Conference technology specialist Etherlive claims that just 11 per cent of agents and 12 per cent of hotels are “completely comfortable” with technology terminology used in the industry.
The results come from a survey conducted among over 100 members of The Hotel Booking Agents Association (HBAA), designed to understand confidence and attitudes towards the progressive use of IT in conferences and events.
The desire for Wi-Fi and a more complex IT infrastructure is proving challenging for agents and venues, it seems.
The survey highlighted that 46 per cent of hotels and venues were confident with the changing technology landscape compared with 27 per cent of agents who felt confident that they were abreast of Wi-Fi and streaming media demands.
Both agents and venues agreed that Wi-Fi was a key consideration for meetings under 50 delegates. Some of the survey results showed:
- 55% of agents cited that Wi-Fi was a prerequisite for smaller groups; 35% of venues stated it was a key consideration.
- For events of 51 and upwards, agent demand remained static at 55% for Wi-Fi, while hotels and venues noted an increase in demand to 39%.
- 80% of the agents and venues concurred that they were fully briefed on Wi-Fi requirements by their clients; however just 11% of agents and 12% of hotels and venues felt completely comfortable with the terminology used.
When asked if IT specifications were of equal importance to AV (sound, light and staging) requirements, 72 per cent of agency respondents stated IT was less important.
Agents noted that a quick fix and more powerful infrastructure was regularly required to bolster what should have been in place from the outset at venues, and that IT spends were often over budget on production of the final bill.
The disparity between IT requirements and the actualities at the event has a proven effect on repeat business at the given venues, with 59 per cent of venues stating that issues with IT had led to business not returning.
Despite the corporates desire for IT, it was still not deemed sufficiently important to be part of the tender process for a strategic meetings management programme, according to the Etherlive research, with almost two-thirds (65%) of agents stating that it had never featured despite the corporates’ need to measure and consolidate total costs for their meetings and events.
Tom McInerney, Director of Etherlive, said: “The use of IT in events is far reaching and little understood. To say you offer free Wi-Fi simply isn’t enough. From the most basic perspective, delegates are reliant on their PDAs: presentations often use the web and content is frequently streamed across the globe; all of this requires a robust infrastructure.
“Corporates expect off-site solutions to be as adaptable and flexible as the ones they have in their offices. This is all too often not the case.”
Peter Ducker, Executive Director of The HBAA, added: “The advent of hybrid events and delegates’ reliance on the internet is bringing the digital revolution to the fore for agents and hoteliers alike, and we are actively looking to make sure the Association keeps pace with it.”
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