Luncheon events are incredibly versatile and can range from casual gatherings to highly formal affairs. For example, you might host a simple office luncheon, or you could plan something as formal as the annual White House luncheon, which has been a tradition since 1897. Other examples of formal luncheons include the prestigious Pulitzer Prize luncheon at Columbia University or the Oscar-nominees luncheon, which hosted 150 nominees in 2012.

Regardless of the type of luncheon you’re planning, successful execution requires careful attention to detail. As an event planner, your goal is to ensure that guests have a great time and leave with a positive impression, whether the event is casual or steeped in tradition.

What is a Luncheon Party and Why Should You Host One?

A luncheon is a mid-day meal typically hosted for business or social purposes. It can be either a formal or informal event, depending on the occasion and the host’s preferences. Unlike formal dinners, luncheons have a more casual, relaxed vibe and often feature lighter meals and desserts. 

It’s also important to note that while the terms luncheon vs lunch are often used interchangeably, a luncheon typically refers to a more organized and event-driven meal, often with a specific purpose or theme. Lunch is generally more informal and can be a simple, everyday meal.

Here are some compelling reasons why hosting a lunch event is beneficial:

Networking Opportunities

 Luncheon events provide a friendly and easygoing environment, making them ideal for socializing and connecting with others. Guests can enjoy a variety of flavors without feeling overly stuffed, facilitating better conversations and connections.

Cost-Effectiveness

Compared to large evening events like galas and conferences, luncheon events are more budget-friendly. The costs for food and beverages are generally lower, making luncheons an economical option for event hosts.

Fundraising Potential

Nonprofits often use luncheon events for fundraising opportunities. Ticket sales or auctions at these events can help raise funds for specific causes or purposes, allowing attendees to contribute generously while enjoying a pleasant meal. 

Effective nonprofit event planning ensures these luncheons are well-organized and impactful, maximizing both attendance and contributions. If you decide to raise funds by hosting the event virtually, it is extremely beneficial for you non-profit.

You can  reach a wider audience, eliminating geographical barriers and reducing event costs. Additionally, virtual events can provide a flexible and convenient platform for donors to contribute, increasing overall participation and engagement. Here are a couple of virtual fundraising ideas that you can implement.

Types of Luncheon Entertainment Ideas

Luncheon events can take many forms, depending on their goals, audience, and format. Here are some popular luncheon program examples to explore:

1. Networking Luncheon

These luncheons, typically hosted by businesses or professional groups, provide an opportunity for attendees to connect, discuss business strategies, and share ideas. Including icebreakers or guest speakers who offer networking tips can enhance the experience.

2. Fundraising Luncheon

Charitable organizations often organize fundraising luncheons to support their causes. Activities like silent auctions or raffles can boost contributions and keep participants engaged.

3. Corporate Luncheon

To show appreciation for employees’ efforts, companies might host corporate luncheons. These events often feature keynote speakers, award presentations, recognition speeches, and team-building exercises to foster a positive work environment.

4. Professional Association Luncheon

Professional associations frequently hold luncheons for their members, offering guest speakers, workshops, or panels on industry-specific topics. These events provide valuable learning opportunities about the latest trends and best practices in the field.

5. Product Launch Luncheon

When launching new products or services, companies may organize luncheons to introduce these innovations to clients, customers, and the media. Product demonstrations, tastings, or hands-on experiences allow attendees to engage directly with the new offerings. These events also provide excellent networking opportunities with industry influencers.

6. Educational Luncheon

Schools, colleges, and educational institutions might host educational luncheons to discuss new programs, policies, or achievements. These events can include presentations by educators, discussions on educational trends, and recognition of student or faculty accomplishments.

7. Client Appreciation Luncheon

Businesses can organize luncheons to show appreciation to their clients for their support. These events can include personalized acknowledgments, exclusive previews of upcoming products, or special offers as a token of gratitude.

8. Awards Luncheon

An awards luncheon is designed to recognize and celebrate achievements within a company or organization. These events typically include the presentation of awards, speeches, and often a formal meal, making it a prestigious occasion for attendees.

9. Team-Building Luncheon

To strengthen team dynamics and morale, organizations can host team-building luncheons. These events might include interactive games, workshops, or activities designed to improve collaboration and communication among team members.

10. Community Luncheon

Local community groups or municipal bodies may organize community luncheons to discuss local issues, celebrate community achievements, or simply foster a sense of belonging among residents. These events often feature speeches from community leaders and opportunities for attendees to voice their opinions. 

These community event ideas for nonprofit organizations can be integrated into these luncheons, enhancing their purpose and impact.

Serving Styles for Your Luncheon Event

When planning a luncheon event, it’s crucial to carefully select the food and drink options. Here are some ideas to consider:

Buffet

A buffet-style lunch event allows guests to serve themselves from a variety of dishes. This option is ideal for larger gatherings, providing flexibility and a range of choices to satisfy different tastes.

Plated Meal

For a more formal luncheon, consider a plated meal where guests select from a pre-set menu. This approach adds an elegant touch and ensures a structured dining experience, fitting well with a formal luncheon agenda.

Boxed Lunches

Boxed lunches are perfect for lunch events where guests might need to take their meal with them, such as conferences or seminars. They are convenient and can be tailored to individual preferences.

Dessert Bar

A dessert bar offers an assortment of sweet treats for guests to choose from. This is an excellent idea for bridal or baby showers, adding a delightful end to the meal and serving as a fun luncheon entertainment idea.

Signature Drink

Offering a signature cocktail or mocktail can add a unique and special touch to your luncheon program. It enhances the event’s theme and provides a memorable experience for the guests.

Tips for Hosting a Luncheon Party

Here are some tips on how to host proper lunch and make your event a hit:

Plan in Advance

Start your planning process early. Identify the event’s purpose, the number of attendees, and the outcomes you hope to achieve. Create a detailed timeline, delegate tasks, and establish a budget. Proper organization will help your luncheon party run smoothly.

