Digitalisation in M!CE industry is making it easier for event planners, hotels, convention centres and corporates to organize an event.
It is evident that technology has become a cornerstone of hosting M!CE and corporate events. From seamless event planning to immersive experiences and personalized solutions, hotels and convention centres are embracing digital innovations to stay competitive in the market. By upgrading their offerings and staying ahead of the technology curve, these organizations ensure the industry continues to evolve and provide enhanced experiences for guests.
On how Roseate Hotels & Resorts has embraced various digital technologies and platforms to streamline event planning, Kush Kapoor, CEO, Roseate Hotels & Resorts, said, “Technology is helping us and our guests plan, decide and execute to ensure that all expectations and scenarios are communicated, understood, and incorporated for a seamless experience. It has become an integral part of M!CE from the planning stage to venue shortlisting, layouts, invites, registration desks, kiosks and apps, virtual attendees, seamless attendee check-in, movement, and post-event feedback.”
Stressing on how The Anam Group is embracing the power of digital technologies, Laurent Myter, Group General Manager, The Anam Group shared, “Hotels such as The Anam Vietnam are fully embracing the power of digital technologies for organizing events. We rely on Eventbrite, Zoom, and Slack to manage events seamlessly, to enable remote collaboration, track registrations, and streamline communication. Technology is a vital support system for the customised solutions that The Anam is renowned for.” Citing examples of enhancing guest experience through technology, Kapoor highlighted the use of their digital app solution. “With our digital app solution, we can send notifications, reminders, updates, and directions to guests and direct them to the right venue at the right time. This approach not only enhances the guest experience, but also ensures seamless communication throughout the event,” he said.
Digital offerings
Myter said, “At The Anam Vietnam, technology is essential for hosting large-scale M!CE and corporate gatherings. Our meeting rooms are equipped with cutting-edge projectors, devices, and modern sound systems, creating an immersive experience for all attendees. The Au Lac Ballroom boasts striking 4K LED screen, enhanced by surround sound system and two wall-mounted TVs placed to ensure optimal visibility from every corner. These features allow us to provide high-quality video conferencing, captivating live streaming, and interactive polling capabilities, enhancing engagement and facilitating seamless communication during the event.”
Elaborating on some of the emerging technologies the hotels are enhancing their M!CE event experiences, Kapoor shared, “We are making it easier for our event planners to collaborate with our teams online in real-time to make changes to cater to their needs. Planners will be able to use their handphones to view, edit and approve layouts, menus, arrangements, and every aspect of their event.”
While hotels have upgraded their offerings and are looking at digital transformation and are adapting to transformative changes through technology, convention centres are eyeing on leveraging the technological advances and stepping up the tech-game. John Burke, GM, Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre, said, “More events are incorporating digital engagement and content into their events such as online registration and programme, hybrid meeting or streaming, tech needs and demands keep increasing.
Burke said, “Corporate and event planners use Internet bandwidth between 20Mbps-1Gb, while hosting business or corporate events at our convention centre. The right infrastructure is in place to accommodate their event requisites and ensure seamless delivery of their events.” He said their convention centre has prioritized investing in technology and digital infrastructure to ensure they float above the curve, enabling them to cater to the clients and organisers changing digital needs. “As more organizations are adopting digitalisation, demand for digital services is only growing. We are positioned as one of Malaysia’s well-equipped facilities to deliver to the needs of our clients. Our wireless technology accommodates up to 10,000 concurrent connections or devices, with a variety of standard and customised WiFi packages to suit individual client or event needs,” Burke said.
He said, “On the production side, we have a range of audio-visual solutions available for organizers and clients. From built-in sound systems and comprehensive lighting equipment, including LED parcans, moving cans, pin spots and Fresnel units to all our main function halls, equipped with automated truss system with maximum loads ranging from 50 kg-1,000 kg and can be moved from ceiling level to a height of 1.5 metres from the ground.”
‘Purpose-built factory’
Revealing the factors that differentiate hotels’ convention centres when it comes to hosting M!CE and corporate events, Burke shared, “Compared to hotels, our convention centre is a facility that is designed to cater to all types of business events with all the supporting facilities and infra in place to accommodate international event planners’ requirements. A feature that sets us apart from other hotels is our advanced rigging system with a capacity of up to 1,000 kg that allows a variety of flexible LED set-ups in different forms and for different functions.”
For Aditya Gupta, Sr. Manager HR&GA at Panasonic, key digitization factors in selecting a venue for corporate or M!CE events include technological infrastructure and capabilities, location, digital signages, attendance capturing methods, billing procedures, height, capacity, and internet connectivity speed. Discussing a recent event hosted by Panasonic, Gupta shared, “We recently ended an event where we showcased our technology via an event agencies, Digital Signages and 3D Running and display of a car, Signages with no need to charge.” He stressed technology has impacted corporate events within M!CE, “Digital transformation helps in providing ease of hosting events and we can foresee what we have planned and what we are trying to execute is seen before the event and that helps us to corrections. This has avoided losses for us in terms of the agenda and outcome of the event which we want to showcase,” he said.
Emerging trends
The future of technology and digitalisation in the industry looks promising, highlighting some key emerging technologies or trends. Kapoor shared, “We are making it easier for our event planners to collaborate with our teams online and to make changes to meet their needs, get revised layouts and proposals, and avoid face to face meetings. Planners will now be able to use their handphones to view, edit and approve layouts, menus, arrangements, and every aspect of their event.”
