From that point, hybrid will become a permanent part of the landscape. This is where you'll start seeing smaller, local events that attract people within a three or four hour drive becoming hybrid events to accommodate people who don't feel comfortable. It will be a minority that host physical events in first quarter, but that will shift in the latter half of 2021. My general view is that 2020 is virtual, 2021 - at least in the first quarter - is more geared towards virtual. As events happen without incidence, others will start jumping in - depending on their different dynamics, who their attendees are, where they're coming from, and so forth. Starting next year, some organizations will have events in the first quarter (for example EIBTM is holding firm that they're going forward in December). Hybrid gives you an audience that you never could have gotten before. Going forward, you'll need to do hybrid for any large conference because you get a large audience that won't come otherwise, whether because of convenience, travel budget, overall costs, etc.
Is that the comeback timeline you're thinking of? 2020 virtual, 2021 hybrid, and 2022 live? Or are you waiting for a vaccine before you make any plans? That's why we're very positive on the mid-to-long term of the industry. Some of those will come to our next physical event once they experience our virtual event in 2020 and hybrid event in 2021, and find that they enjoyed the experience. Now we have 35,000 - an eightfold increase. We had 4,500 physically in Vegas last year at Cvent Connect, which is the highest we had ever had. That's where the industry becomes stronger because you're getting a whole different audience. Some will return to live events, but a lot of people won't attend. That's what fuelled the recovery of our registrations.Īnd the trend will only continue as you get real believers and bigger stakeholders on board with virtual. We've done 70,000 virtual events so far this year whereas, in 2019, we had only done 20,000 the whole year. We're working harder than we did before, not less. I think that better prepares us mentally, because this is mentally and physically exhausting.
Everyone knows the story, and what we went through is in our DNA. Our company went through this back in 2001. But it's obviously hit our industry disproportionately. It's been difficult, like all businesses. What have the past five or six months looked like for you? After laying off 10% of its own workforce in May, the company bounced back with a new virtual-driven product and a revived spirit that is very clear in Aggarwal's words. After the company found itself on the brink of collapse in the early 2000’s and Aggarwal found himself with a big personal credit card bill, Aggarwal managed to make Cvent the most successful technology company in the industry.ĭespite many event companies laying off thousands of workers or shutting down altogether, Cvent has navigated through the worst storm of the century with minimal damage. His business journey is also an interesting one. The opportunity to talk to him is even more significant as he is preparing to welcome over 35,000 attendees to the company's flagship event, Cvent Connect.Īs usual, Aggarwal is a straight talker with a deep understanding of the role technology plays in the event industry. Since the pandemic hit the world, catching the event industry in the middle of the storm, he has been very cautious of talking to the media. It’s not easy to get to talk to Reggie Aggarwal. We discussed what the past six months has been like for the event industry's largest tech company, Cvent's pivot to virtual for its flagship event and for its product, and of course, the future. EventMB sat down with Cvent CEO Reggie Aggarwal for an exclusive interview - the first he's accepted since the Covid-19 crisis hit.