Select the Right Venue

Choose a venue that fits the size and purpose of your luncheon event. Ensure there are enough seats for everyone, including accommodations for guests with mobility issues. Arrange tables to encourage interaction and provide enough space for easy movement. Consider adding decorations, music, or other entertainment to make your guests feel at ease.

Design the Menu Thoughtfully

Take into account your guests’ dietary needs, preferences, and cultural backgrounds when planning the menu. Provide a variety of options, such as a buffet with different dishes, finger foods, and dessert stations. 

This approach caters to diverse tastes and ensures everyone finds something they enjoy. Include visually appealing presentations to enhance the dining experience.

Implement Sustainable Practices

Adopt sustainable practices for your luncheon event. Use reusable or compostable serving and packaging materials to reduce waste. Choose locally sourced or organic food to minimize environmental impact. Utilize energy-efficient lighting and equipment to conserve energy.

Consider Timing

When scheduling your lunch event, especially for corporate settings, consider the availability and preferences of your attendees. Choose a date and time that accommodates most schedules, taking into account work commitments and time zones. Communicate the event details well in advance to ensure maximum participation.

Promote the Event

Use a mix of digital and personal communication methods to promote your luncheon party. Create engaging content for social media, highlighting key details and special features of the event. Utilize event management tools for registration and ticketing to streamline the RSVP process and gather valuable data.

Send Invitations Early

Dispatch invitations well ahead of the event to give guests ample time to RSVP and plan their schedules. Include all essential details, such as the date, time, location, RSVP deadline, guest list, and any special instructions. Mention the dress code to ensure guests come prepared.

Create a Welcoming Atmosphere

Focus on creating a welcoming and comfortable atmosphere for your luncheon event. Align your decor and ambiance with the event’s theme and style. For formal events, use elegant decor and lighting. For casual gatherings, incorporate natural elements and bright colors. Use lighting to set the mood, and add fresh flowers for a touch of elegance. Choose background music that complements the event and enhances the overall experience.

Ensure Friendly Staff

Hire staff who are friendly, approachable, and attentive to guests’ needs. A warm greeting and helpful demeanor can make attendees feel valued and welcome.

Have a Clear Program or Agenda

Establish a clear luncheon agenda to keep the event organized and inform guests of what to expect. This helps manage the flow of the event and ensures everything runs smoothly.

Facilitate Networking

Encourage networking by providing name badges and organizing structured networking sessions. Utilize networking apps to help attendees connect before, during, and after the event. These strategies foster meaningful interactions and collaborations.

Provide Adequate Staffing

Ensure there are enough staff members to handle setup, food preparation, serving, and logistical management. Adequate staffing ensures the event runs smoothly and any issues are promptly addressed.

Offer Engaging Activities

Incorporate activities that will keep guests entertained and engaged. Consider short presentations or speeches relevant to the event’s theme. Organize trivia games or quizzes to encourage interaction and fun.

Follow Up After the Event

Thank your guests for attending before the event concludes. You can do this with a closing speech, thank-you announcement, or personal goodbyes. After the event, send follow-up emails or thank-you notes to express gratitude and gather feedback. This shows your appreciation and helps improve future events.

Host a Perfect Luncheon Event with vFairs

Use vFairs to host your luncheon event and ensure a seamless and professional experience. vFairs’ event management software offers comprehensive tools for organizing and executing virtual, hybrid, and in-person events. 

With features like custom event websites, online registration, live chat, and networking capabilities, our event management software for nonprofits simplifies the planning process and enhances attendee engagement. Their platform also supports fundraising through integrated donation options and gamification, making it ideal for nonprofit organizations aiming to maximize their impact and reach a wider audience.

These conferences offer more than just theoretical knowledge. They provide hands-on workshops, technical sessions, opportunities to interact with industry experts, and insights into the latest developments in machine learning, deep learning, and other AI subfields. 

Let’s now explore the best AI conference 2024.

Upcoming AI Conference in 2024

1. Ai4 2024

Date: August 12-14, 2024. 

Location: Las Vegas, Nevada, US. 

About the AI Conference

The Ai4 conference, established in 2018, is the epicenter of the global AI ecosystem. Besides learning about AI, you can get to network with industry leaders and experience the the vibrant city of Las Vegas.

Why You Should Attend

The Ai4 2024 conference will feature over 350 speakers, including top industry AI speakers, and expects 4,500 attendees from more than 75 countries.

In addition to utilizing private networking applications, the event is capitalizing on event tech, including recorded event sessions post-event, to facilitate access to content for attendees post-event.

About Tickets

One of the best AI events 2024, Ai4, costs around  $1,695. For more information, click here. 

2. The AI Conference

Date: September 10-11, 2024

Venue: The Embarcadero, San Francisco

About the AI Conference

The AI Conference in San Francisco is among AI enthusiasts’ most highly anticipated events. 

The AI Conference is an unprecedented meeting of minds at The AI Conference 2024! This event will feature an exclusive Fireside Chat with two luminaries in the field of artificial intelligence: Robert Nishihara, Co-founder of Anyscale, and Mark Chen, Head of Frontiers Research at OpenAI.

Why You Should Attend

The AI conferences has it all. It comprises three main tracks:

• Builders Track: For AI developers, engineers, and founders working on AI product development.
• Technical Track: Geared towards engineers, researchers, and those interested in advanced algorithms and optimization techniques.
• Strategy Track: This track is designed for leaders, strategists, and decision-makers, and it focuses on the ethical implementation of AI, AI promotion, and its economic and societal impacts.

About Tickets

The event takes full advantage of online registration with ticketing and tiered pricing, offering early bird discounts, VIP access, and more.

The AI Conference offers the following ticket types:

• General Admission: $1,399
• Team Tickets: $1,139
• Late Bird: $1,899

You can learn more about the AI Conference here. 

