Convention centres and hotels: the switch to hybrid power is already well advanced

Half and half... There is in these associations a shadow of indecision, a sort of doubt, a mixed feeling. Nothing, in any case, that is synonymous with a successful and constructive meeting. And yet, the "half and half" combination - in this case, half face-to-face and half face-to-face - has every chance of serving as the framework for professional meetings for some time to come. " Even though we know that companies are eager to return to larger-scale face-to-face events, we expect to continuing demand for hybrid eventscompanies are working towards a gradual return to normality" said David Kelly, Hilton's Senior Vice President for Continental Europe.

Once the initial shock of the pandemic wore off, all the players in the meetings sector - hotels, congress centres, event specialists - quickly realised the need to raise the level of their digital offerings in order to respond to the business practices made mandatory by the pandemic. Faced with a customer base that has evaporated, convention centres were the first to take the plunge in the race to "phygitalAt the time, this mix of physical and digital was referred to as "hybrid" before a semantic change led to the terminology being changed to "hybrid".

From July 2020, the French giant GL Events has announced an offer consisting of three solutions - TV studios, streaming and multiplexes - built around its network of 50 venues in France and around the world, enabling simultaneous events. Others have followed suit, with the appearance in September of a TV studio at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco, recently complemented by a 10m x 3m video wall to make it one of the largest premium stages in the events sector. Also at the end of the summer, the Cité des Congrès de Nantes is now equipped with new tools to enable video streaming, web conferences and duplexes, with the addition of a TV studio solution in January.

Like them, most convention centres have decided to using technology to compensate for the long-term absence of eventsThis was barely broken by the short truce offered by the virus between September and November. In Angers, Biarritz, Bordeaux, La Baule, Metz, Nice, Orléans, Reims, Strasbourg, Troyes and Val d'Isère, among others, all these venues have equipped themselves with ad hoc studios to broadcast events remotely. On your side, Viparis has made its first move into multi-channel with the installation of studios in three of its venues: the Palais des Congrès, the Carrousel du Louvre and the Hôtel Salomon de Rotschild. " Currently, in the absence of physical events, these studios are sometimes used for 100 % digital events. However, their primary function is, and will continue to be, to enable hybrid events to be held." says this key player in the Paris events industry.

" To respond urgently to the need to safeguard their eventsthe organisers opted for 100 % digital. A large number of TV sets have been created to meet current demand.explains Hervé Vauvillier, Sales Director of Lille Grand Palais. Rather than 100 % digital, Lille Grand Palais is focusing on creating a range of hybrid events. Our current aim is to structure this offering by highlighting the diversity of stage spaces and the capacity of our three main auditoriums. "

Now that it has been tried and tested for several months, the digital part of events is set to become a permanent feature. A temporary stopgap, the right conditions for hybrid meetings are gradually being created with a view to the warmer weather, when physical meetings can resume.

A "pure player" in corporate meetings, Chateauform' offers since last November, three solutionseach catering for a specific type of event. While 'Studio 28' is suitable for streaming presentations, the 'Seine du Métropolitan' is geared towards events that are half face-to-face and half remote, with part of the audience able to sit in its auditorium. Finally, for something more spectacular, the Plateau Haussmann offers its vast 200 m² stage, complete with screens and robotic cameras. " We are also working on the hybridisation of our meeting rooms to offer innovative solutions" said Benjamin Abittan, Managing Director of Châteauform', at the start of the year, when presenting the new offerings from this specialist in corporate meetings.

Another player in the urban meetings, Comet is focusing on complementarity, with a studio recording offer in these five Paris venues and a hybrid meeting offer based on the Comet Bourse auditorium. " These products find their audienceexplains Fabien Violet, chief revenue officer at Comet Meetings. Last month, for example, we organised a hybrid studio event for the French Ministry of Ecological Transition with over 500 remote participants. "This record audience is hardly surprising, given all that this new model can offer in terms of sustainable development, with travel limited to the necessary meetings, and the rest done by screen.

