If social distancing has taught us anything, it is that, as humans, we crave contact. Despite all the uncertainty that lockdowns brought, research and data point to one thing: in-person events are here to stay.
So, what role will tech play in the future of these events?
Ben Lydon
Now more than ever, we need to develop systems which work symbiotically to streamline and enhance the user experience (UX) for organisers and attendees alike. Think interconnectivity at every stage of program development.
Many all-in-one event software solutions promise to be a panacea, but the more complex an event, the more important it is to choose a bespoke mix of systems – or the right tech stack – to make the process seamless.
Choosing an appropriate tech stack starts with breaking down an event into sets of intelligent requirements, and then choosing the best software solutions accordingly.
In the planning stage of the event, teams work out the minimum requirements based on the ideal journey of each participant type and then build a tech stack around this. Once a successful system is in place, teams can iterate and improve year-on-year.
Editor’s note: This article is part of TTGmice’s media partnership with AIME 2023.
XpoBay provides flexible Event Portal software to assist organisers radically simplify their events. In AIME’s case, XpoBay helps develop systems which make the exhibitor and hosted buyer experience a seamless and integrated journey to AIME.
With over 20 years’ experience in the events and exhibitions industry working with some of the world’s largest organisers of business and consumer events, XpoBay brings a unique insight into the technology needed to streamline many aspects of event planning; from registration to operations to event portals and more.
AIME is Asia-Pacific’s leading trade event for the meetings and event industry, and is where industry decision makers connect, create and do business. The event brings together international and local buyers to access the best exhibitors from around the world. AIME 2023 will be held at the Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre from February 13 to 15, and will see the industry coming together to celebrate AIME’s 30th anniversary.
Register for the Hosted Buyer Program by December 13, 2022, here.
SLH aims to meet the growing demand for events and group travel with these three partnerships; The Sukhothai Bangkok pictured
Small Luxury Hotels of the World (SLH) has formed three new international MICE partnerships within its key source markets.
These new strategic alliances have been formed with Reilly Resort Representatives (RRR) for the North American market, Avenue Sales & Marketing (Avenue) for the EMEA market and Heavens Portfolio for Asia market.
SLH aims to meet the growing demand for events and group travel with these three partnerships; The Sukhothai Bangkok pictured
Asia-based Heavens Portfolio has a team of over 50 experts and similarly works with a curated collection of some of the world’s most luxurious travel brands. They have a high-end clientele and help to expand networks in Asia’s most influential and discerning markets.
Avenue Sales & Marketing is a UK-based representation company specialising in the luxury hospitality industry. Started in 2000, Avenue represents over 100 luxury hotels worldwide, and has over 50 years of combined experience. It has an in-depth knowledge and experience in the corporate, leisure, conference and incentive market.
Reilly Resort Representatives is a female-owned and operated group sales and marketing representation firm in North America providing custom-made group sales support to independently-owned luxury hotels and resorts. RRR also connect hotels to qualified group leads by out bounding sales, trade show representation, hosted quarterly events, and monthly qualified planner meetings.
Pan Pacific Hotels Group (PPHG) has opened the Pan Pacific Serviced Suites Kuala Lumpur in Bukit Bintang.
The 25-storey high-rise houses 210 one- and two-bedroom suites, ranging from 47m2 to 80m2.
Rooftop pool
On the topmost level 25, guests can work, relax or recharge in The Living Room, a residents’ lounge that houses a meeting room, pool table, foosball table and other recreational fittings; while the Pacific Lounge serves breakfast as well as all-day coffee, tea and juices. Recreational facilities include a TechnoGym fitness centre; and a rooftop pool overlooking Kuala Lumpur’s skyline.
Guests can also unwind next door at Parkroyal Collection Kuala Lumpur’s rooftop garden terraces, St. Gregory spa, or visit the dining outlets The Botanist Lounge & Bar, Thyme and Skye Chill.