3. AI For Defence Summit

Date: September 11-12, 2024

Venue: Washington DC, United States

About the AI Conference 

The 3rd Annual AI for Defence Summit is a highly anticipated two-day event that will unite members of the Department of Defence’s military services, the federal government, the IC industry, and academia.

Why You Should Attend

At the AI Conference, the focus will be on exploring artificial intelligence’s revolutionary role in advancing defense capabilities, gaining a decision advantage, accelerating digital transformation, and enhancing national security.

About Tickets

Regarding ticketing, the summit offers the following types of tickets:

• Industry/Contractor for Two-Day Summit – $1,299 (Save $200 on an early bird discount with booking and payment before August 16, 2024)
• Nonprofits, Academia FFRDCs, and Foreign Military (with proper ID and associated email) for Two-Day Summit – $790 (Save $100 on early bird discount with booking and payment before August 16, 2024)
• Active-Duty US Military and Government Employees (with proper ID and associated email) for Two-Day Summit (Pre-Registration) – FREE

You can learn more about the event and ticketing from here.

4. Dreamforce

Date: September 17-29, 2024 

Venue: CA at Moscone Center, SanFrancisco

About the AI Conference

Dreamforce is one of the largest AI conferences in 2024. This year’s event will focus on how companies can become an AI Enterprise.. 

Why You Should Attend

The three-day conference will bring the brightest minds in the industry together to learn everything possible about AI for business and beyond.

About Tickets

Currently, the standard ticket price for the AI conference is $1,999.

You can learn more about the ticket types and the conference here. 

5. PyTorch

Date: September 18-19, 2024

Venue: CA, San Francisco

About the AI Conference

PyTorch is a cutting-edge AI conference known for its open-source and machine-learning framework.

Why You Should Attend

The two-day conference will unite top researchers, developers, and academic communities to promote collaboration and advance end-to-end machine learning technology.

In addition to keynote sessions and event swag, the AI Conference has arranged breakout sessions for attendees to network and connect to maximize new opportunities.

In 2024, Dreamforce will host one of the best generative AI conferences. It will focus on the intersection of open-source generative AI and machine learning.

About Tickets

The AI conference offers the following ticket categories:

For Attendees:

• Standard ticket price: $699
• Late pricing: $849

For Academics:

• Standard pricing: $249
• Late pricing: $249

You can learn more about the event and pricing over here. 

6. Ray Summit

Date: September 20 – October 2, 2024

Venue: Marriott Marquis, San Francisco

About the AI Conference

Ray Summit claims to be one of the world’s largest AI conferences. The highly anticipated open-AI conference offers in-person training sessions to enhance your skills in GenAI and LLMs.

Why You Should Attend

It is a gathering for open-source AI infrastructure leaders to learn from and share their experiences. The conference offers many networking opportunities and ways to explore cutting-edge AI tech.

In addition to hands-on expert-led workshops, the AI conference provides a multitude of networking opportunities to facilitate interaction with the foremost innovators in the AI industry.

About Tickets

This unique artificial intelligence event has yet to disclose its pricing. However, you can create an account and log in to the event to learn more about it. Here is the link. 

7. AI & Big Data Expo

Date: October 1-2, 2024

Venue: RAI, Amsterdam

About the AI Conference 

The AI & Big Data Expo is considered one of the top AI conferences in 2024. This highly anticipated event will cover data monetization, AI-driven personalization, enterprise adoption of AI, and more.

Why You Should Attend

The two-day event will feature a panel discussion with industry experts, workshops, live demonstrations, solution-based case studies, and numerous networking opportunities.

The AI & Big Data Expo is set to unite renowned C-suite executives and speakers from top international enterprises. The conference promises valuable networking opportunities with business and strategy leaders as well as data and engineering experts.

About Tickets

The AI conference offers a two-day gold pass for $710 and an ultimate pass for $899, including free entry to the content library hub and an expo pass. For more information about the event, you can visit the official website.

8. World Summit AI

Date: October 9-10, 2024. 

Venue: Taets Art & Event Park, Amsterdam

About the AI Conference

The World Summit AI conference, established in 2017, is a global AI conference. 

It will cover a wide range of industry topics, ensuring that there’s something for everyone and launching the launchpad for the latest AI products and services. 

Why You Should Attend

This year, AI summit insiders are covering stories about the impact of Human AI convergences, cybernetics, and AI’s inlay on equity, employment, and the economy. 

With the best brains of AI on the speaker’s panel, the conference harnesses event tech through a dedicated event networking app, on-demand content, and 24/7 customer support, ensuring a seamless attendee experience.

About Tickets

• Early bird onsite experience – vip package – €1,899 + local taxes
• Early bird onsite experience – expo and content – €1,499 + local taxes
• Early bird onsite experience – expo only – €919 + local taxes
• Early bird onsite experience – vendor and consultant – €2,599

These prices are subject to increase on September 27. For booking and additional details, please visit the event’s official website.

9. Big Data Conference Europe

Date: November 19-22, 2024

Venue: Hybrid – Vilnius, Lithuania, and available online.

About the AI Conference

The conference includes an in-person workshop on the first day and a hybrid teleconference over the next three days. 

Why You Should Attend

The agenda features topics in AI, such as ChatGPT, deep learning, and predictive analytics. Attendees from all backgrounds, inside and outside Europe, participate in this event.

Apart from the networking opportunities at the AI conference, there are event gamifications, a workshop, and a cinematic-style venue with comfortable seating.

About Tickets

• Four-day full ticket – €950
• Three-day onsite ticket – €730
• Three-day online ticket- €730

You can find more information about the event and its ticket prices on their website. Click here. 

10. AI World Congress 2024

Date: November, 27-28, 2024

Venue: Kensington Conference and Events Centre, London

About the AI Conference

The AI World Congress 2024 will be a two-day AI seminar. This AI conference features the top industry experts, researchers, and thought leaders who are actively shaping the future of artificial intelligence. 

