Category: Events

Traditionally, big events haven’t been very eco-friendly. When you’re trying to figure out travel or venue options, or event schedules, you might not be thinking about the environment after all.

In recent years, eco-friendly events have started to become the norm. Keep reading to learn some tips for creating your own sustainable event — because even just a few small steps in the right direction can go a long way.

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Our Tips for Creating a More Sustainable Event

Sustainability is all about making changes to your event to preserve the environment—that’s it. You might be apprehensive about switching vendors or about challenging previous approaches, but you can actually save money by making some minor changes.

Coffee Cups

This is a small thing to do, but it makes a considerable impact: using recyclable or compostable coffee cups. Buy cups that are completely recyclable or recycle them using a service.

You might even give out branded reusable cups, which will reduce the cups that people are using while acting as a branded souvenir too.

Ask your venue what recycling capabilities they have to figure out what might work best for you.

Eco-Friendly Venues

If you have some flexibility in your venue, consider choosing one that’s eco-friendly. This means having recycling sorting stations in meeting spaces, filtered water dispensers, smart temperature controls, and eco-friendly toiletries. These are all relatively simple things that any venue nowadays should have. 

Eco Planners

It’s all about who you hire. Your vendors are the ones who will be using various materials or going through sustainability practices, so ask them about what they do. For example, ask them if they recycle or what type of materials they use.

Go Digital

Many events work by handing out papers of all kinds—schedules, event flyers, programs. Work instead to eliminate all of this paper waste by posting signs with the schedules or sending out digital options that people can access via email. You can even send invitations online and advertise the event through social media.

You might even replace all papers with an app. Allow people to access information in the app so that they can switch between schedules, messages, and business cards with just a few taps.

Water Usage

There are a few simple things you can do to reduce how much water you use. Start with venues and hotels that use water-efficient choices. Continue by allowing guests to pour their own water at dinner so that no pre-poured water ends up going to waste.

You can even avoid waste just by offering tea bags and instant coffee rather than having a post-dinner coffee or flavored water station. All of that unused water will just end up going to waste, after all.

Transportation

Think about how far away things are. For example, is the airport extremely far away from the venue and the hotel? The closer everything is, the more you can reduce your carbon footprints.

You might even encourage guests to use eco-friendly travel options if they’re available in your area. For example, a metro rail is a great option, or buses if they’re nearby. You might even organize some communal transport to save guests the trouble and to save a little gas too.

And if everything around your venue is close too, people also might have the option to walk around the city.

Conclusion

Sustainability doesn’t have to be difficult. Ultimately, making your event more sustainable is something you can do with steps as simple as replacing coffee cups and reducing water usage. No matter what you do, even small steps matter. Your guests will certainly notice and appreciate your eco-friendly efforts too!

Event lighting is crucial for creating the right atmosphere and ensuring that your event goes smoothly. A disorganized, poorly lit event will not be enjoyable, and the role of lighting in an event cannot be understated. This is why event planners and Orlando audio visual companies take great pain to plan out lighting arrangements. 

Proper lighting can draw focus to the most vital sections of the event, set the right atmosphere, and create the desired mood.

The following tips will help you create the right atmosphere for your event: 

Tips on Creating the Right Atmosphere

Lighting Basics

Lighting is vital in creating the perfect event atmosphere, so do not skimp on this element during your planning. It’s crucial to avoid white fluorescent lights that are overly bright and harsh. Instead, go for warm and more gentle lighting effects.

You might even want to consider using remote lights that you can dim and brighten accordingly. Controlling the lights this way is excellent for getting people to focus and drawing their attention.

If you have a stage at the venue, arrange for theatrical lights for your stage to direct people’s focus, especially when you have a speech or presentation going on.

When it comes to lighting, nothing beats natural lighting if you can get it at your venue. Natural lighting is bright, cheery, and uplifting without being too harsh.