Pan Pacific Serviced Suites Kuala Lumpur is surrounded by landmarks such as Berjaya Times Square, Jalan Alor food street, Wall Art Changkat Bukit Bintang, Bintang Walk, Pavilion Kuala Lumpur and The Starhill.
By 2023, PPHG plans to double its serviced suites portfolio, spanning 10 properties in eight cities including Bangkok, Hanoi, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore.
Olivier Monceau has been appointed as Club Med’s new general manager of Singapore and Malaysia.
His priorities will be to guide the team through the next phase of strategic brand growth within the region and lead his team to deliver effective and targeted end-to-end omni-channel experience to clients that synchronises consideration and conversion to grow top line and client acquisition.
The French national was previously general manager of Club Med Russia.
Sven Wunram has been appointed executive chef of The Ritz-Carlton, Millenia Singapore.
Wunram brings with him 19 years of culinary experience within the hospitality industry, having started at the Maritim Airport Hotel Hannover as an apprentice, growing into the role of Commis de Cuisine.
He is no stranger to The Ritz-Carlton brand, having held positions in four Ritz-Carlton properties – Wolfsburg, Guangzhou, Grand Cayman, and most recently in Nanjing, as part of its pre-opening team in 2017.
Malaysia-based events technology company Evenesis has acquired Malaysian tech start-up Txtsy, which specialises in fully integrated online and offline events.
Since the company started two years ago, Txsty has served some of the biggest exhibitions and industry leaders in the region such as the Malaysian International Furniture Fair. The acquisition springs from a goal to offer enhanced business solutions for companies in the region, ranging from internal conferences to large-scale tradeshows.
From left: SY Chan and Yusno Yunos
As a result of this acquisition, Evenesis now offers a total of 12 digital products and services in event tech, establishing itself as a one-stop centre for event stakeholders by providing a complete end-to-end event management system.
Txsty’s founder, SY Chan, joins Evenesis as business development director as the company works on expanding its business regionally.
The third Business Events Tribe Assembly concluded last week
Business Events Sarawak (BESarawak) has secured 94 business events in 2022, surpassing its initial target of 90 events.
Of the 94 business events, 81 business events have been assessed with a total of 570 impacts on the sector, economy, environment and political governance. Over the next eight years, Sarawak is targeting to attract 1,245 business events to the state.
The third Business Events Tribe Assembly concluded last week
This and more were announced during the third Business Events Tribe Assembly in Sarawak last week.
During the conference, Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah, minister of tourism, creative industry and performing arts Sarawak, also indicated that funding will be provided to BESarawak to develop a legacy and sustainable event centre. Necessary resources will also be provided to make business events more impactful to the community and greener for the environment.
The minister also launched the inaugural issue of the International Journal of Business Events and Legacies, an initiative by BESarawak to offer a multidisciplinary perspective that aims to disseminate knowledge about real-world issues in business events, with an emphasis on business meetings, tourism, and legacies.
The biannual journal is the world’s first to merge business events and legacy topics under one title, and is also the first journal in South-east Asia specifically for business events.
The first issue of 11 papers provides insights and knowledge into how global business event players are evolving and what impacts have been found until now, shared Amelia Rozima, CEO of BESarawak.
The objective of the journal is to widen the knowledge capacity of the global industry, ranging from practitioners and researchers to consumers and policymakers, by addressing real-world issues on business meetings, tourism, and legacies.
It is also in line with PCDS’s strategic thrust of optimising human capital and creating a competitive economy and BESarawak’s advocacy on legacy impact.
Digitalisation is accelerating, but concerns around manual and fragmented processes, compliance and security remain
Accelerating the digital transformation of travel and expense (T&E) will be vital to improving the employee experience and achieving corporate goals next year, according to a new study conducted by Forrester Consulting, commissioned by Amadeus Cytric Solutions.
The study finds global leaders increasingly recognise that, for their businesses to succeed, they must design processes that support their workforce in a new, hybrid world of work.