Why You Should Attend

The AI Conference includes sessions covering topics such as AI governance, Larger Language Models (LLMs), applications of AI and ML, and more.

The conference is finalizing the advanced technology it will use to ensure an exceptional event experience. We can confirm that the AI conference will feature highly anticipated keynote speaker sessions and much more.

About Tickets

The AI conference offers the following ticket types and prices:

– Early Bird: £495

– VIP Pass: £695

– Full Price: £2,250

You can get more information about the AI conference here. 

Learn, Network, and Implement at AI Conferences

AI conferences offer more than just an opportunity to learn about the future of AI. These AI networking events provide valuable networking opportunities, allowing you to connect with some of the brightest minds in the industry.

These conferences are working with top event management companies to ensure the use of cutting-edge event technology, providing attendees with an exceptional experience. Many event technology partners already incorporate AI into their event tech, such as vFairs with AI-powered event tools.

So, take advantage of this opportunity to immerse yourself in AI and learn about AI in events, science, and other sectors at some of the best artificial intelligence conferences in 2024.

The Problem: Fragmented Payment Systems

Let’s face it: managing payments for events, especially on a global scale, has been a headache. Event organizers often find themselves juggling multiple payment gateways, each with its own setup process and user interface. This fragmentation not only complicates the organizer’s job but also creates inconsistent experiences for attendees, potentially leading to abandoned registrations and lost revenue.

The Solution: vFairs Payment Marketplace

Our new Payment Marketplace feature is designed to simplify this complex landscape. Here’s why:

1. One-Click Activation: Access over 30 payment gateways with a single toggle in your vFairs event dashboard.
2. Global Reach: Offer localized payment options to attract and accommodate attendees worldwide.
3. Uniform Checkout Experience: Provide a consistent, user-friendly payment process regardless of the chosen gateway.
4. Real-Time Tracking: Monitor payment statuses and attendee activations instantly.

The Impact: Beyond Convenience

While the immediate benefits of streamlined payments are clear, the implications of this feature go much deeper. By consolidating payment options, we’re not just cutting costs – we’re transforming how events operate globally.

1. Enhanced Security: With fewer systems to manage, event organizers can better control and oversee security aspects, reducing potential vulnerabilities.
2. Improved Attendee Satisfaction: A smooth, familiar payment process increases trust and reduces friction, potentially boosting registration completion rates.
3. Data-Driven Insights: Centralized payment data allows for more comprehensive analytics, helping organizers make informed decisions about future events.

The Bigger Picture: Tech Stack Optimization

The Payment Marketplace is part of a larger trend I’m seeing in the industry: the optimization of tech stacks. In today’s economic climate, businesses are reevaluating their tools, looking for solutions that offer cost savings, operational efficiency, and strategic value.

By integrating multiple payment options into a single, user-friendly interface, we’re helping event organizers streamline their tech stack. This not only simplifies operations but also aligns with the growing demand for consolidated, efficient technology solutions.

Looking Ahead: The Future of Event Payments

As we roll out the Payment Marketplace, we’re already thinking about what’s next. We’re exploring possibilities like:

1. AI-driven payment recommendation systems
2. Enhanced fraud detection capabilities
3. Integration with emerging payment technologies like cryptocurrencies

The vFairs Payment Marketplace is more than just a feature – it’s a step towards reimagining how we approach event technology. By simplifying payments, we’re not just solving a logistical problem; we’re opening up new possibilities for global engagement and event growth.

As always, we’re eager to hear your feedback and insights as we continue to evolve and improve our platform. Experience the ease of payments first-hand, book a demo.

Mobile App Updates

New In-App Chatbot: Your Virtual Assistant

Introducing our new conversational chatbot on the vFairs mobile app! Designed to enhance your user experience, the chatbot offers instant support and guidance.

Our chatbot is your virtual assistant, ready to assist you with navigating the app, answering frequently asked questions, and providing helpful information. It uses keyword-based technology to deliver quick and relevant responses.

Improved Badge Design and Printing Flexibility

Create professional badges that perfectly showcase your brand and suit your event’s needs. This will be the first impression for your event audience. This new improved functionality will help you do the following:

• Create bold specific fields on your badges to draw attention to crucial details.
• Switch between 203 DPI and 300 DPI printers without compromising badge quality. 

Virtual Event Platform Updates

Design Your Ideal Event Space with Stunning Floor Plans

Bring your vision to life while setting up your event floor plan. The vfairs floor plan builder helps you easily customize your event layout to create easy accessibility for attendees.

Now you can create stunning as well as functional floor plans by adding, removing, and rearranging booths on your own, customizing with your branding for a professional look, and linking specific areas to sessions for easy navigation. You can also monetize your space by charging exhibitors for booth rentals.

This feature includes:

• Creation Tools: Easy-to-use drawing tools for designing floorplans from scratch.
• Editing Capabilities: Options to modify existing floorplans.
• Integration: Seamless integration of the floorplan with booth creation form to allow booth representatives to reserve spots for the event.
• Attendee Capabilities: Ability to integrate floorplan with web and mobile app events to allow attendees to navigate different session and exhibitor-specific spots on the venue.

Replicate Your Event Success with Clone Event Feature

Save time and resources to build your next successful event with our vFairs clone event feature. Duplicate your most successful events, including design elements, configurations, and personnel. You can now focus on creating new experiences while maintaining consistency.

Add Location Data In Your CSV Uploads for Sessions & Webinars

Provide greater information control when importing session data. To better accommodate your specific requirements, we’ve added new fields to the CSV template: “Location Name” and “Location Link” for you to specify more details in sessions and webinars.

A Self-serve Setup To Manage Tradeshows

Setting up a tradeshow with all of its elements involves a detailed planning process. The new self-serve tradeshow setup is here to sort out all of your worries from setting up booths to showcasing your products and engaging with attendees.

With dedicated tradeshow menus, easy product filtering, and bulk import options, you can spend less time on administrative tasks and more time focusing on what truly matters – driving results.

