8 Bright Ideas for the Return to Live Meetings

As vaccination rates increase, the light at the end of the pandemic tunnel is getting brighter.  Event professionals will be tasked, once again, with adapting to a new way of meeting and gathering.  As you start laying the foundation for your live events, consider these 8 ideas for designing them safely and stylishly.

    1. Take it Outside

Tented meetings and gatherings in outdoor event spaces will (literally) be a breath of fresh air for attendees, who have spent the better part of the last year or more staring at screens all day.  When sourcing venues, ask about covered outdoor spaces or consider tenting a part of your corporate campus if you are only hosting local employees or clients.  Be sure to source outdoor-friendly seating, table and décor options, especially if the items will be outside for several days.

    2. Provide “Sanctuary” Seats

Theater style chairs spaced 6’ apart in a ballroom look more like a “time out” chair than an inviting room set for your attendees. Instead give them a sanitized “sanctuary” seat!  You can even have guests select their dedicated seat in advance of the meeting.  A properly sized table to accompany their seat allows attendees to keep their personal items, devices and any collateral or F&B neatly organized.

Guest counts and room capacities are quite fluid at the moment. By budgeting on a “per person” basis and planning for individual seats, you can quickly and easily scale costs based on your guest count as plans and mandates evolve.

    4. Mix It Up

Using several different chair and table combinations in the same meeting space lends a more interesting and dynamic look to the room.  For example, 30" tables in multiple colors throughout the room add visual interest. Color-coded seating can also designate smaller groups to be called on individually for breaks, meals and networking.

Map out the attendee experience from start to finish so you don’t miss any areas where enhanced safety measures may be required  - from registration to speakers on stage, networking, etc. Strategically placing physical dividers at key flow points within the space provides an extra layer of protection for attendees, as well as an interesting decor element.  CORT Events’ freestanding clear, acrylic dividers can be used as is for a minimalist look or personalized with your branding, instructions for guests to follow or opaque graphic designs to reinforce the look and feel of your event. 

    6. Marry Form and Function

When designing your meeting space, consider ways that you can enhance safety and aesthetics simultaneously.  Using cafe-height tables with a finished surface in a brand color, for example, allows for easy santization, plus enough space for an attendee to enjoy a plated meal or boxed lunch. High-back seating offers a built-in barrier to help make your attendees feel comfortable and bar height tables in the back rows add depth to the room while allowing for better sightlines.  Side tables and greenery can help to fill the 6-foot space between guest seating or speakers on stage.

    7. Keep Guests Charged Up

Say goodbye to the days of searching frantically for an open outlet in the meeting room or pre-function. To help keep interaction to a minimum and to avoid unnecessary clustering of attendees, equip each guest with their own power source, such as CORT Events’ Tech Tablet Chair, so they can keep their devices charged while keeping their distance.

Now more than ever, planners will need to lean on trusted vendor partners to get their events off the ground.  Your vendors are likely experts at the service they provide to you, so bring them into the conversation early in the planning process and lean on them for input and insights.  At CORT, we assist with everything from design decks you can present to your internal stakeholders to properly spaced floorplans and layouts using a 6’ grid.  Collaboration and communication will be essential to our industry’s comeback.

For more Bright Ideas for hybrid and live meetings, download the CORT Events Build Your Meeting Guide!