Conference Technology: The Changing Face of Conference Technology

The following article, “Conference Technology: The Changing Face of Conference Technology” by By Phil
Benson posted on 6 September 2010, discusses how technology may directly or indirectly affect the MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Exhibitions) which has been providing revenues for hotels in the United Kingdom. The author emphasizes on the fact that “technology had fuelled growth in the MICE sector and has become an important point of differentiation, but can hoteliers keep up with the latest trends in conference technology?” (Benson, 2010)
Video Conference Technology, which is a new and trendy innovation, allows business people to meet virtually, providing them with an intelligent picture, perfect visuals, and complete surround system.
The main issues discussed in the article “Conference Technology: The Changing Face of Conference Technology”, are the advantages and disadvantages of the virtual conference technology and how are hotels in the United Kingdom particularly going to cope to this shift in technology.
According to Benson, the use of Video Conference Technology would highly decrease travel costs, by enabling business men to meet but without travelling, and hence people could cut down travel costs. In addition to that, the author states that such technology may be able to replace or even affect the demand on the way international meeting are done. “Video conference technology can provide a cheaper alternative to holding or attending international meetings” (Benson, 2010)
The main answer for such a case remains vague and unclear, since many hoteliers in the United Kingdom consider that Video Conference Technology can never replace face-to-face meetings due to their long term significance; “Despite the obvious financial savings derived from lower travel costs, accommodation and expense claims, some believe that face-to-face networking opportunities can be more productive than virtual ones. Therefore, some hoteliers are now placing an emphasis on facilitating face-to-face meetings, rather than heavily investing in video conferencing technology.” (Benson, 2010)
As a result, hoteliers must invest and keep all facilities and equipment upgraded in order to deal with this threat of technology, but how are hoteliers going to react, the answer is still indefinite.

Latest Trends in Conference Technology
Source: http://www.hotel-industry.co.uk/2010/09/conference-technology/

We believe that it is very definite, in this evolving world where technology is changing the way we do business; Video Conference Technology may be efficient, low cost and easy to, therefore hoteliers must keep on exceeding clients expectations in the MICE industry by investing in new technology and providing the best facilities. Moreover, Video Conference Technology may affect the MICE industry in hotels, but can never eliminate it. There will always be people who prefer face to face business due to integration, increase productivity, and communication.

Reference: Benson, P. (2010, September 06). Conference technology: the changing face of conference technology. Retrieved from http://www.hotel-industry.co.uk/2010/09/conference-technology/