NAVIGATING LIVE EVENTS AMID GLOBAL POLITICAL UNCERTAINTY

Hello, this is Les Goldberg, and welcome to The Road Ahead. The Road Ahead podcast is dedicated to the future of the live events business, bringing together industry experts. Hello, production world. This is Les Goldberg and The Road Ahead, and I have three amazing guests today. I have Michelle Smith, and Michelle is the executive director for ERMIA, which is the University Risk Management and Insurance Association. What a title, Michelle. I also have Jessica Parkhurst, and she's with Accenture Foundation Risk Partners. She's the executive vice president of marketing and corporate events. And then I have, finally, I have Emilie Perkins, and Emilie is officially the vice president of client and conference services for the Raybourn Group International. Everyone, welcome to the show today. Thank you. Thank you. So today's show title is titled Planning Live Events with the Impacts of Dealing with Constant Political Chaos Around the World. And so today we talk about, as you all are event planners, and you have to put it all together, and you have to schedule it, and you have to make sure everything is kind of in clockwork about what's supposed to happen when and how and who and where. And we have so many things that are happening in the world that impact us. I can just name a few. Let's see, TSA went on strike. We have a couple of wars. Fuel prices have changed. Airlines, because of TSA and fuel prices, cancel flights. Sometimes we'll have bad weather. I'm just talking about a few things. Then we had a government shutdown. Then we have, you know, there's just so much going on in the world that impacts what we do. So my first question, I'm throwing it to Jessica. Jessica, where do you start planning an event with so many things that can impact the number of live attendees that will show up at your event? Where do you start? Yeah, for us, I think it's all about the location and where our attendees are primarily coming from. Most of our events are internal, and so they're not external client-facing events. So the benefit of that is that we do know where our attendees are coming from. And again, it's just trying to find that location that's going to be centrally located, considering that we're crossing over multiple time zones. And then, obviously, with any event, you have to look at dates. Is it spring break? Is it Christmas break? Is it all of the things that we're all involved in? And we do try to keep our events within a week and not spread over a weekend, because another challenge that we also have, outside of all of the worldly events, is that we do have a pretty good number of team members who have religious exemptions, being Orthodox Jewish up in the Northeast area. And so we have to be mindful of that and their travel restrictions as well. Wow. Well, it sounds like it's not very easy. It's always a challenge, but I feel like that's what makes our jobs so fun, is that every day is different. And as event planners, we always account for plan B and hope we never need it. Plan B. Okay, Michelle, what are your thoughts on this? We're starting to plan an event, and you have so many things that impact the number of attendees that might show up and participate. And where do you start, and what are some of the challenges you face? That's a great question, Les. Thanks for having me today. I'm happy to contribute. Yeah, Jessica summed up the other side of the fence, right? We're taking care of our people, and then all these worldly things impact it. So we typically start with benchmarking some of our peer associations, and then we follow that information up with a quick one-question survey. Are you planning to attend? And then we really begin in earnest in some of the contracting and planning and those sort of things. So we start with a broad range. We do some benchmarking. We get as much intelligence as we can on the subject, and then you just got to move forward at some point and hope for the best. I love the positivity. We're going to hope for the best, and we're going to have, as Jessica said, a plan B, but we're not going to use that plan B, hopefully. Emily, what are your thoughts on this? Yeah, so we're a little different from Jessica in that we represent associations. So all of our events are outward-facing. None of them are for internal purposes. So when we look at any of those events, and they do vary by stakeholder, we have 18 different associations we work with. All the stakeholders are different, so it can't just be a copy-and-paste situation, unfortunately. But we always have to start with why. So what is the purpose of the meeting? So we don't have to have a meeting. You don't have to attend something just because you belong to the association. So we have to have a really strong value proposition for the purpose of that meeting. And I would say, for us, that doesn't change if things are going great or if times are turbulent. You need to have a really strong why, regardless of the situation. And when you start with that, then you can kind of move forward. Now, I do think that when times are tougher, we do need to define the success of that event differently. So it may not be