Lighting for Trade Shows

Don’t feel like you have to resort to harsh fluorescent lights for your trade show. While that is the traditional practice, you should avoid it as it is unpleasant and can cause discomfort to your attendees. If your aim is for people to stay longer to engage with the various trade booths, go for warmer ambient lights, which will make people feel more at ease.

Also, ensure that each trade booth has adequate lighting of its own. Play with warm lights or theatrical lights for the various booths to draw people’s attention towards those areas.

Adequate Lighting

This may seem obvious, but many event organizers tend to forget about lighting, resulting in a poorly lit event. Many times, organizers then try to compensate with additional light sources or music unsuccessfully.

To avoid this issue, always remember to organize enough lighting for your venue and event. For small events or venues, you may only need some uplighting, but larger corporate events will require more building lights and brighter lights that can cover the whole area. 

Complement Existing Lighting

When planning your event, ensure that you take into account any existing lighting in the venue. For example, you do not want to choose bright colors or party lights if there is already bright light from windows and building lights, as this will create a clash of color and style with your chosen decorating scheme. 

Consider asking the venue for some advice, as they will likely know what lighting would be best suited to the area. Or they could give you some sound advice on choosing lighting that does not clash with existing light sources.

Highlight High Traffic Areas

Make sure you know where the expected high traffic areas will be at your event so you can arrange for those areas to be well lit. The atmosphere can be affected if these popular, high-traffic areas are not lit well or positioned to obstruct movement around the entire venue. 

If people cannot move around easily, they will not have a good time, which can lead to them leaving the event early. To avoid this issue, make sure that any high traffic areas are lit well enough for people to move around freely without bumping into obstacles or tripping over cables.

Conclusion

Event planning is all about creating the right atmosphere for your guests, and lighting is vital. No matter what your lighting arrangements are, don’t forget to do a test run. Test your lighting to get the exact effect you want, and be sure to work closely with photographers or videographers so they’ll get to have a site visit and know how to work with the lighting you’ve arranged.

Getting back into the groove of things and planning events for 2021 can seem a bit daunting. After all, the ongoing pandemic makes some event-goers wary and can greatly reduce their interest. By following all the necessary safety precautions and going to great lengths just to ensure your event is safe, you can improve attendance and help visitors feel more assured.

But what are these necessary precautions? Is it just about social distancing and wearing masks? Not quite. In fact, there are quite a few other precautions you should take. 

In order to safely plan an event in 2021, follow the guidelines here and incorporate as many safety habits into your routine as possible. 

1. Limited Attendance

When it comes to your attendance numbers this year, they’ll have to be lower. By lowering the number of allowed attendees, you lower the risks and are able to account for social distancing easier.

With this lowered attendance, you’ll also have to provide a wider distance between seats and groups. If you can’t physically remove chairs to allow for distancing, then tape them off to prevent people from crowding around each other.

2. COVID Compliance Officers

Some venues may have their own COVID compliance officers on site. These officers are in charge of making sure everyone is following COVID safety regulations. There may even be other employees around to ensure social distancing rules are being followed and face coverings remain in place.

Some venues may provide hand sanitizer, but expect to bring some yourself just in case.

3. Limited Food and Beverages

It’s understandable that you’ll want to provide refreshments for your guests, but it may not be possible. Self-serve buffets are an absolute no-go, but you may be limited even further. Depending on your state regulations, you may not be able to provide more than pre-packaged meals.

If you still want to provide refreshments or full meals at your event, talk to your venue and see what’s possible. With that in mind, try thinking of creative ways of presenting the food so that guests don’t feel like they’re getting ripped off. 

4. Post Signs and Messages

You’ll probably need to post signs throughout the event hall that remind your guests to follow COVID safety regulations. Rather than plain text on paper though, try to design fun graphics with the same message. If it’s possible, create these graphics to follow your event theme. 

In addition to posting signs at the event, send out messages well beforehand that remind attendees of the restrictions. Let them know ahead of time if masks will be required and how you are meeting safety requirements. 

Is hand sanitizer readily available? Let your attendees know. Will a negative COVID test be required to enter the venue? Make sure they know several weeks beforehand.

