If 2020 was the year of the virtual event, 2021 looks set to be the year of the hybrid event, with event professionals predicting the hybrid format will be increasingly popular and key to the recovery of live events.

Many luxury hotels are responding to this increased demand by investing in digital solutions to enable them to offer clients enhanced virtual and hybrid capabilities. From London to LA, here’s six we think are well worth checking out…

Royal Lancaster London

Royal Lancaster’s XR SmartStudio, created in partnership with Smart AV, allows businesses and individuals to host a virtual, hybrid or live event in the heart of London. Featuring a 215-square-foot “Extended Reality” (XR) stage with an LED backdrop and floor, audio, broadcast cameras and TV-ready lighting, it allows clients to have both a live audience and virtual attendees.

Situated in the flexible Westbourne Suite, the SmartStudio creates a fully immersive, 360-degree experience for guests, taking an event to the next level. Royal Lancaster is located just opposite Hyde Park and offers 411 rooms and suites with views across the park and the London skyline.

Hotel De La Ville, A Rocco Forte Hotel

Located at the top of the Spanish Steps in the heart of Rome, this gorgeous property offers 104 rooms and suites, and multiple event spaces. Last year, the hotel created the Hybrid Ivy Room and Hybrid Studio Suite, two virtual events spaces designed to respond to the changing needs of the events industry.

The Hybrid Ivy Room is set to meet a range of technical requirements, including stage, customisable backdrop, LCD screens, excellent audio-visual equipment, professional cameras as well as the technical support of a digital event organiser. It allows speakers to present to a combination of in-room and remote delegates. The Hybrid Studio Suite is a more intimate space and ideal for interviews, presentations, talk shows or video conferences.

Hôtel Hermitage Monte-Carlo

Host venue for inVOYAGE 2019, Hôtel Hermitage Monte-Carlo maybe a classically elegant luxury five-star hotel with heritage listed rooms, but it also offers all the technology required to support clients with hybrid events.

Owner SBM Monte-Carlo boasts an ecosystem of 1,800 Wi-Fi terminals combining coverage and high bandwidths, guaranteeing real-time capture and broadcasting all over the world; top-end technical equipment (microphones, cameras, large HD screens) offering optimal quality; and technical assistance during hybrid events in order to provide responsiveness.  

The company has also set up a hybrid events think-tank and is offering incentives to clients booking hybrid events.

Hotel Adlon Kempinski Berlin

This popular meeting and events hotel in the German capital has enhanced its meeting technology by partnering with KFP Five Star Conference Service, a leading event technology partner with a wide range of comprehensive advanced audiovisual services. Integrating face-to-face meetings with digital ones, the hotel has introduced Mondopad, a videoconferencing technology with a digital interactive whiteboard and a high-definition touchscreen PC with built-in Microsoft Office.

Located next to the iconic Brandenberg Gate, the hotel offers 382 rooms and suites and a large variety of meetings rooms and function spaces. 

Marina Bay Sands, Singapore

Singapore’s Marina Bay Sands resort has created a hybrid event broadcast studio at its Sands Expo and Convention Centre. Designed to accommodate a live studio audience of 50 people, the hybrid broadcast studio – which offers broadcast-quality live-streaming capabilities and hologram functionalities – acts as the central hub for event planners looking to produce hybrid meetings in the new era.

The studio’s centrepiece is a three-dimensional stage fitted with an immersive backdrop and floor that can be reconfigured to fit various event needs. Clients can use the MBS enhanced suite of event tech capabilities incorporating Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR) and Extended Reality (XR) solutions, while a plexiglass LED floor can display stunning floor projections. They can also beam someone from a different part of the world ‘live’ into Singapore through a holographic presence.

Loews Hollywood Hotel

Luxury brand Loews has launched "StreamLine by Loews," a brand-wide approach to virtual gatherings. Under Streamline, planners can take advantage of two options: Virtual Meetings Your Way (available across the Loews portfolio) and The Virtual Presentation Stage, available at select properties including Loews Hollywood Hotel.

For the latter, Loews has partnered with PSAV to offer turn-key state-of-the- art technology studio spaces, featuring built in technology that can deliver professional footage in a styled environment, with the ability to broadcast globally.