Digitalisation is accelerating, but concerns around manual and fragmented processes, compliance and security remain
It revealed there has been progress in the drive toward automation, with 80% of global respondents stating that T&E is more digitised compared to other processes within their companies. This compared to a figure of 67% when the survey was last carried out in 2020. But current T&E management still presents several challenges, including manual and fragmented processes, compliance and security.
When addressing the main challenges of T&E processes today:
Managing compliance for travel, like visas and work permits (34%) (India: 34%; Australia: 31%)
Privacy and security concerns (31%) (India: 36%; Australia: 28%)
Manual processes put a strain on employees’ productivity (30%) (India: 23%; Australia: 26%)
The study also found that improving the integration between T&E technologies and other enterprise systems was a top priority (72%) (India: 72%; Australia: 71%):
On average only 37% of systems integrate with organisations’ T&E solutions leading to sub-optimal performance and poor employee experience. (India: 36%; Australia: 36%)
There was also a desire to improve the end-to-end experience for T&E (70%) (India: 70%; Australia: 74%)
There was also a desire to progress the way teams collaborate when they plan travel (70%). In India, 100% of respondents agree vs Australia at 77%.
Digital transformation drives modern approaches to T&E
Organisations overwhelmingly agree that improving their T&E processes and tools is critical to reducing cost and increasing efficiency in business operations (82%) (India: 91%; Australia: 84%)
T&E management tools need to enable a collaborative and efficient travel booking, payment and expense experience. More than half of corporate leaders believe that improving the way they manage T&E is critical to improving the employee experience and acknowledge that challenges with T&E processes have a negative impact on employee productivity and engagement. (79%) (India: 73%; Australia: 76%)
Rudy Daniello, executive vice president, Amadeus Cytric Solutions, said: “Accelerating the digital transformation of T&E is a top priority for many organisations as we head into next year. As the world of work recalibrates for a hybrid future, processes, technologies and culture need to be updated to drive increased engagement and facilitate better collaboration among employees when planning travel.”
Successfully implemented, new solutions can increase compliance with travel management policies and ease reporting. The risk of not implementing digital solutions is also real, with surveyed finance and travel management decision-makers stating they audit all expense claims – leaving more than half open to fraud, human error, and compliance concerns (41%) (India: 38%; Australia: 25%).
Virtual payments are key to allaying employee concerns over T&E
Pressure for change is coming from several directions – from all levels of corporations. Employees’ greatest complaint comes from having to pay out of their own pocket for travel – a situation which can be overcome by the deployment of virtual cards and other integrated solutions.
For leaders, virtual payments are the most valued functionality in an end-to-end T&E management platform (76%) (India: 72%; Australia: 74%) In total, 50% of respondents believe that one of the biggest advantages gained from virtual payments is better visibility and control over travel spend. This is similar to India, 63% of respondents echoing the same sentiment.
Separately, 48% of respondents considered this technology to be helping them reduce the risk of fraud vs India at 41%. Slightly different is Australia, with 61% believing that virtual payments have the main advantage of reduction in risk fraud, among others. Meanwhile, almost half of the respondents said the tools improved VAT recovery processes (46%) (India: 38%; Australia: 42%).
Ingrid Picard, head of commercial development resellers & corporations APAC, concluded: “Auditing expense reports can be a lengthy and manual process, especially when employees need to submit paper receipts or when information is collected in spreadsheet-based solutions. Fully automated systems, including digital payments, can be an efficient answer.”
“Since the pandemic and the move to hybrid work, employee expectations have risen and there has been a considerable drop in satisfaction. A focus on employee experience using collaborative technology could help reverse these trends, driving engagement, contributing to a sustainable industry, and lowering costs for corporations in Asia Pacific.”
The study was conducted across Australia, Brazil, France, Germany, India, Nordics, Spain, UK & Ireland and the US & Canada. Each of the 525 senior decision makers questioned represents a corporation with revenue ranging from US$100 million to US$5 billion and from 1,000+ to 20,000+ employees. The survey was carried out between July and August this year.
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The French national was previously general manager of Club Med Russia.
He was most recently general manager of Crowne Plaza Bandung in Indonesia.
