The Hospitality Professionals Association (HOSPA) is set to utilise innovative technology to deliver its annual conference, incorporating pioneering virtual reality to deliver a hybrid event that will see a small scale physical conference projected to a wider audience through groundbreaking technology.
With social distancing greatly reducing the scope of large scale corporate events, HOSPA, will utilise the Royal Lancaster Hotel’s Extended Reality offering to create a hybrid experience for attendees on Thursday 19th November 2020.
HOSPACE is HOSPA’s annual conference, which welcomes leading figures from the world of hospitality to share best practice, discuss the key topics affecting the industry and provide opportunity to network and build professional connections.
With the advent of the coronavirus crisis necessitating an overhaul of plans for the event, HOSPA is set to implement the latest in extended reality technology to provide a mixed experience for guests, with the conference to be held on Thursday 19th November 2020.
With workshops and talks conducted live at the Royal Lancaster Hotel to a limited audience, HOSPA will then project this around the world to remote attendees, but using Extended Reality to provide a more authentic experience.
The programme is geared around recovery in hospitality and the line-up includes financial and legal updates for hospitality, insights from leading hoteliers, advice on technology to support a socially distanced new world, understanding guest behaviour and the absolute necessity of collaborative working as the key to success.
Jane Pendlebury, CEO of HOSPA, said, “HOSPACE is a key event in the hospitality industry calendar. Ordinarily it provides the opportunity for industry peers to share best practice and informative advice.
'Now though, as we face the challenges of the coronavirus pandemic, it’s never been more important to collaborate and work together as one. Consequently, we’ve persevered with our plans, adapting our approach to fit within the latest coronavirus guidance while working hard to deliver an experience that attendees can both enjoy and, crucially, benefit from.”
Pendlebury said, “We’ve been delivering highly relevant webinars since the Coronavirus crisis began as we look to help guide those who operate in the industry. These have been very well received.
'Of course, on top of this, we’ve all been party to a deluge of online calls, so we’re all well versed in staying connected remotely. However, given this fact, we wanted to ensure that we delivered something different, providing a fresh take that people can embrace and engage with.
'Utilising the Extended Reality experience at the Royal Lancaster will see us provide a unique experience that we hope industry professionals will be keen to explore.”
Pendlebury concluded, “Of course, much of the conference programme will focus on how we can move on from the strain of the last few months, and how we can rebuild and reinvigorate our industry offering. As one of the few events to actually carry on in the face of such disruption, we see it as our duty to deliver an agenda that delivers real value to those involved.”