looking at butts in seats, overall numbers, but more the impact that it made on the stakeholders. So did we change their behavior in any way? Did we help them solve their problems? But we have to start with that really strong purpose first, that value proposition. Otherwise, they are going to say no. They don't have to come to this event. Some of them are paying out of pocket. So it has to be a strong enough reason for them to be there. Okay. We're having events. We're planning events. We've got plan B. We've got some polling we've done to see who's coming. We've had to book so many rooms. There's a lot of planning that goes in. I don't really believe people who go to events can appreciate what the meeting planners do in advance. I mean, the challenges that you face and all of the little surprises that pop up are not exactly the easiest gig, as we call in production world. But let's shift the conversation to this. How many of the shows that you're working on expect a hybrid version? Because world events, travel, I mean, if your audiences have any international component right now, and they're coming from the Middle East, they're not really coming. It's some of those type of things. There's a lot of those external factors. So I want to know, I'm coming back to Jessica. Jessica, do you expect to provide a stream or a hybrid feed for someone who can't attend who wants to experience the show? We do not. So organizationally, we have about 50 events that we plan a year. And some of those are dedicated virtual events that we have, primarily national sales meetings and things like that. We do in-person quarterly meetings, and then we have our large annual conferences, incentive trips, etc. So because we already have a great balance of virtual versus in-person events, our in-person events, if you cannot attend in-person, they are not streamed for a hybrid event. Got it. Emilie, your thoughts? Yeah, so my favorite answer always, well, it depends. So it depends on what the purpose of the meeting is, a little bit like what Jessica was saying. So if the purpose of the meeting is really educational in nature, so we have some medical associations we work with, they need CMEs. That's the primary purpose of that event. Then we do look at a hybrid option when necessary. Oftentimes, though, it's not. It's not synchronous. So we do it more in asynchronous situation, easier to control in that way. But if the purpose of the event is really for connection or networking, I think we're still seeing that that hybrid is just not meeting the mark when it comes to that networking connection. We've tried all sorts of different platforms and gimmicks, and it just doesn't quite answer the real need that folks have if they're coming for that purpose. So depending on the type of event, we will offer some asynchronous learning, but not so much the live stream version. Gotcha. Michelle, your thoughts? Yeah, we really go out on a limb here. So in the spring, we have a number of face-to-face programs, and our annual conference is in the fall for our members. And so we were very lucky that in 2021, our largest program was in the fall, and right after COVID, we started the hybrid version of our annual conference, synchronous hybrid annual conference, and we have not looked back. In fact, every year, we see on the evaluation comments, they're begging us not to shelve it. Higher education is in a unique situation right now. And so we are just very happy to do it with our wonderful AV partners and our hotel partners, and our conference app was already in place and set up for success to stream. And our virtual attendee registration fee covers that cost of the additional equipment to do the true hybrid. And our speakers only have to speak one time, and it's just worked out beautifully for us. And we're also able to, if there is a last-minute emergency, or there is a TSA challenge, or somebody's flight is super delayed because of weather, we can flip them to virtual really easily. And it's the same price, and everybody is happy to get that education. And then we do some special networking options at the break times and at the meals, and do a daily wrap-up with our virtual attendees so that we really try to incorporate them as a cohort in and of themselves. And then our in-person speakers are also very aware that we have a hybrid audience, and our moderators make sure that they get all the questions they need answered as well. It works out for us. And, Les, I'd like to add to that, too. I feel like with everything that's going on with all of the current worldly events, I feel like part of the big decision of whether you do a hybrid version or not, it doesn't even play into that. We all know how expensive Wi-Fi and equipment it is to run a hybrid event and to be able to live stream, to have that high bandwidth. So a lot of times I feel like the decision is really based on the budget of your event, on whether or not you can increase that budget and that AV and that Wi-Fi and technology component to be able to live stream the event. Got it. So if either you have money to do it or you're going to charge a fee for that experience, somehow you have to recover that cost. Yeah, exactly. And that's