Taken with the Team: Onsite with Emily

First In-Person Onsite for Emily

What a place to kick-off your in-person onsite support work with Outsourced Events! On Thursday 5th May Emily flew from London Heathrow with Alexandra Sibley and Rebecca Henderson to join the VIAVI Solutions team for Circle of Excellence (a President’s Club event) at the Rosewood Mayakoba in Playa del Carmen, Mexico.

Covid Regulations

At the time of travel (05.05.2022-13.02.2022) Mexico was open to travellers. Prior to travel, in line with CDC Air Travel to the US guidelines for travellers from the UK, the team had to provide acceptable proof of vaccination and produce a negative Reverse Transcription‑Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) test.

As these regulations are ever changing, please review government regulations by visiting the relevant government website before travelling.*

An Interview with Emily Price

What was it like flying again?

It was very difficult to actually look forward to flying because it didn’t really feel like it would happen until I was on the plane, and I felt nervous at first as it has been so long. But as soon as I got to the airport it was like nothing had changed.

How did you feel being abroad again?

It was great to be exploring a new country, I have never been to Mexico before, so it was really exciting trip for me. It also felt very special and rewarding as I was able to travel with work, after 3 years at university I didn’t think I would have been given such an amazing opportunity.

Tell us a little about where the event was held

The event was held at the Rosewood Mayakoba Resort in Playa Del Carmen
The resort is a 5-star luxury resort, it has been repeatedly honoured as one of the finest luxury resorts in the world.

What were the restrictions in Mexico?

Apart from having to wear face masks in the airport and on the plane, Mexico had no other restrictions in place. However we did put arrival and departure testing in place for all guests so that we could keep everyone safe.

How did restrictions, COVID and global events impact your planning of the event?

With the ever changing regulations around Covid and the Omicron variant on the rise before Christmas I was very aware that I was planning an event that I may not be able to attend in person. Of course we always have contingency plans in place so I made sure that these were very secure just in case. The event itself had the option to move to a fully virtual platform if required. Even when I finally booked my flights in January I still couldn’t fully believe I would be there myself until I had passed my pre-flight Covid testing.

What controls were in place at the venue?

Whilst the conference venue itself only required masks indoors. The tradeshow put in place mandatory health and safety protocols for all in person attendees. Every attendee had to prove that they were fully vaccinated and take an antigen test within 24 hours of arrival. There was also free onsite testing available for all attendees and masks were required throughout the trade show.

How did restrictions, COVID and global events impact your planning of the event?

Throughout the build up to the event we worked on tracking the COVID rules and regulations within each country around the world as we knew we had people attending from various places. This was difficult to keep on top of at times as things were forever changing, but as mentioned above we did put in place arrival and departure testing for everyone attending so that we could make sure the event was safe to attend and so that all of the different rules were followed.

What controls were in place at the venue/event?

Arrival & Departure testing
Masks available to wear if required
Hotel had multiple sanitising stations
In the rooms there were masks, sanitiser, and wipes supplied daily

What was the feedback/feeling from attendees?

Both onsite and after the event we have received some lovely positive feedback from the attendees. It was really nice to be able to speak to all guests as they left the resort as we could chat with them and find out if they enjoyed their time at the event. Everyone was so complimenting in the great job that we had done and thanked us for organising the celebration.

The event ran very smoothly and all attendees followed the regulations. Although mask wearing did relax a little as the tradeshow progressed. I think that is because everyone was feeling very comfortable with the fact that attendees were vaccinated and tested.

What was it like to work on this event (a President’s Club)?

It was so rewarding to see how much all of the attendees were enjoying themselves and how lucky they felt to be in such an amazing resort
The feeling of seeing it all come together made me feel very proud to be part of such a fantastic event and team.
The event was different to something I’ve ever done before.

What was the most interesting part of the project to organise/be involved in?

I’d say that the most interesting part of organising this event was all of the branded collateral we produced and finding out what is involved in the process, but also seeing all of the possible things that can be done to make an event so personal memorable.
Being onsite was great too, as I really enjoyed seeing all of the months of hard work that we had put in finally come together.The whole process for me was interesting as it was my first proper event with OE, I was enjoying learning all of the different processes and putting things that I have learnt into practice.

How would you describe your first onsite experience overall?

My first onsite experience was a fantastic opportunity for me, and I feel very lucky to be able to have the chance to do something like this. The team I was working with were super supportive and really helped me feel comfortable in the role I was doing, and it will for sure be an experience that I will never forget! I didn’t just learn a lot about the event but I also learnt a lot about myself and the things that I am capable of achieving.