3 check-in solutions you need for safe hybrid events.
Find out the best event check-in solutions you need for safe and seamless hybrid events.
As vaccination campaigns pick up speed worldwide, the return of live events is not beyond sight.
California, one of the US’s most restrictive states in terms of COVID-19 measures, will allow indoor live events to resume later this month.
After one of the longest lockdowns but one of the most successful vaccination campaigns, the UK is beginning to reopen step by step. As part of the roadmap, the government will run trials for the comeback of mass events – including a business conference among the pilot events.
In that light, event organizers worldwide are slowly but assuredly considering hybrid events – including in-person and virtual components – as a viable solution from now on.
Thus, event check-in solutions are quickly rising in the event planner’s wishlist. An event check-in that is seamless, intuitive, and safe is not a bonus but an expectation from attendees.
Indeed, if organizers do not carefully plan the event check-in, it can frustrate attendees with long waiting times.
Added to that, the pandemic is accelerating planners´ need for event check-in solutions that are automated and contactless.
In the coming months, event organizers still need to account for and enforce social distancing guidelines. So they should minimize person-to-person contact, ensuring attendees stay at least two meters apart from event staff and each other.
To create a smooth and contactless process, we suggest 3 of the best event check-in solutions you can utilize for hybrid events.
Digital pass and QR code
One of the most widely adopted event check-in solutions is a digital pass including a QR code.
Employing this technology, organizers can provide an encrypted QR Code for each attendee. It is individual and secure so that it is impossible to check in with another person’s code.
Given the current health and safety protocols, it proves valuable as a contactless event check-in solution.
Using scanners that do not require any physical touch, attendees can quickly enter the event, avoid queues, and respect social distancing.
Importantly, event organizers can deliver QR codes to attendees without difficulty, via email or on the event mobile app. Leveraging specialized hybrid event platforms, they can send customized emails aligned with their brand and including unique check-in details.
Facial recognition
Additionally, facial recognition is a rapidly growing event check-in solution in the industry.
To check in with this software, attendees submit their headshot during the registration process or within their attendee profile. The facial recognition system will then analyze the photo and transform it into biometric data.
At the event, a camera scans attendees’ faces, and the biometric system matches the facial features stored with the live image.
Notably, this check-in method enables a quick and socially distanced process. And, it enhances security, stamping out the problem of fake IDs and guests possessing other people’s invites.
Nonetheless, some attendees may be reluctant to use facial recognition technology out of concerns for data privacy. Instead of forcing attendees to use this technology, allowing them to opt-in may be a more prudent choice.
In that context, communicating how data is used and stored is of utmost importance. Images are anonymized and discarded, so the database doesn’t store photos but processes facial patterns.
Not all attendees are confortable with this technology, so organizers need to convey information openly and repeatedly.
Self-service badge printing
Alternatively, some event organizers may still opt to provide physical badges for each attendee.
In that case, self-service kiosks printing badges are a suitable solution, being easy to set up and avoiding close contact with event staff.
Attendees’ badges are customizable, meaning you can add fields (e.g., name, job role, company) as you please.
But how does the check-in process work in practice?
First, event organizers set up self-service kiosks, including badge printers at the venue entrance. Subsequently, they can connect the devices to the hybrid event platform via Wifi or Bluetooth.
As attendees arrive, directional signage or labels can lead them to these check-in stations. There, attendees can scan their QR codes and get their badges printed immediately.
Conversely, organizers can provide NFC bands for attendees, customized with the event brand. The bands can be synced to the attendee profile, used to print badges, as well as to check in and out of event activities.
Otherwise, participants may input their registration email if they do not have their QR Code at hand. This option requires touch, so make sure to provide a hand sanitizer near the check-in stations.
Either way, the whole process can be finished within a few seconds, reducing check-in time for attendees and saving staff costs for organizers.
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[hubspot portal=”5958648″ id=”de0c0cbb-e144-4596-8bde-5ca391770991″ type=”form”]About the Author / Gabriel Marin