Event Management Platform Updates

Convert Attendees into Leads with Zapier Integration

Capturing attendee information and nurturing leads was not that easy. Our Lead Capture App is now synced with your CRM through Zapier to ensure no lead goes to waste.

This automated data transfer and efficient follow-up will give you multiple benefits including:

• Real-time lead synchronization
• Improved lead quality and conversion rates
• Increased sales and marketing efficiency

Streamline Your Review Process with Abstract Management Reviewer Flow

Gain complete visibility into abstract evaluations with our new reviewer flow. Now you have access to detailed feedback and insights provided by reviewers. By centralizing evaluation data, you can make informed decisions about submissions and identify top contenders.

This feature provides a comprehensive overview of each submission, including reviewer ratings, comments, and acceptance status. With this centralized access, you can simplify the abstract selection process and improve overall efficiency.

Manage Users Directly From Search Resume

Now you no longer need to navigate multiple screens or menus to change attendee statuses. With this new update, you can quickly activate and deactivate attendees directly from the search resume feature. This powerful addition offers several benefits:

• Quick selection: Easily choose specific attendees for management.
• Clear status visibility: Instantly see if an attendee is active or inactive.
• Efficient filtering: Filter attendees based on their status (active or inactive) for targeted actions.
• Bulk actions: Activate or deactivate multiple attendees simultaneously.
• Individual control: Maintain granular control by activating or deactivating specific attendees as needed.

See the full update here.

Import Group Registrants in Seconds with Import Mapper

Avoid manual data entry and improve your registration process with the new import mapper. This functionality allows you to upload both individual and group registrants using a single CSV file. This means no more tackling multiple spreadsheets or spending countless hours inputting data.

Here’s what this means for you..

• Import all your registrants, including group members, in one simple step.
• Use the same CSV template for both individual and group registrations.
• The system intelligently assigns group members to the correct parent registration.

That concludes our product updates from July. We hope these updates will make your experience with vFairs more engaging and you will able to scale with your events. 

Get in touch with us today to start using these features and stay tuned as we come back with a lot more excitement next month!

Attendees will have the chance to connect with potential employers and explore a wide array of job opportunities. Employers can engage with qualified candidates, enhancing their recruitment efforts significantly.

“We are thrilled to introduce the vFairs App, improving the experience for both job seekers and employers while reducing the need for printed materials,” said Vickie Martin, Executive Director of CFEC.

This year’s job fair features the new Mobile Job Fair App, funded partially by Dr. Phillips Charities. In celebration of the council’s 30th anniversary of hosting the largest job fairs in Central Florida six times a year, this app offers an innovative approach to matching job seekers with employers. The app enables employers to access resumes and interest levels of all attendees, extending the impact of the job fair from a four-hour in-person event to a two-day hybrid event. This change represents a twelvefold increase in the likelihood of employers filling open positions. Over 3,800 app registrants in July interacted with employers for a full week after the job fair, boosting interactions by 200%.

The Mobile Job Fair App enhances the event’s success through in-app communications between employers and job seekers, improving the talent pipeline during and after the event. Additionally, the app’s data collection capabilities enable CFEC to make informed decisions for future job fair locations based on demographic insights.

“We are proud to support CFEC’s 24th Annual Governor’s Job Fair, offering a platform for more efficient and effective connections between job seekers and employers through the innovative Mobile Job Fair App,” says vFairs CEO, Muhammad Younas.

About Central Florida Employment Council 

The Central Florida Employment Council is a non-profit organization committed to facilitating connections between employers and potential employees to enhance the employment landscape for all.

About vFairs 

vFairs is an all-in-one event management platform that powers in-person, hybrid, and virtual events. Our technology empowers companies worldwide to host custom, immersive events and achieve remarkable results. The platform features immersive virtual venues, advanced networking, world-renowned customer service, and many features to help you host unforgettable events.

This groundbreaking event is tailored for business professionals, owners, and small to mid sized enterprises eager to expand their global footprint. It also targets commodity traders looking to do business in the extended BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Malaysia, Thailand, Venezuela, and Turkey). Attendees will gain invaluable insights from industry experts, participate in live meetups, and engage in comprehensive online training and expert-led seminars.

The BRICSX Marketplace Conference is unique as it is the first event of its kind, focusing on goods and commodities trading. It brings together a community of buyers and sellers with experts who can help companies succeed in BRICSX countries. Participants will not only conduct business and trade but also have access to insightful articles and practical resources tailored to navigate the complexities of foreign trade and international business. For a small monthly fee, interested individuals can join the BRICSX Marketplace Community to connect with traders, learn best practices, and grow their businesses in these countries.

“Joining the BRICSX Marketplace Member Community, and attending our conference, offers unparalleled benefits for anyone passionate about global trade and business growth. By becoming a part of our dynamic network, you’ll connect with like-minded professionals who share your enthusiasm for international commerce,” said Deb Dietz, Media Contact at SMB Value Partners, Inc.

Muhammad Younas, CEO of vFairs, expressed his enthusiasm for the partnership, stating, “We are thrilled to collaborate with SMB Value Partners, Inc. for their BRICSX Marketplace Conference. Our platform is designed to facilitate meaningful connections and provide an immersive experience, ensuring that all participants can engage effectively and contribute to the vital discussions on global trade and business growth.”

About SMB Value Partners, Inc. SMB Value Partners, Inc. is dedicated to fostering global business connections and facilitating trade within the BRICSX markets. Headquartered in Glenview, IL, the organization strives to include all members of the business community interested in trading with or establishing business ties in BRICSX countries. For more information about the BRICSX Marketplace Community and to register for the conference, visit BRICSX Marketplace Conference.

About vFairs

vFairs is an all-in-one event management platform that powers in-person, hybrid, and virtual events. Our event technology empowers companies worldwide to host custom, immersive events and achieve incredible results. The platform features a virtual events platform and mobile app, each offering immersive virtual venues, advanced networking, world-renowned customer service, and many features that help you host unforgettable events.

