if they have a conflict, or if they wish to review it again for days and even weeks after your event is over. This will keep your business in the minds of your attendees for quite some time.
A Lower Carbon Footprint: If you have an event with fewer onsite attendees, this helps reduce the carbon footprint. This counts as flights not taken, fewer meals that will get wasted, and fewer utilities used. You can promote these green measures on your event website which will put your company into the minds of other eco-conscious business people.
Increased Sponsorship Opportunities: When you host a hybrid event, it can significantly increase your sponsorship value. Your sponsors can get in front of the eyes of many more people with a hybrid event, giving them more opportunities for profit in the long run.
Traveler’s Q can help navigate you through the future of corporate travel. Our event professions can assist you with every aspect of event management and event promotion. Contact us today to get started on your event inspiration.
