KEYS TO HOSTING A
SUCCESSFUL HYBRID MEETING

By Kay Samuelson, Director of Sales at Lodge of The Four Seasons Golf Resort, Marina & Spa

By no question, the meeting/event world was put into a tailspin as the pandemic started (and continues). Businesses and organizations are working to create organizational synergy, keep their business flowing, and, in essence, keep commerce continuing. But, they are faced with the challenge, how do we pull off our regional meeting, training session, or team building events in as safe a fashion as possible? Meeting planners and organizations have to do things even more creatively than before to keep the meeting productive but place the priority of safety at the top of the focus.

In the last three weeks, we executed successful in-person conferences and “hybrid” meetings that were both productive for the organizations and reassured attendees that their safety was our highest priority. Below are some best practices from those recent meetings:

• First and foremost, execute your event as a “hybrid meeting.” Content can be delivered to attendees in-person AND can be delivered to attendees in other locations virtually. Our audio visual department greatly supported the event/tech teams the past three weeks to successfully execute the virtual portion of the event. In fact, one of the planners said they have worked with other hotels in the region, and the AV/IT team at the Lodge of Four Seasons was the most well-versed industry professionals they had worked with as of late, leading to a successful virtual event.
• Consider having your organization offer company (or sponsored) branded logo masks and branded personal hand sanitizer gifts as welcome/registration items for attendees.
• Set the room up appropriately to accommodate physical distancing. At our recent meetings, attendees were socially distanced with only two people (one on each side) on ends of 8’ tables set up classroom style, or at expanded crescent rounds set at roomy 72-inch banquet tables.
• Our banquet service staff for events wear masks and gloves, providing food service delivery, and working with the organizations on plated service vs. buffets where possible. Buffets can still be executed with our banquet service team serving the food while attendees select which items to be served to mitigate touching of serving utensils.
• Make sure your host resort/venue is providing additional hand sanitizer locations. At the Lodge of Four Seasons, we provide hand sanitizer in public locations and at meal and break staging areas.
• In the downtime (after your meeting or during breaks), provide easily accessible outdoor activities and settings for attendees to enjoy. At our recent events, many were able to go outside to execute their email catch-up or network safely. Following the meeting days, attendees were able to enjoy the lake, golf and more outside while physically distanced.

We received a lot of great feedback from the attendees that our associates here at The Lodge of Four Seasons were very kind and generous; providing safe service, which put the attendees at ease. As we all know, these feelings are important in today’s world.

There are a few other keys to having a great in-person or “hybrid event,” which I would be pleased to share with any organization, meeting planner, or business. Drop me an email or call at: ksamuelson@4seasonsresort.com or 573-365-8522

For more information on how you can host your Hybrid meeting at The Lodge of Four Seasons, click here.