One of the goals you should keep in mind is to constantly improve the attendees experience at your events. And, what would be something that can cause alot of hiccups to the experience? The answer is the event check-in technology process, which most of the times can negatively impact the experience with long queue times, often generated by outdated check-ins methods.
With this in mind, and assuming you’re oriented towards continuous improvement, choosing the right technology for your event is essential for a smooth and efficient event registration and check-in so that you can keep thriving in your industry!
So, in this article, we’ll explain why you should speed up the check-in process through contactless technology. The multiple solutions available, including event mobile apps, event management platforms, qr codes and smart badge printing and the use cases for different event formats and size.
We hope that in the end, you are convinced to adopt technological innovation to improve the experience of your attendees and of course, to also take your events to the next level.
Why a Fast & Contactless Check-In Matters
If you want to improve the attendee experience at your event, you need to put the check-in on the top of priorities. A fast and contactless check-in method is important because it has the ability to reduce queues that can be frustrating. As a result, attendees arrive at the event, verify their registration at the entrance, and can quickly begin to enjoy the true experience within the event.
In addition, contactless solutions also reduce the need for physical contact with other objects. As we can imagine, there are events with a huge amount of attendees and this prevents the transmission of germs or viruses, something that has become more and more of a concern in the general population following the COVID-19 pandemic.
Generally speaking, it’s important to keep up with the technological advancement that is spreading across all industries. The events industry is no different, and attendees themselves expect event organizers to bring something innovative to enhance their experience. By doing this, you will increase your attendees’ satisfaction rate and you can be sure that they won’t think twice about signing up for a future event!
Virtual, Hybrid or In-person Events – Which Solution is Best for Each Case?
Now let’s see what solutions you can use to improve your event check-in process. There are solutions that are better suited to one event format than another, but that’s not to say that you can’t use them for all formats. Here are some of the most common options:
Event Check-In Technology For In-Person Events
Event mobile apps
Event organizers can use event mobile apps developed specially to perform check-in, by importing visitors database and sending QR Codes that attendees will have to show on the day of the event. With just a smartphone, event organizers can manage their list of visitors and scan QR codes to validate the entrees.
QR Codes & Smart badges
As we said in the previous point, qr codes can be used as a contactless way to check-in via your smartphone. You can also choose to do it with devices that are 100% dedicated to event management. Another contactless technology you can use for in-person events are smart badges, which are ideal for events where participant identification is required.
Self-check-in kiosks
Another way to improve the check-in process is to implement self-check-in kiosks for attendees to use autonomously . This way, attendees can scan their tickets, smart badges or QR codes to check-in, while reducing the costs on the staff needed to perform check-in manually.
Event Check-in Technology for Virtual and Hybrid Events
The next solutions will be grouped together because they both have the digital part of virtual and hybrid events. The solutions previously mentioned for in-person events, can and should be used for the in-person part of your hybrid event like event mobile apps, QR codes & smart badges and self-check-in kiosks.
Event Management Platform
Through online registration, attendees can register and check-in online through the event web page or using the event registration platform.
Click here, If you want to know more about what to look for when choosing an event management platform.
Email Check-in
Another simple way to do the check-in, is to send an email to the participants so that they can confirmn their attendance via email and receive a link with the access.
Virtual Badges or QR Codes
Once again, we can see that badges and qr codes have multiple uses. Once the event is about to start, participants can read virtual badges or a qr codes that grants them access to the event.
7 Main Advantages Of An Electronic Event Check-in
1. It’ll be more efficient
An electronic check-in can have a huge impact on the registration process speed, reducing long queues and waiting times.
2. It’s contactless
QR codes, smart badges or mobile apps are contactless and can reduce significantly the need for physical contact at in-person events.This may be important since people have a greater concern on this topic after covid-19.
3. Reduced costs
Electronic check-in can save event organizers a lot of money by reducing paper tickets, staff needed for manual check-ins and printing costs.
4. Enables data collection
It has the power to collect valuable data about attendees, such as contact information and demographics, or whatever you set out your form to be. This brings great valuable when making your events more engaging and interactive, such as contact sharing between applicants and companies at a job fair.
5. Enables Access Control
It can be used to to do access control on your event, ensuring that only visitors who have access to certain sessions can attend them, such as the VIP areas.
6. Convenience
Electronic check-in can be done from any electronic device. Assuming we rely heavily on smartphones, there’s no possibility to lose the ticket because QR can be safely stored on your smartphone or on a event mobile app.
7. Security
It increases security by reducing the risk of ticket fraud and to verify the attendee’s identity.
Which Technologies Can be Used For a Digital Event Check-in?
We have previously talked about some solutions that can be used for the check-in process, such as generated dynamic QR codes, smart badges, self-check-in kiosk, mobile applications and others that depend on an event management platform. Now let’s take a look at the most common technologies on the technical aspect.
NFC (Near Field Communication) is an emerging technology that’s present on most of the smartphone nowadays. Here’s the 5 reasons why NFC Technology will thrive in future events. With NFC, attendees can use their smartphones or smartwatches with NFC technology to check-in at the event by tapping the device on a reader or scanner.
RFID (Radio-Frequency Identification) is most commonly used on event wearables. Attendees can use RFID-enabled smart badges or wristbands to check-in at the event.
Does The Size of The Event Matter For Event Check-In?
The size of the event can impact the check-in and the choice of technology to make sure everything runs smoothly. Here are a few ways that event size can affect check-in:
For large events, with a high number of participants, it’s crucial to have a fast and efficient check-in, with the capacity to handle the times when there is a greater influx of people. Solutions such as self-check-in kiosks, QR code check-ins, or RFID on badges or wristbands check-ins can be used to manage a high volume of attendees.
For small events, with fewer or limited number of attendees, simple check-in methods such as online registration, mobile apps or simple QR codes can handle the job quite easily.
Considering the size, event organizers should also know what comes into play and consider factors such as cost, ease of use, and security when making this important decision. More importantly, they should innovate and start using check-in technology to enhance the attendee experience within their events!