Managing a conference involves numerous tasks, from logistics coordination to attendee engagement. One of the most complex and time-consuming aspects of event planning is handling speakers or abstracts.

Online abstract management software provides a platform for event organizers to plan and manage the submission, peer review, and publication of work submitted for presentation at conferences. 

The best abstract management software centralize the entire abstract management process and streamline conference management, saving time and eliminating the common frustrations of manual management, such as using spreadsheets.

Review of the Best Abstract Management Software

1. vFairs

Revolutionize your call for papers process with the best abstract management software. Designed to streamline submissions and facilitate both single and double-blind peer reviews, our platform helps boost the number of submissions and gives you more control over the conference content.

Our all-in-one abstract management system guides you through every step, from issuing the call for papers to publishing them at your event. By eliminating the need for third-party tools, our platform makes the process simpler, faster, and more convenient. Manage submissions, oversee reviewers, and coordinate your entire conference seamlessly within one integrated system.

The abstract review and management process with vFairs brings you closer to hosting a successful conference whether it’s a virtual conference, hybrid or on-site. 

Let’s find out how.

Streamlined Abstract Submission

Effortlessly collect more abstracts by eliminating the hassle from your call for papers process. Create a highly customizable abstract submission form with the best abstract management software that allows authors to easily upload presentations, abstracts, videos, and other media, simplifying the entire submission process.

Efficient Reviewer Assignment

Manage and review assignments through a single dashboard. Once submissions are collected, easily assign multiple reviewers to each paper and manage all peers and submissions from the backend, ensuring an organized and streamlined review process.

Transparent Review Process

Ensure a clear and transparent review process with our online abstract management software, which supports both single and double-blinded peer reviews. You have control over what author information is visible to reviewers, making the process fair and unbiased.

Curated Event Content

Maintain complete control over the topics and quality of content at your conference by only including accepted submissions in your event agenda. This ensures that the showcased content aligns with your standards and objectives.

Enhanced User Experience

Improve user experience by effortlessly assigning abstracts to reviewers based on their expertise and managing all users through the backend. Simplify the login process with direct login links, allowing reviewers to quickly access their assigned submissions.

Consistent Communication

Keep all participants informed with automated email notifications that update authors and reviewers on the status of their applications and submissions. Emails are automatically sent upon successful submission, acceptance, or rejection of abstracts, ensuring everyone stays in the loop.

Pros

“vFairs did a nice job replicating the in person conference experience, which allowed us to connect about 300 people from over 20 countries. Farah was the most responsive partner I have ever worked with! She responds fast and her customer service is unmatched!! – Ann C., Enterprise

“The project management was superb, from guidance and examples to help in planning and design to very timely replies regardless of time of day/week day or weekend. Never failed to find a solution to any of our requests and always professional and polite. Have worked with them on four online events now and always felt absolutely supported and confident in their management through to delivery.” – Jo J. , Chief Executive Officer

Cons

“There were no major downsides to using vFairs. The price was very fair, the support was good, and my few recommendations after the event were noted and already in their queue for improvement based on other customers’ feedback.” – Corbin S. Chief Administrative Officer

2. Cvent

Second on our list of the best abstract management software is Cvent, an event management software that provides an end-to-end solution for sourcing and managing conference content. It starts with the peer-review process and ends with the publishing of accepted submissions and the creation of a conference agenda.

Cvent’s abstract management system allows organizers to customize the data collection process, setting up submission forms to collect specific information and file types. The platform also offers email automation options for managing invitations, confirmations, alerts, and reminders. Reviewers can access the Cvent portal to manage submissions, rate them, and sort content by scores, votes, and comments. 

Cvent is expensive, with prices reportedly more than three times higher than other platforms. User reviews indicate that Cvent lacks an intuitive user interface and user-friendly experience.

Customizable Abstract Submission Software

The software lets you customize the look and feel of your submission forms. You can also create tailored forms with specific fields to gather content submissions and speaker information. Additionally, automate emails for invitations, confirmations, reminders, and alerts.

Efficient Review Coordination

Once submissions are collected, Cvent abstract software makes it easy to identify reviewers and assign them to specific tracks or topics. Assign speaker submissions to the appropriate reviewers based on the topic, grant reviewers access to the portal to provide ratings and notes on submissions, and track scores, votes, and comments in real time.

Streamlined Decision-Making

Based on reviewer scores, votes, and comments, make your final selections by easily approving or declining submissions. Once decisions are made, send automated email notifications to authors to inform them of the outcomes.

Pros

“Cvent is a great tool our company uses to manage our events from abstract submission to registration. I love how we can do everything in one platform without worry of data crossover. One piece I particularly love about Cvent is how efficient it makes scheduling sessions and reaching out to speakers. The Speaker Resource Center allows our speakers to easily submit their headshots, bios, and even their presentation which  means these things don’t get lost in email.” – Alexandria Y.,Social Media Brand Manager

Cons

“All the different steps. It is hard to set up an event or an abstract. There are many parts (like trying to send an invitation as another person or editing the registration form). I think it is silly that the only way to make an event private is to go through a million different steps in the registration form when you see the status of the event on the main page (yet you can’t change it).” – Helen W. , Senior Program Associate

3. Whova 

Whova is an event management platform designed to streamline the call-for-speakers and abstract for event management system processes. It aims to eliminate the stress of manually collecting data through forms, tracking spreadsheets, and managing email chains by integrating these tasks into a single, user-friendly system.

Whova’s interface simplifies the entire submission and review process. Quick form setup and ready-to-use applications ensure a hassle-free experience for both organizers and speakers. The platform also facilitates smooth communication, distributes the review workload efficiently, and keeps everything on schedule with customizable timelines.

Whova is reported to have a steep learning curve, requiring a significant time investment to utilize all its features effectively. This can be a barrier for event organizers who need a more straightforward, user-friendly solution​.

