SITE Texas Hosts "How to Hybrid" In-person and Virtual Meetings and Events
In July 2020, SITE Texas, a local chapter of Society of Incentive Travel Executives (SITE), hosted an event at the Gaylord Texan Resort and Convention Center that focused on how to best serve both in-person and virtual audiences at the same time. Adhering to Marriott’s new Commitment to Cleanliness standards for meetings and events, the “How to Hybrid, Re-imagining Meetings and Events” session welcomed 35 in-person attendees and 700 on-line participants to learn best practices around this new approach. The event was supported by the virtual and audio-visual technical components of PSAV.
According to SITE Texas, “The How to Hybrid Re-imagining Meetings & Events session July 22, 2020 was a tremendous success due to the tireless combined efforts led by Lorraine Mahoney, Global Account Manager, Marriott International Global Sales, Intermediaries & SITE Texas President-elect, the SITE Texas design team, PSAV and the Gaylord Texan’s leadership team. The resort’s Commitment to Cleanliness was front and center throughout the event showcasing several best practices around registration flow, social distancing, food and beverage and ingenuity. Our in-person guests arrived knowing all precautions and industry protocols were being monitored which resulted with event objective realization; experiencing the new normal, content consumption and networking. Thank you to the Gaylord Texan and Marriott International for continuing to lead the industry with safe standards and protocols to re-ignite live events again!”
SITE Texas provided the top 5 key learnings regarding hybrid in-person and virtual meetings and events.
1) Importance of having a Content & Engagement Strategy for both Virtual and In-person audiences.
2) Engage an Audio Video technical partner who excels in the delivery and production of a multi-faceted speaker engagement experiences including, pre-recorded video, in-person stage and/or audience production, off location studio and/or home.
3) Create a detailed Communication Strategy to promote, execute and perpetuate engagement during all event phases (Pre, Live, Post).
4) Anticipate additional staffing requirements for the virtual portion including monitoring all elements of the online dashboard, approving image uploads, speaker questions, gamification leaderboard, Q&A, chat rooms, tech support and more. For the in-person portion, extra staffing will be needed for COVID required precautions.
5) Follow up with any questions from the online platform not answered during the live event.
For more information and to watch the “How to Hybrid, Re-imagining Meetings & Events” session on-demand, click here.
Learn more about the Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center.
