The Meet The Future campaign has been designed to explore event technologies and encourage planners to take a proactive step in embracing emerging technologies.
Central Hall Westminster, central London’s largest conference centre, hosted a hybrid round table discussion on event Wi-Fi as part of the Meet The Future campaign, attended by meeting planners and Wi-Fi specialists as well as virtual attendees.
The event, which was streamed live, welcomed an open discussion between planners, specialists and representatives from the venue and set out to equip all parties with the understanding and language needed to communicate event Wi-Fi requirements effectively. Richard Hughes, Managing Director of Wi-Fi specialist Max WiFi, presented case studies on ‘The Good, The Bad and The Ugly’ Wi-Fi experiences, while Central Hall Westminster’s IT Manager Kim Carrington answered specific questions from the virtual audience on venue Wi-Fi.
Michael Foreman, who attended the event in his capacity as Head of External Relations for the Association of British Professional Conference Organisers (ABPCO) and former ABPCO Chair, commented: “It is interesting how the Wi-Fi debate is still so alive and how high up the issue must be on the agenda for a venue to generate over 100 online registrations to an event like this. It shows that it is very topical.
“From Central Hall’s point of view, to position themselves as a thought leader and to initiate something like this is really interesting and I commend them for that.”
Maria Schuett, Marketing Manager at Central Hall Westminster and session host, added: “I am delighted with the response to this session. We had some truly great interaction between the group in the room and the online audience, covering interesting, new and controversial ground. However, this is just the start of the conversation; technology is ever-developing and will continue to dominate our industry. We’re now looking forward to our TECH Event in May, where we’ll be exploring the latest in event technology in an interactive, display led, ‘un-conference-style’ event, aimed to share insights and encourage fresh thinking to succeed in tomorrow’s events.”
Attendees were supplied with a ‘Wi-Fi Glossary’, covering key words and phrases associated with Wi-Fi technology, and a ‘Venue Booker Guide’ looking at the key questions planners should be asking of their venues and suppliers to ensure all bases are covered when it comes to event Wi-Fi. Both documents will be made available through the Central Hall Westminster website.
The Meet The Future campaign has been designed to explore event technologies and encourage planners to take a proactive step in embracing emerging technologies. The Wi-Fi round table, which focused on where event technology is today, will be followed by a second event in May 2014 to explore event technologies of tomorrow. This event will look beyond the immediate future to explore what might be possible with developments in communications and technology in the longer term.
Vicky is the co-founder of TravelDailyNews Media Network where she is the Editor-in Chief. She is also responsible for the daily operation and the financial policy. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Tourism Business Administration from the Technical University of Athens and a Master in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Wales.
She has many years of both academic and industrial experience within the travel industry. She has written/edited numerous articles in various tourism magazines.
