Having been busy this week organising various in-person conference sessions, coordinating with well-known venues around Cape Town, I am absolutely astonished at how venues are yet to join us in 2021. Here are a few thoughts to make your space stand out from the rest.

1. Hybrid events are here for the foreseeable future. Include the tech (such as a decent mic to feed audio in for remote participants, and a voice activated camera at the front of the room) to support gatherings. These pieces of tech are the flipcharts of the now.

2. Update your conference marketing pics to show what physically distanced events will look like. No help sending me a photo of an ancient U-shaped table set-up from 2019.

3. The boardroom that used to house 15 people can no longer house 15 people. It can house 5 people.

4. If you can, make structural changes. Turn windows into doors. Do it now. Tell me what pieces of the venue can open up to allow for ventilation and airflow. Along with tech, this is your biggest selling point.

5. Market breakout spaces, especially if it is free to use. Those patio chairs at the pool where tourists used to sit? That’s a fabulous breakout space now. The same goes for lobbies and gardens. The spots where small groups can gather safely, are what sets your offer apart.

6. The venue with in-house technicians wins. Seriously, we all just want the sound and the wifi to work. This is not a nice to have. It is a must have.

7. And wifi. Conference wifi and guest wifi are two different things. Make sure that conference goers have access to the highest speed, and easy connection, at all times.

8. I want a new type of conference offer in 2021. An offer that says to me that you understand the challenges of meeting in a pandemic, but also that you understand what it means for people to gather in a seamless relationship to technology and to each other.