why we don't do it on our smaller events in the spring, but our larger event, which we build that into the budget. So you're absolutely right, Jessica. So I'm moving on. And this question is to Emily. So with timelines and the changes of the world as we're living in it today, locking in final numbers of rooms and catering and all that stuff, has the timelines changed or the venues still have these long timelines with penalty clauses? And how have you dealt with that? Yeah, so unfortunately we're seeing the change on our end, but for venues, et cetera, they are not adapting with us. So we are still seeing minimums due really far out or event orders due really two months ahead of time. And honestly, I would say the bulk of our registrations come two months ahead of time. And honestly, I would say the bulk of our registrations come within the last three weeks before the event. So that's really tricky. It's tricky when it comes to your rooms, your overnight rooms, and it's tricky when it comes to your food and beverage minimums and getting those numbers in. I'm hoping that we will find a happy medium. Maybe we can't go all the way to, I kind of remember in the olden days, we were at a 72-hour food and beverage numbers, but that is not the case anymore. And I think a room block closing four weeks out is just completely unrealistic. So if we could get to two weeks out, that would be amazing. A lot of good partners have worked with us and will extend that deadline to two weeks out. But even with some of our international type of events, we still are seeing that last-minute registration where you'd think, well, certainly they're not making that decision that far out. I can tell you we had one event where a vendor showed up on site with the booth in tow, did not actually have a booth, was from Canada and said, we thought we could probably just get this set up if you had an open space. Literally that day. So I mean, that's how things are still happening. So I think we're finding we have to be more nimble as planners, but maybe we are not seeing the same from the venue perspective yet. Jessica, your thoughts? Yeah, I feel like with everything that's happened recent, I don't feel like the hotels have necessarily caught up because our contracts were signed a year, two years in advance. So we're still adhering to our cutoff numbers from dates that were set two years prior. Obviously, with the cost of fuel and jet fuel and things like that increasing, we're trying to do a more proactive approach where we're actually giving them a shorter registration deadline to encourage them to register early so that we can meet. As Emilie was saying, that four weeks before the event, we already have to have our rooming listed. We've seen the sense of urgency on our end by launching registration earlier and giving them a shortened registration time. It's actually worked out to be pretty successful. It's just a lot harder on the event planning team because now we're building those registration sites so much earlier than we had thought and having to touch base with our vendors and so forth so much earlier. So we're trying to combat it, but I don't feel like the hotels have caught up. The hotels have really caught up to what's happening right now in the present because our contracts were executed so long ago. Yeah, I don't necessarily think they're motivated to make change because they win with all of the limitations they have in their contract. And it's just the dynamic environment. Michelle, your thoughts? Yeah, I'd agree with those comments. It's getting tougher and tougher. We don't have a history that we can depend on anymore because the behavior has changed, but more importantly, the human behavior has changed. I think people do business differently now, and that's also impacted this information. Michelle, back to you on this question. Would you say if you have an association with a lot of international members, the attendance has changed because sometimes people are not willing to travel as much if they're going a long distance, especially in these crazy world events? Yeah, I would agree with that comment. We do have some international visitors. They tend to be here for a longer period of time than just a conference. And so we are inviting them to stay longer and do tours of local schools and campuses and city events that are happening around the same time. So we try to get ahead of the curve and make it worth their while to attend, but that's where that hybrid option comes in as well. Got it. Jessica, your thoughts on international attendees? Yeah, so we only have probably one program that has international attendees, but I am running a program in June in Southern California near the L.A. area, and my event happens to be pretty much butted up right next to the FIFA Cup. And so I was having some conversations with some of our hotel partners that we're utilizing and speaking on that on their behalf, FIFA Cup as a whole has actually reduced their entire room block for all of the L.A. Hollywood area by 14,000 rooms over the L.A. FIFA Cup game that's happening. And when I asked, that's a lot. That's a massive depletion of room block. And the reason was is because fuel