inConversation… Rocco Forte Hotels' Anna Gricini on the hybrid revolution

With 97% of event professionals agreeing that hybrid events will be the new normal according to research by Bizzabo, demand for virtual and hybrid event and studio spaces within hotels and venues looks set to increase rapidly.

Rocco Forte’s Hotel de la Ville in Rome has just announced two new virtual event spaces to respond to this growing need within the events industry.

So, we caught up with Rocco Forte Hotels Regional Sales & Marketing Director Italy, Anna Gricini, to find out more…

Do you agree that hybrid events will be the new normal?

In the current difficult scenario, I agree that Hybrid Events are becoming a "new norm" and, certainly, they will continue to be a preferred type of events until the travel restrictions will be applied. However, as hoteliers, our wish is to be able to go back to live events. We strongly believe that the human component is crucial and, most importantly, by arranging live events, we can offer to our guests a 360° Rocco Forte experience, exploring the destination, enjoying the culinary excellence, the service quality and the true essence of our Luxury hospitality.

When did you make the decision to invest in hybrid/virtual technology?

At Rocco Forte, we never stopped reviewing and adapting our strategies and business approach. We have worked really hard to come up with solutions and ideas that could really be of support for our guests. Therefore, the project and the decision to invest in hybrid/virtual technology came up quite immediately and we wanted to be ready with the right AV partner soon after Summer. As we know, the months from September onwards are the most relevant for our C&I clients with an increase of demand for corporate meetings, events, product launches. Therefore, we launched our project now to be ready and able to respond to our clients’ needs

Have you had clients directly asking for those capabilities?

Considering the current restrictions for live events and the social gatherings limitations, we registered a natural increase of demand for hybrid/virtual meetings and events. Our corporate clients were the first to review the way they were used to arrange meetings and they showed a great interest for these new capabilities that we do offer in our Rocco Forte Hotels.

Tell us about the two spaces you have available at Hotel de la Ville in Rome?

Of course! At Hotel De La Ville, the new iconic roman hotel by Rocco Forte we created the new Hybrid Ivy Room and Hybrid Studio Suite, two virtual events spaces designed to respond to the upcoming needs of the events industry.

These two locations guarantee the correct social distancing and allow our guests to organise hybrid events where in room audiences can connect with remote delegates interactively.

The Hybrid Ivy Room is set to meet all technical requirements our guests may have (stage, customisable backdrop, LCD screens, excellent audio-visual equipment, professional cameras as well as the technical support of a Digital Event Organiser). It is the perfect solution for business meetings, product launches and workshops as it allows speakers to present to a combination of in-room and remote delegates.

The Hybrid Studio Suite instead is a more intimate space and perfect choice for companies including but not limited to: media, communication agencies, Entertainment, Corporates Organisations. In the Hybrid Studio Suite our guests can conduct interviews, presentations, talk shows or video conferences in complete privacy and in an exclusive environment still counting on the support of the latest AV technology.

Have the spaces been put into action yet?

In September we had the extraordinary opportunity to arrange our first hybrid meeting. We broadcast live from Hotel de la Ville during an Educational Trip that involved some of our key C&I clients from the UK.

We had valuable and constructive dialogues between events professionals talking about the changes that our industry faces, what we should expect from the future and what kind of positive contribution we can give to make sure we continue to deliver the service excellence that our clients expect from us. In the pipeline as well we have several requests and some interesting confirmation for hybrid events in the coming months.

Are you planning to offer similar hybrid capabilities in your other Italian properties?

Although we decided that Hotel de la Ville would have been probably the best location to showcase our new luxury hybrid meeting solutions, from the very first moment we had clear in mind that this would be something replicable in all our hotels whether is Hotel de Russie in Rome, Verdura Resort in Sicily, Hotel Savoy in Florence and why not Masseria Torre Maizza in Puglia and the soon to open Villa Igiea in Palermo.

We act as a Rocco Forte Hotels brand and although our hotels are very peculiar and unique we must be consistent especially when it comes to “type of service” and the quality of it. And this is an element that is even more applicable for the C&I segment where our clientele expects from us the ability to offer the same solutions and the same quality service no matter if they decide to go to a city hotel or a resort. 

What about the wider Rocco Forte portfolio?

All our hotels certainly have the capability to support our clients by realising hybrid meetings and virtual events. Balmoral Hotel in Edinburgh, for example, implemented a similar solution for their corporate clients as well as launching Hybrid Weddings. 

What are the benefits of being able to offer clients hybrid capabilities?

The main benefit for our clients is definitely meeting each other in a safe environment that can guarantee the full respect of all protocols in place: and this should always be our top priority nowadays. Also the plus of our hotels like Hotel de la Ville for example is to benefit from spacious indoor areas and incredible outdoors that our guests can still enjoy for their food & beverage functions by respecting the criteria of social distancing.

The events industry is a pillar of our economy globally and we want to encourage our guests to plan their hybrid events and to plan ahead for the future because there is no harm in doing it and most importantly it’s safe! I know the climate of global uncertainty might not help but as it happens in every economic system, it is crucial that we continue to have trust in our industry, and we keep planning meetings and events ahead!