You took part in the GBTA France webinar on Thursday: what was the mood among the other players in the market?
Arnaud Katz - The reality is that everyone wants and needs things to get going again. So there was a lot of energy. Everyone wanted to move on a bit and our perception of the situation changed every week. People would have asked me three weeks ago " how are events and meetings doing?" the answer would have been " it's the death of the little horse" . Today, we're talking about a slight recovery, and I'm sure that in a fortnight' time I'll be even more positive.
Was it "group therapy", or did ideas emerge?
Arnaud Katz - There have been some new ideas, and everyone needs to be reassured that hygiene is being taken into account with ad hoc measures, whether on the train, in the plane or at event venues. But as of September, the SNCF is once again receiving orders from groups for seminars. The other thing we've noticed is that teleworking doesn't solve everything, and that everyone needs to recreate social links. The big trend in the events sector is towards local events and small or medium-sized meetings. What buyers want is to be able to bring their teams together again, to bring them closer together, not through big festive events, but through small and medium-sized meetings.
So you're preparing for the upturn?
Arnaud Katz - Yes, the teams at Bird Office have resumed their work with great enthusiasm. The shutdown was brutal for everyone, and even though we have remained mobilised for our customers, the teams have only one desire: to get back together, to meet up with customers and partners, to think about this 'new normal' and the world afterwards. Among our customers and partners, there's also a real desire to get back into the swing of things in September-October, once the summer and holidays are over. Some of our customers are calling us to ask us to help them organise, not large corporate events, but rather meetings and events for smaller groups, such as teams. We work together to come up with a number of scenarios based on health measures and maximum capacity, as well as on the 'new' way in which companies are organised.
Have suppliers had to make an effort in terms of cancellation policy?
Arnaud Katz - As far as Bird Office was concerned, we already had the flexibility argument on our side, since we offered modification at no cost. So we did a lot of work with buyers to show them the savings they had made by going through us rather than direct, because we have contracts that are favourable to them.
Do you think that virtual exchange formats will continue to dominate?
Arnaud Katz - Hybrid formats between the physical and the virtual have been around for a long time, but they haven't really caught on. You quickly realise that you can do virtual meetings at low cost, but in reality, they can often cost as much as physical meetings if you want to make the effort and use the right technologies. On the other hand, the trend is to have several local meetings taking place at different points, and connected to each other. If videoconferencing helps to avoid acute, useless meetings and to get things done more efficiently: fine! But no one believes that the virtual will replace the physical. A company is built on aligned, motivated teams, a shared strategy and shared values: how else can you share the values and culture of a company other than in person? It's impossible. After all, values and culture are the foundation of a company.
Airlines and hotels communicate a lot about their health measures to reassure their customers. Are you also taking steps in this direction?
Arnaud Katz - All our venues are used by events professionals. We have introduced standards of good practice for these venues, and we are in the process of standardising our venues: all Bird Office venues will have a hygiene standard. This certification is in progress. But I must stress that all the venues we work with are managed by professionals, who therefore guarantee that they all follow good hygiene practices.
What was your activity during the confinement period?
Arnaud Katz - We had to do a lot of postponing with our customers, and negotiate with venues to reduce cancellation costs as much as possible when necessary. Of course, there was a major downturn in business when it was forbidden to hold meetings. But now there are encouraging signs that events are picking up again.
Have you taken the opportunity to identify new avenues for development?
Arnaud Katz - We've made progress on the technology file, because our 'tech' team hasn't stopped working. That saved us a lot of time. We were also able to work with the buyers on their needs in terms of security and employee location. So yes, we took the opportunity to step back and refine our strategy.
Your development plans targeted events and international business. These plans must have been disrupted...
Arnaud Katz - Internationally, we already have key account customers in London and Belgium. So we already have a multi-country approach. As far as pure events are concerned, it's true that we're putting less emphasis on them today, but they'll come back. It's often the same people who manage large and small formats. We're focusing on small meetings because that's what's in demand, but we'll adapt as demand evolves.
Do you expect to do your job in the same way after the crisis?
Arnaud Katz - Of course we adapt according to the customer's project, but the substance of the Bird Office project was already anticipating the transformations underway. Covid has accelerated trends that were heading in our direction.
What are the new trends in meetings & events?
Arnaud Katz - More than trends, I'd like to emphasise the fact that companies are facing a major challenge, which I mentioned earlier: how do you recreate links and continue the dialogue with your employees and partners, when a new work organisation is gradually being put in place? For us, the answer is clear: small and medium-sized meetings and events. I think we're in the process of rethinking meetings/events in the light of societal and environmental needs. There are going to be more of them, because if we're no longer going to the office 5 days a week, we're going to have to maintain that social link and get together. At the same time, we're going to see better optimisation of human and time resources and a reduction in the number of participants: the days of pointless meetings with people mobilised for nothing are over... We're also heading towards a reduction in duration: less time for the event itself and less transport time too, and therefore increasingly 'local' events.
Do you have some visibility on the future, and if so, does that make you optimistic?
Arnaud Katz - It makes me optimistic to receive twice as many requests every week. It's very encouraging. We don't have a complete picture of the recovery, but we think that economic recovery has to be about bringing people together, and that means events. I think that after the crisis demand will be stronger than ever, even if it's very difficult to commit to a timescale.
