It’s been half a decade since USA Today interviewed the COO of EventUp, showcasing all the ways that hotels are changing their layout, decor, and spaces to stay ahead of emerging trends and customizable, fun event spaces - eliminating the stuffy, plain old conference rooms in a lot of places. It’s been years since this article was published, and looking back on it now during the COVID-19 pandemic it’s safe to say that some hotels had set themselves up for success.
As the world begins to figure out the “new normal” and hoteliers are looking at their space in new creative ways, it’s positive to see that most hotels began to steer away from having small conference rooms in the basements of their hotels and worked towards creating larger, brighter spaces in their main areas and even outdoors. With that being said, you’ll still find your old school hotel conference rooms, masked in all white with classroom-style seating, and a large projector screen in the front. Unfortunately, those are the hotels that will have a harder time complying with new CDC standards for events. It’s the hotels that have larger, brighter spaces with windows and open-air that will gain guest confidence for their future events. These spaces allow for social distancing, larger walkways, and room for contactless food & beverage distribution.
The Maybourne Beverly Hills in Los Angeles, CA is a great example of a hotel with ample indoor and outdoor space for gatherings of any size. In addition to their indoor conference rooms which are bordered with windows that can open to fresh air, they have multiple outdoor spaces that can be customized for any style event of your choosing. Then we have the typical hotels such as The Sam Houston, Curio Collection by Hilton located in Houston, TX. This Hilton property has your typical conference rooms, but they also have a special covered outdoor space referred to as the Veranda that can host events and weddings of various sizes. Make sure to sleep with one eye open though, they say The Sam Hotel is one of the most haunted places in Texas!
In short, you may think that hosting events during a pandemic or post-pandemic world may be difficult, but it doesn't have to be. Hotels may be the best places to host your event with the ease of having most of what you need right there on the property. Whether it be multiple event spaces, food and beverage, CDC compliant health and safety precautions, and the best part, a place for your guests to stay. In addition to health and safety regulations and redesigning event spaces, you can also count on most hotels to be investing more into smart and contactless technology to help ensure guest and employee safety and build trust with their guests.
So as you begin your hotel search, keep in mind a few of these tips and keep us in the loop! If you come across any hotels with creative, unique spaces or things they’re doing differently with their space to allow comfort for their event guests, let us know in the comments or share with us on Twitter or Facebook!
