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In-Person Wellness Conference In Florida Challenges Conventional Wisdom

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The COVID-19 pandemic has fundamentally changed the once-common practice of large, in-person business meetings and conventions. Meetings are far fewer in number, tend to be scaled down in size, and are likely to have strict health and safety protocols. 

One bold group is creatively using science and technology to chart a new direction for the future. The Global Wellness Summit—an international gathering that brings together experts and business leaders involved in the $3.7 trillion global wellness industry—announced it will be holding its 14th annual summit from November 8-11, 2020 at The Breakers Palm Beach.

The summit normally attracts between 550-600 delegates from over 50 countries. This year, attendance will be limited to 150 on-site participants. A ”hybrid” conference model will allow an unlimited number of additional delegates from around the world to join the attendees remotely.

Impact of COVID pandemic on in-person business meetings

By March 2020, most businesses and organizations sensibly cancelled, postponed or scaled back large gatherings to mitigate the spread of the virus. 

The U.S. Travel Association estimates that by the end of 2020, spending on domestic travel to meetings and conventions will have declined by 68% to $39 billion, down from $122 billion in 2019. (Overall spending by business travelers was 75% lower from March through September 2020 than the same period in 2019.)

The impact of COVID-19 on the hotel industry, in general, has been devastating, comments Chekitan Dev, professor of marketing and expert on hospitality branding at Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration. “Business gatherings are the lifeblood of most large and mid-sized urban hotels and many resorts have dedicated spaces, amenities and staff to serve this market,” he says.

An August 2020 report from Industry analyst Phocuswright notes that “when and how meetings and event travel can return in the U.S. is at the mercy of science, the country’s ability to control the outbreak, and the lifting of government restrictions on group size.” It notes that maximum group size restrictions range from 5 to 10 people in some states to 10,000 in others concluding that “uncertainty seems to be the only certain trend for now.”

Also unclear is when and how this and other sectors of the travel industry can regain consumer confidence and trust, including the readiness of participants to travel and mingle—or for their employers to feel comfortable about sending them to meetings and paying their way. 

Going beyond digital

The hybrid design of the 2020 Global Wellness Summit at The Breakers Palm Beach couples an in-person conference with a virtual component. 

Why take the risk of sponsoring an in-person event? “This is a pivotal time for the wellness world,” says Susie Ellis, Chair and CEO of GWS. “We firmly believe there’s an urgency to bring industry leaders together to map the many ways that wellness can remake our world post-pandemic,” she says. “Combining a smaller, in-person meeting—with stringent health and safety precautions—and virtual access is really the new meeting ‘normal’.”

People across a range of industries are experiencing a phenomenon that has been dubbed zoom fatigue. “Digital events are filling an important void right now, but nothing can replace the deep connections and unique experiences that can only happen in person,” says Loren Edelstein, vice president and content director with the Northstar Meetings Group, a B-to-B information and marketing solutions company serving the meetings and events industry.

A unique partnership between the GWS and The Breakers

The GWS summit was previously scheduled to take place in Tel Aviv, Israel in early November 2020. But once it became apparent that border and travel restrictions, infection rates, and health protocols were in flux, the organizers realized that the planned timing and chosen venue might pose daunting challenges for attendees. As a result, the organizing team decided to reconfigure the conference plans.

Choosing The Breakers

The GWS team was confident that The Breakers Palm Beach was up to the task of hosting the summit. “Relocating there was a natural and deeply comfortable decision,” says Ellis. 

The Breakers, one of the oldest, family-owned Grand Dame hotels in America, previously hosted the group in 2017. Having worked together before, both the conference organizers and the hotel team had a shared vision of the pivotal role wellness and wellbeing play in people’s lives. Their mutual goal was to plan a smaller wellness event with health and safety precautions taking precedence.

The hotel’s management team had already crafted an exhaustive 14-page document (posted on its website) outlining the measures the resort is taking to address the health and safety of guests and associates. These include mandatory mask-wearing in all indoor and public areas; daily temperature and health screenings for staff; 100% contactless guest transactions; daily disinfection of VAC/air filtration systems, enhanced cleaning practices; and a dedicated, on-site food safety manager. 

“The hotel’s safety protocols are the bedrock of a safe conference,” says Ellis.

While Florida permits businesses to remain open at 100% capacity, The Breakers has voluntarily limited its capacity and occupancy levels throughout the resort to avoid crowding.  The sprawling premises of the 140-acre oceanfront property allow more than sufficient indoor and outdoor space for social distancing.

To minimize person-to-person interactions, the food and beverage service has been reimagined to feature staff-attended food stations; individually packaged, fresh food options; and an expanded menu of plated options. Seating capacity in all ten restaurants has been reduced, menus are provided on personal mobile devices, and checks are handled via contactless payment.

“We couldn’t be more proud to collaborate with the Global Wellness Summit, an incredibly vital ground-breaking program,” says Tricia Taylor, Executive Vice President and General Manager. “The Breakers’ successful facilitation of this unprecedented, hybrid conference—with both in-person and virtual attendance—will have tremendous impact on a variety of industries—wellness, hospitality, meetings, events, travel and beyond,”

Creating new standards for healthy conferencing

In staging this summit, the GWS will employ new approaches to keep delegates as safe as possible, ones that go well beyond most standard mitigation measures.

These include innovative creative approaches and creative partnerships:

  • Mandating medically administered COVID-19 testing at check-in (with Premier Family Health of Palm Beach)
  • Use of Far-UV light technologies to help sanitize interior conference air and surface spaces (with Healthē)
  • Transforming the primary meeting space into socially-distanced “wellness spaces” with delegates moving and/or sitting on recumbent bikes and stability balls instead of chairs (John W. Brick Mental Health Foundation)
  • Having former US Surgeon General Richard Carmona, MD, MPH, FACS serve as a medical advisor and consultant 
  • Locating brainstorming sessions outdoors
  • Providing upscale, boxed lunches to eat picnic-style on the spacious lawn
  • Arranging a first-night cocktail party, hosted by The Breakers, on the lawn as well as a “distanced disco-dance party” and drive-in movie night (on golf carts).

“People are yearning to meet face-to-face again,” says Northstar’s Edelstein. A recent Pulse Survey conducted by Northstar Meetings Group suggests that not only are participants fatigued by virtual meetings but they also aren’t convinced that these meetings are truly fulfilling their intended objectives. 

Yet the Northstar survey findings suggest that the recovery of the in-person meetings and events sector will occur slowly, perhaps no sooner than the third quarter of 2021—although the estimated timing keeps pushing forward. New findings already show a significant shift from Q2 to Q3.

Edelstein cites the need for a national policy and universal guidelines for mask-wearing and other smart measures, not leaving it up to various states and localities. Moreover, she stresses the importance of a shared responsibility among organizers, venues, suppliers and attendees in terms of adhering to guidance from government and public health organizations. “To really recover, we need to get the virus under control and that needs to be a universally shared responsibility.”

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