Collect Submissions

Centralize your submission process with a single webpage that details clear expectations and instructions for potential speakers. Publicize your call for speakers by sharing this central submission webpage where candidates can create accounts and enter their submissions. Easily share the link or submission button on your event website or social media, or use their built-in, customizable email campaign capabilities to send out mass invitations.

Abstract and Proposal Management

Manage all speaking abstract and proposal submissions through Whova’s admin dashboard. This feature provides an overview of your total submissions and simplifies the status management of each, helping you efficiently oversee the call-for-speakers process. From the dashboard, you can view the total number of submissions and track which ones have been reviewed, rejected, or accepted.

Reviewer Assignment and Workload Distribution

Efficiently manage the review process by designating reviewers to distribute the workload. Utilize team members from your existing event admins or invite external reviewers via email. Customize how reviewers are assigned to submissions to best fit your team’s workflow. You can allow external reviewers to evaluate all submissions for a comprehensive review or designate them to specific tracks.

Pros

“Whova allowed me to easily see the agenda, and the speakers with their bios and Linkedin capabilities made it really easy to network. I was allowed to chat with them in the app, and thus meet them at break or after the days end. Conferences are just about networking, as the information presented.” – Richard, Defense & Space

Cons

“There are many features that cannot be turned off. There are emails that go out to attendees without notice. Definitions vary from the proposal stage to the implementation stage: a speaker is also considered an attendee, although they may not attend and just need to be listed on the paper presentation. The most frequent response from their Help Desk begins with “Unfortunately.” – Jason Paul G. , Executive Director

4. Ex Ordo

Ex Ordo is a conference abstract management software designed to streamline the process of collecting abstracts and papers, managing peer reviews, and notifying authors about the status of their submissions.

Ex Ordo’s interface allows conference organizers to structure events along single or multiple tracks and customize submission forms to capture the necessary information. The platform also supports customization of the peer review process, automatically assigning submissions to the appropriate reviewers based on their track or area of focus. It tracks the review process, notifies reviewers if they are falling behind, and offers options to re-assign submissions or close reviews.

However, Ex Ordo does not offer a free version or trial, which means organizers must commit to a paid plan without an initial test run.

Abstract and Paper Collection

Organize your conference with flexibility by structuring it along a single track or creating multiple tracks, each with its own deadlines and chairs. Customize your submission forms to collect papers, abstracts, panels, and any other required information. Authors and panel organizers receive submission receipts and have the ability to edit their submissions up until the deadline.

Peer Review Allocation

Optimize your peer review process to ensure a high-quality program by configuring the number of reviews each submission requires. Maintain reviewer satisfaction by limiting the number of submissions assigned to each reviewer. Match submissions with the best-qualified reviewers, eliminating the need for spreadsheets.

Reviewer Management

Develop a clear marking scheme that includes all necessary criteria for reviewers. Allow reviewers to grade submissions with scores or comments, either online or by downloading the submissions. Enable reviewers to score individual submissions within panels, and provide them with prompts to guide them through outstanding tasks.

Pros

“Was super helpful to us while managing submissions to a conference, where many people had to login and review abstracts, leave comments, etc and then other had to review the reviews. Went almost perfectly” – Verified User in Higher Education

Cons

“It is a great software where we have to take meeting conference sometimes it has some bugs where the screen freezes, and we cannot do anything just wait for the signal correction” – Junaid k.,Team Leader

5. Fourwaves

Fourwaves is an abstract management and peer-review software designed by academic researchers and conference organizers to simplify the abstract management and review process.

Fourwaves features a drag-and-drop form builder that allows organizers to create customized submission forms. The default online form includes standard questions such as title, authors, and abstract, but additional fields can be added to categorize submissions by topic, presentation type, or track.

Main features of Fourwaves include a versatile peer review process, allowing organizers to choose between single, double, or blind reviews. Submissions can be distributed to reviewers either manually or randomly. Fourwaves offers an integrated system for abstract management, peer review, and event websites. However, if an organization uses multiple systems for different aspects of conference management, integrating Fourwaves with these other systems might pose some challenges.

Customizable Submission Forms

Get started with default fields and easily add or edit any necessary fields to suit your event’s needs. Submitters can effortlessly access and complete these forms directly on your event website, making the submission process smooth and user-friendly.

Peer-Review Management

Integrate submission and peer-review modules for the scoring process. Assign reviewers based on expertise, avoid conflicts of interest, and efficiently manage the entire review process. Make informed decisions and notify presenters of their status through the platform, ensuring a transparent and organized review system.

Content Publication Management Software

Accepted and peer-reviewed submissions can be instantly published on your event website. Add them to the event schedule in seconds, providing timely updates and ensuring all participants have access to the latest event information. This feature streamlines the transition from review to publication, enhancing the overall event experience.

Pros

“What I love most about Fourwaves is the accessibility and accuracy of its features and design. Its components are complex; yet the Fourwaves components are completely satisfactory and easy to use and understand for the user. The event management abstract provided a comprehensive overview of the strategies and tools utilized to streamline the planning and execution of the conference.” – Adaeze A., Podcast Host

Cons

“At the beginning it could be overwhelming, but once you use it a few times and try it, it is easy to use” – Daniel A. L., Service Account Manager LATAM

Conclusion

Event organizers should carefully evaluate all available best abstract management software solutions, taking into account factors such as user-friendliness, customization options, and integration capabilities. By thoroughly assessing your options, you can make an informed decision that ensures a seamless and efficient event management experience.

Among the top abstract management systems, one platform stands out for its comprehensive approach: vFairs. 

vFairs not only streamlines the submission and review process but also offers customizable options, integrated communication and online abstract management tools, and a user-friendly interface. 

Request a free demo today to discover how vFairs can elevate your event management experience.

FAQs

What is Abstract Management?

