On the day of your event, participants often arrive all at once. Showcasing your hospitality and knowing how to best manage their entry is crucial to giving a positive image of your event and ensuring that they don’t miss the beginning! Here are our tips to best welcome your guests in a fluid and efficient way!
1. Welcoming guests happens…before the event
Preparation and organization before your events are the keys to success. In order to achieve this use an online booking and invitation system, such as Evenium Net for example, which will allow you to generate a booking form and ask your guests questions such as “Which sessions do you wish to participate in?” or “Are you staying for dinner?” Managing invitations and bookings optimally beforehand will enable you to best prepare for your guests’ actual arrival (reception counters, hospitality staff, signage, goodies, etc.).
Trick: Email your participants e-badges with QR codes on them, asking them to print and bring the badges to the event. Arrival will be a breeze with this!
2. Adopt new technologies for a fast and personalized welcome
How can you be sure to easily and quickly welcome your guests upon arrival? Are they VIPs? Do they have a payment pending? Do they benefit from a special package or treatment? Imagine… with the help of tablets equipped with a hospitality app such as Evenium OnSite, your staff will be able to control and manage access more easily than ever before. All they have to do is scan the QR code on the e-badges and guide the guests through the event. It’s that simple and easy! Furthermore, all the information is directly synchronized in real time with your database. This way, you have a global view of your event’s statistics: Who has arrived? How many people are present?, etc. (Perfect! You can adapt your activities and table seating accordingly). You will also be prepared for any fraudulent or unauthorized attempt at entry.
3. Eliminate A-F reception counters and implement a “production line” instead
Speaking from experience, we recommend organizing reception counters by theme and not by alphabetical order. In this way, guests will be spread out in a more efficient way among the different counters.
For example, create a section for those who have already pre-registered, another for those who haven’t paid yet, and yet another that handles only the exceptions. These exceptions often lead to long queues. Guests have to wait their turn, whereas hosts could have already registered two or three participants in the meantime. What’s more, it always makes a better impression to have a special VIP counter – you probably don’t want to make your speakers, sponsors, or reporters wait!
4. Make your staff happy
Hospitality apps are often really easy to use! Your staff will enjoy using them and their work will become less stressful. All you have to do is brief them the day before the event, and let them play around with the app. It’s easy to use and quick to learn.
Imagine the worst possible cases a few weeks in advance, and compile them in a single document that your staff can refer to. Train them so that they are able to answer all questions without continuously having to call you (you probably have other things to deal with!).
Trick: Count one staffer for every hundred guests.
Use new technologies to optimize check-in and improve hospitality at your event. Your staff’s work is simplified and your guests will thank you for being welcomed like VIPs. Rest assured that they will have a good feeling right from the start and increase the odds that they’ll be fully satisfied to have participated in your event.
To discover our mobile check-in app Evenium OnSite, watch this quick 2 minute video.