5. Touchless Set-Up

As much as possible, allow for contact-free options. Instead of requiring guests to check-in at the front doors, make arrangements for some guests to check-in at side doors or even earlier. You may want to assign check-in times for each group to prevent them from mixing.

Additionally, provide touchless payment options and mobile apps. If it’s possible to participate in an aspect of the event virtually, encourage your attendees to choose that option rather than following in person. This could be anything from a survey to a Q&A.

6. Thermal Scanning

At the front of your venue, consider setting up a thermal scanning device. Most devices don’t require someone to run them, so it’s possible to set one up and let it work on its own. Thermal scanning devices can warn you ahead of time if someone has a fever or could be a potential risk, but you should let your guests know about them ahead of time.

7. Larger Venue

Even though your attendance numbers will likely be lower, you should look into using a larger venue. With the extra space, you’re better capable of social distancing and providing ample space for separate groups. 

Conclusion

Events in 2021 are going to look different than before, but it’s important to follow specific event guidelines. By planning ahead of time and letting your attendees know what will be expected of them, you can run a COVID safe event without problems.  

*GSE AV is not recommending what you should, and should not do.  It is recommended that you should always follow the CDC, OSHA & the Venue guidelines to keep yourself and your guests as safe as possible during your event.

With a global pandemic, it’s no wonder that many live events have become virtual and more people are having to convert to online discussions. When it became clear that having events 100% online wasn’t always constructive, businesses and event managers started leaning towards a hybrid approach that seems to be growing in popularity.

Going on into 2021, it looks like we’ll have to continue with hybrid events. Here are a few things you should know about the future of hybrid events and Orlando AV rental.

What Type of Event Should You Host?

In some cases, a hybrid event may not be necessary or possible. Sometimes, events are better entirely in person or completely virtual. But there are a few ways to figure this out. Of course, it’s entirely possible that all event types would work in which case you should consult the attendees or your company.

If your company has a limited travel or event budget, then offering a hybrid event would be a great solution. This also works for other attending organizations that have budget limits and can make the event more accessible.

Many venues still have occupation limits in place because of the pandemic. If you end up choosing a venue that greatly limits the amount of attendees you can have, then opting for a hybrid event can ensure that all who are invited can attend. 

If you have the option available to you, consider asking your attendees if they would prefer the event in person, virtually, or in a hybrid. This can help you better accommodate your attendees and give you a better understanding of what event type you should consider.

Tech Needed For Your Set Up

Just like any event, you still need to plan out all the equipment and tech needed for your hybrid event.

Camera

A high quality camera has never been more important, especially when you need to stream your event or record it. Your hybrid event will very likely involve a mixture of recorded and live streams. Ensure that your camera equipment is well positioned to capture the event, attendees, stage and any other important focal points.

If you’re having a live discussion, get ready to do movement and close up shots. For the best quality, be sure to record in HD and check that your equipment allows for this.

WiFi

With live streaming comes the need for fast and stable WiFi connection. Make sure that you’ll have access to this for your hybrid event.

Microphone

When it comes to a hybrid event, you can be sure that your speaker will have to multitask a lot more with a live audience as well as virtual attendees. Sound quality is not to be compromised as it can distract your audience and cause them to lose interest.

Get access to a microphone that produces clear audio that’s also loud enough. Always keep in mind that you’ll have to cater to both your live and virtual audience.

Lighting

Hybrid events can make lighting more tricky. When it’s a completely virtual event, you merely have to focus on lighting up your immediate surroundings. Since it’s a hybrid event, you’d have to arrange for your stage and attendees to have adequate lighting as well, especially if you are utilizing a green screen background..

Conclusion

Hybrid events are attractive and can increase the number of attendees, but you’ll have to put in the work. Ensuring you have a quality event and are still adhering to local social distance rules can be challenging, but not impossible. Remember not to overlook the minute details and put the work into planning and your hybrid event will run just as smoothly as any other event before.