costs for airlines, it's becoming harder for these international travelers to get visas to come in for extended periods of time for something like a FIFA World Cup that crosses over two, three weeks or so forth. And then obviously the domestic travel has went down because of the long waits at TSA and so forth, too. So they just recently reduced their room block by 14,000 rooms. Sounds like prices in L.A. are going to be better on room rates now than they were. Let's hope so. Yes. Emilie, your thoughts on international travel? Yeah, I mean, we've had this year, I would say we've had some drop off. Several of our associations have international presence, not a huge amount. I think there's more of an underlying fear that we're seeing. So we're doing some more proactive communication with those stakeholders just so they feel a little more, they have a little more control over their decision making. Whereas in the past, we didn't really have a whole section about visas and how to apply because folks usually know how to go through a process like that if they travel often, but they just have a different level of concern these days. So we've done more of that proactive communication to help with some of that. So obviously contracts are locked in well in advance, but we have these external costs for attendees, which would be plane. Obviously, your hotel room has a booking rate if they lock in. But it seems like everyone's talking about travel costs have gone up. And if travel costs go up, that could be a disincentive to attend. And I think that's something we're all facing. And obviously, a hybrid option is a lot cheaper for an attendee if they can get some type of experience. Sometimes the hybrid experience is not the same or even relegated to even something of the same caliber, right? We have this theory as we're creating a hybrid experience for an attendee. It's got to be different than the live experience because they're sitting behind their computer and it could be for hours and hours. And maybe a three-day conference is a one-day hybrid experience where we're pre-recording stuff and we're making the show interesting for four to five hours so that they can get the interesting stuff. But they do miss that networking component, right, where you meet your peers and you talk about issues, et cetera. My question is, I'm showing this to Jessica. Let's talk about a backup strategy. Where would you begin with a backup strategy for your event? And this could be you could have a big reduction in attendance. You could have travel challenges. You can't get to the city. Where do you start with a good backup plan and what would it include? I feel because we don't do hybrid events, that would be our backup plan is if we had a significant reduction in travel, airfare went up, et cetera, that we would offer a hybrid component to that event. Or we might even peel off, instead of one massive event, we do a lot of regional events so that it does not require overnight stays and it does not require flights. So maybe pivoting and making some of those events more regionally. Obviously, you'd still be under a contract with a hotel. We've had to repunt in situations like that where we've reached out to the hotel and said, hey, we still want to have a program. We still want to give you the revenue. We just need to pick it up and move it to a different quarter or a different year and things like that. And because of our relationships at a national level with our hotel partners, so far we've been able to do that without a significant financial penalty. I was going to say, during COVID, the hotels learned to make some accommodations. Emily, your thoughts on a backup plan? Yeah, I think we all have to operate with backup plans these days. I mean, at minimum, a financial contingency backup plan, whether that's 10%, 15%, whatever that might be, having that in there. I think from a smaller association perspective, we don't have that same reciprocity with the hotels always, that they're not willing to move the programs like they did during COVID times. We had a lot of luck back then, but now it's getting a little harder. We're charging forward usually, and maybe that does mean adding some kind of virtual component for sure. But I think we also use transparency kind of as a proactive risk management tool. We're managing expectations with our attendees. We're communicating what's going on with them. If the experience has to be different than what we initially told them or offered, we're making it clear this is the reason why. Got it. Okay, Michelle, what's the backup plan? Well, we're risk managers, so we talk about those a lot. Obviously, yes. It depends on what the timeframe is, right? We're talking about six months out or we're talking about six days out, so that really makes a difference. But these partnerships and these relationships that we've had with our vendors that help us make a successful program are crucial at this point. We really have to lean on an open and honest and transparent conversation with those partners to say, here's where we are, you're part of the team, what do we do, and how do we make this as successful as possible? Because if we lose the trust of