For meeting and event professionals who have been looking to plan hybrid virtual/in-person meetings and events, Marriott International is offering new solutions to help "Connect with Confidence" and streamline the current planning process. New resources for hybrid meetings and events, including providers and pricing, will be available next month at Marriott hotels across the United States and Canada, and are slated to be available globally in the near future.
Hybrid meetings have become an essential way for meeting and event professionals to provide an immersive, engaging experience that integrates both virtual participation and in-person experiences through technology. Marriott has curated a list of providers, including Encore, Cvent, Convene, MeetingPlay and Hopin, that offer technology solutions for hosting hybrid meetings. These providers offer a range of features and services that allow meeting and event professionals to execute hybrid meetings across the Marriott portfolio of hotels in the U.S. and Canada.
Marriott has hosted "Connect with Confidence" meetings for its customers using the latest hybrid meeting technology. The most recent event included 100 in-person attendees and 800 virtual attendees at Gaylord Rockies Resort and Convention Center in January 2021. The attendees were given information about planning and implementing an in-person event incorporating cleanliness protocols, physical and social distancing, redesigned food and beverage, contactless check-in, well-being checks, occupancy monitoring, and more. Survey results from this event, according to Marriott, revealed that 51 percent of meeting and event professionals are planning to host a hybrid event within the next six to 12 months. When attendees were asked if they would attend another event if it were to be designed with the same principles, 95 percent said they would.
The "Connect with Confidence" event at Gaylord Rockies was held just weeks after Marriott announced the introduction of optional health protocols for meeting and event professionals, including COVID-19 testing. The event implemented many of the protocols, which meeting and event professionals will be able to incorporate into their own group meetings at Marriott hotels in the U.S. and Canada beginning in March 2021.
Marriott has shared the Connect with Confidence Hybrid Meetings and Events Insights Guide on the Marriott Bonvoy Events website. The resource showcases Marriott’s updated processes and meeting spaces, incorporates the learnings from the January 2021 event and the first "Connect with Confidence" event in November 2020 at The Ritz-Carlton, Tysons Corner in Virginia, and explains some of the practical considerations that are necessary to successfully plan and execute a hybrid meeting.
In addition to the Connect with Confidence Hybrid Meetings and Events Insights Guide, information about hybrid meetings, including digital content and best practices to help meeting professionals navigate through these changing industry trends and practices, may be found on the Marriott Bonvoy Events website.
For more information, visit www.marriottbonvoyevents.com.
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