How Do You Mitigate the Risks of Hybrid Events?
It can’t be denied that hybrid events are here to stay. Even though the COVID-19 pandemic has passed, studies show that over 95% of organizations still plan on developing virtual events. While you might think that hybrid events pose less risk than in-person gatherings, they offer their own unique sets of challenges.
Even though the events industry was forced into virtual gatherings with the pandemic, businesses quickly realized many advantages to the online model. Today, virtual and hybrid events are as commonplace as traditional face-to-face meetings.
To take full advantage of hybrid events, you need to consider the risks that come from both virtual streaming and in-person attendance.
What is a Hybrid Event?
When executed successfully, hybrid events offer unique perks for everyone involved. In-person attendees enjoy the VIP access and social elements of traditional gatherings, while online attendees have the convenience of partaking from home. Whether they attend in-person or online, people should feel fulfilled and engaged by the experience.
While online events were conducted out of necessity during the pandemic, hybrid events of today are designed to optimize peoples’ experiences. In addition, offering both in-person and online attendance has been shown to open the door to more guests. In fact, over 90% of organizations feel that hybrid offerings positively impact attendance rates.
Common Challenges of Hosting a Hybrid Event
Since hybrid events integrate both in-person and online activities, they pose a good deal of logistical challenges.
Lack of Organization
If you aren’t organized from the beginning, it can be very difficult to successfully launch a hybrid event. This means understanding the flow of the gathering from the perspective of both in-person and online attendees. Simple oversights can balloon into major problems.
Technical Problems
Whether it’s issues with an AV system or lack of internet bandwidth, there are a slew of technical problems that can arise with online event offerings. For example, your feed could be disrupted and online attendees cut off.
General In-Person Safety Issues
It’s easy to assume problems with hybrid gatherings will be related to technology and to forget about in-person liability threats. However, safety must always be a priority when hosting in-person gatherings.
How to Mitigate the Risks of Hybrid Events
Since every hybrid event is unique, risk management in event planning is all about the details. Due to the inherent complexities that come with orchestrating simultaneous in-person and online gatherings, you must have a qualified team on your side.
The most important metric to understand for mitigating risk is the number of people you expect will attend. If you expect 95% of your attendees to be in person, putting more resources into general liability issues is wise. Conversely, an event where 95% of guests will be attending virtually should demand much more attention on tech-related threats, such as internet bandwidth.
How to Talk to Insurance Companies About Your Hybrid Event
Due to the complex and diverse nature of hybrid events, most insurance carriers don’t offer specific packages for these gatherings. However, qualified providers should have no problem creating a custom event insurance package to suit your needs.
When you talk to an insurance company about your hybrid event, be sure to have as many specific details on hand as possible. For example, if your event has 1,500 in-person attendees with an additional 750 attending online, be sure to explain these metrics to your insurance provider.
Contact Event Insurance Now
Event Insurance Now has the expertise to help you develop the right insurance plan for your event’s unique needs. Since Event Insurance Now has a large network of carriers in different markets, brokers and agents also come to us for help with policies. Agents and brokers can learn more here.
Contact us today.