the membership for us as an association, if we lose their trust, that may not necessarily impact this year but will in the future. And so we have to be inclusive of that language in the FAQs that we put out and do a safety briefing from the stage. If it happens to be an on-site emergency that happens, we just have to be ready for all of those situations. And 100% of the time, you can't, but you've got to have a plan B for a couple of the most common ones and then move forward as best you can with your team. Well, I think one of the easier backup plans, if there's a streaming solution that is already in place, then you kind of have the, I got lost on the airport cancellations or something happened, I couldn't make it there. That's one component. Some people actually record the show and they post it so that people can watch it throughout the year and they charge a fee for that experience because for people who couldn't make it or had conflicts. But this is kind of my last question, and I'm starting with you, Emilie. With everything we know is going on in the world, and there is lots of craziness, I got to turn on any news channel, whatever flavor, what do you see the future of live events, at least through the end of 2027? If I'm giving you a timeframe, so the rest of 26, 27, do you think we're going to go back to whatever we call normal is? I mean, free, I don't even know what normal is. Yeah, normal doesn't exist anymore. But I do think that as I look forward, everything that we do as meeting professionals is create human connections. And I think that that's going to continue now more than ever. People have that desire to be connected, to grow together. So I think that as long as we continue to solve problems for our stakeholders, have a great value proposition for them. Remember that we're experienced architects. We're creating these experiences for them as meeting professionals. If we continue to do those things, folks will still continue to come together. And that's the most important thing. I like that. All right, Jessica, the future. Take me into the rest of 26, into 27. Tell me, what's your crystal ball? I definitely don't think that live events are going away by any means. However, I feel we're going to start to see where there's fewer live events, but they're also going to be more expensive. You know, service costs post-COVID went from about 22 percent up to about 26 percent. The cost of food and beverage has increased 8 to 10 percent year over year. That's not going to go away. That's going to continually climb. So I think we're still going to have live events. They're just going to be fewer. They're obviously going to be more expensive. But I also feel like they're going to be more visible and they're going to be more intentional. Intentional. That is a very interesting word. I'm intentionally saying that word intentional because obviously doing events that have meaning, I think it's really important for anyone when they go to have an experience that they feel like their time was well used and they felt like they got something from it. Because when you don't create those experiences that are meaningful and that create a little bit of, you know, what I got from it, then it questions whether people are going to come back to do it again. Michelle, would you take us home to the future of the rest of 26 and 27 and what can we expect? No pressure. Gosh. No pressure. Save the best for last, right? Yeah, I mean, I would agree with Emily. It's the human condition for folks to gather and to in community with each other, both in our personal and our professional lives. And so I think that looks the same. The event itself may look different. And I think my word is going to be value. You know, I compare it to a sporting event, right? People want to get together and experience it live and not the moment where they're away from their other responsibilities. And they're now in community with each other at a given moment. And so people still value that. And I think the pressure will be on the planners and our leadership to provide an experience that lives on after the in-person event. And one that provides value for the attendee and their organization that they're representing. I think all three of you well stated a good case that live events are here to stay. I believe that the person to person, the people getting together, that gathering of people, the energy is created. And that combustion and the outcome is really what provides some level of purpose for why we had the meeting to convey ideas, to learn, to experience, to grow. And I believe that it's here to stay. It's just it may look or feel a little bit different. And I think everything that all three of you articulated today is to those means, to those ends. And having to deal with the challenges of how you do what you do. And there's nothing more rewarding than executing, especially with all the challenges of the meeting planner. So I want to thank Michelle, Jessica and Emilie. You all are amazing. And I appreciate all of your great words. And this is Les Goldberg and The Road Ahead. We will see you next time. And ladies, thank you again. Great job. Have a good day. Thanks, Les. Thank you.