This key point augurs a real future for hybrid meetings, beyond the pandemic. " I believe that innovation and technology are absolutely essential to sustainable hotel concepts.said Denis Hüttig, Vice President Operations at Steigenberger Hotels & Resorts. Thanks to our studios set up in our establishments in Brussels, Berlin and FrankfurtWe can offer our guests tailor-made solutions: hybrid conferences with thousands of participants, live digital events for clients, fixed studio formats, television reports and much more. "

Like Steigenberger, the switch to the hybrid model is underway at hoteliers. With their thousands of meeting rooms, many of which are now deserted but already equipped with videoconferencing solutions, the world's major hotel groups had a a solid basis for establishing global programmes. ALL Connect at Accor, IHG Meet with Confidence, Hilton EventReady Hybrid Solutions, Connect with Confidence at Marriott, Meliá Hybrid Solutions, Hybrid Meetings by NH Health and safety: launched in recent months and currently being rolled out, all these programmes offer excellent connectivity for remote meetings, as well as strong health and safety guarantees for face-to-face participants through the health protocols put in place in all these groups.

The Radisson group was one of the first to announce the launch of its "hybrid meetingsA Logitech conference system with dual screens and a wireless presentation clicker, supported by Zoom technology to provide a seamless videoconferencing experience for all participants.

Accor is relying on another videoconferencing star, popularised by the pandemic, for its ALL Connect concept recently unveiled. The Microsoft Teams platform is the official partner for this new offering, which is aimed primarily at small meetings with between 8 and 50 physical participants. The French group is betting that the working methods developed as a result of the pandemic will become a new norm within companies. As a result, while 55 % rooms in Accor hotels are currently compatible with hybrid meetings, these will be equipped with the following technologies Microsoft Teams Rooms and Surface Hub 2SIn addition to optimal connections, this means that content can be shared very easily.

Less famous than Teams or Zoom, it is the collaborative working technology Weframe that IHG has chosen to develop its Meet with Confidence offer. In all its hotels participating in the programme - excluding those in China - guests will have access to an 86′ weframe One interactive touchscreen to facilitate on-site and remote relations.

To build their offer, Marriott and Hilton have adopted a different philosophy with partners more focused on events and production. Encore, Cvent, Convene, MeetingPlay, Hopin: all these suppliers, for example, have been selected by Marriott to offer their technological solutions in all the group's hotels in North America as part of the Connect with Confidence programme.

A specialist in event production long known as PSAV, Encore is also the partner of record for Hilton EventReady Hybrid Solutions, which began rolling out worldwide in January. In addition to modules created for small hybrid events, Encore is adding its Presentation Stages solution in selected hotels for large-scale hybrid events, with up to six presenters and 50 face-to-face participants, in addition to the online audience.

When it comes to partnerships, the Barrière group plays its part to the full. on images and scriptwriting by turning to a television professional, the TF1 Factory agency, to build its Corporate Broadcast offering. While the group provides the decor for its hotels and casinos, this TF1 subsidiary brings its expertise in content production and corporate events. The Corporate Broadcast offering revolves around three key areas: a studio formula known as "Plateau radio filmée", a solution based on hybrid meetings known as "Plateau débat", the physical part of which takes place in the group's iconic venues such as the Barrière casino theatre in Paris. Lille or the Raimu lounge at Fouquet's.

But above all, with its "Plateau télé" offer, Barrière and TF1 Factory are aiming to give substance to a number of themes that are of particular interest to TV viewers. high-impact digital eventsThis is the case, for example, for the announcement of a new strategic plan or a product launch. These events are produced in the style of a TV programme, using extensive technical resources, including a multitude of cameras, ad hoc lighting and the full experience of professionals both in the control room and in front of the camera. " One of its added values is to offer the opportunity of editorial support with direct access to journalists and presenters from the TF1 group to convey the message." said Mari Guyot, Director of TF1 Factory. While one of the major challenges of partly or 100 % digital events is to keep participants' attention at a distance, the codes of television have long since proved their worth.