Abstract management is the process of handling the submission, review, and selection of abstracts for conferences, events, or academic journals. This process is critical for ensuring that the content presented at an event or published in a journal meets certain standards of quality and relevance.

How do abstract tools benefit event organizers?

Abstract tools benefit event organizers by automating the submission and review processes, reducing administrative workload, ensuring fair and organized reviews, and providing a centralized platform for managing all abstract-related activities. This leads to a more efficient and effective event planning process.

What are the key features of online abstract submission software?

Key features of the best abstract management software include customizable submission forms, automated reviewer assignments, real-time tracking of submission status, integrated communication tools for notifications and reminders, scoring and feedback systems, and the ability to publish accepted abstracts.

How does publication management software benefit publishers and editors?

It reduces administrative burden by automating many tasks, ensures a structured and organized review process, enhances communication with authors and reviewers, and improves the overall efficiency and transparency of the publication process.

We have curated a list of top internal events ideas to keep your employees engaged, boost productivity, enhance employee morale, improve communication, and create a better workplace environment.

Let’s begin. 

What are Internal Events? 

Internal events are designed to boost employee engagement and can range from small meetings to large gatherings. Such events are exclusive to company employees and can be held in person, virtually, or in a hybrid format, depending on the management and the attendees’ preferences.

Why do You Need to Host Internal Events? 

Internal events are crucial for any company as they act as an investment, resulting in happy, engaged, and satisfied employees. These events are necessary for the following reasons:

For Staff Retention

When implemented, successful internal events can lead to more satisfied, motivated, and valued staff who are less likely to seek new job opportunities.

To Build Connections 

Employee networking events facilitate connections between employees and upper management and administration. Additionally, internal events assist new hires in building relationships with senior employees and gaining a better understanding of the workplace.

To Foster Company Culture

Some of the best ways to execute event ideas involve celebrating and reinforcing company culture to foster a better work environment for all.

Internal Event Ideas: Motivate, Engage, and Celebrate

Internal company events are a great way to improve communication, foster connections, and motivate, engage, and celebrate your company and its employees. In this article, we’ve compiled some of the best internal event ideas to help you make your employees feel valued and appreciated. Let’s take a look.

Play Scavenger Hunt

Scavenger hunts are a great way to engage employees. You can tailor the game to match your company’s branding. It works well for any audience, whether in-person, virtual, or hybrid. You can use a QR-based scanner hunt for in-person events to let participants find items around the venue. They can scan the code using an event mobile app. This unique experience adds fun to any event. 

A scavenger hunt adds an exciting element to virtual events. Attendees can explore the virtual venue to find items placed in different areas. vFairs offers an in-person and virtual scavenger hunt that works on on-site events, browsers, and mobile apps.

Organize a Virtual Benefits Fair

Hosting a virtual benefit fair is an easy-to-implement company event idea. It captures your employees’ interest and provides an interactive way to unite a global workplace through interactive booths, webinar sessions, a resources hub, and other engaging features.

A virtual benefits fair can be organized to educate a global audience about company benefits, regardless of their geographical location. This virtual event can reduce event costs and help employees make informed decisions about their health and well-being.

By hosting a virtual benefits fair, a company can demonstrate its commitment to prioritizing the health and well-being of its employees and showcase its readiness to implement informative and value-driven sessions.

Escape Room Challenge

An escape room is a fun and exciting way to engage in team-building activities, which can be done virtually or in person. Employees are locked in a room in an in-person escape room and face various challenges to prevent them from escaping. The team that escapes first wins.

In a virtual setting, participants can be divided into groups and placed in different breakout rooms, similar to Zoom and Microsoft Teams. Each team is given challenges, quizzes, trivia, and a timer to complete the tasks and escape. The team that returns to the main call first wins.

These high-pressure, engaging events promote in-person and virtual team building and create lasting and rewarding memories for all participants.

Execute a Virtual Reality Experience

Virtual reality experiences are part of everyday life, so why not include them in your list of internal event ideas? To provide your employees with a unique and engaging experience, consider offering them a glimpse into virtual reality through virtual reality apps and gadgets.

Consider purchasing or renting virtual reality headsets and allowing your staff to experience what it feels like to watch an action or horror movie in a virtual reality headset. This will provide them with a unique and enjoyable experience.

Set up a Movie Night

Hosting a movie night is a classic and enjoyable event idea for your employees. You can rent movie theater equipment or book a cinema so that many employees can enjoy a fun movie together. To make it even more special, consider providing popular snacks you can ask them about through your office communication channels or by polling your company’s social media group.

Host Talent or Award Show

Who doesn’t love recognition or enthusiastic participation? You can host a talent show and showcase talented singers, dancers, or individuals with other unique talents on stage. Additionally, you can organize an award show and have junior employees give creative and fun awards to senior employees. You could also opt for a more formal approach by presenting an award to the best employee of the month. This is one of the best internal event concepts that promote recognition and add excitement to the event.

Organize Awareness Sessions

One effective way to gather employees for company events is by hosting awareness sessions. You can schedule an internal meeting or an in-person event to educate employees about HR policies related to workplace harassment, racism, and more. Highlighting these policies in awareness sessions helps improve the work culture, reinforces company rules and standards, and supports employees facing difficulties within their teams.

Arrange a Company Picnic

Organize an employee engagement event in an outdoor setting. You can plan a fun company picnic day to re-engage your employees, help them connect, and create lasting memories. This is one of the most successful ideas for bringing employees together, leading to more productive work and setting high standards for your company, ultimately resulting in better employee retention.

Karaoke Club Fun

Hosting a karaoke night at the office is a fun and exciting way to boost morale among your staff. You may discover talented singers among your employees, which can be a great opportunity to showcase their skills in a talent show. Additionally, it can help increase the confidence of employees with low self-esteem.

While karaoke clubs are always popular, consider organizing a karaoke night at your workplace during lunch or dinner. This can be a great way for employees to unwind and have fun at the office. There are more ways to excite your employees within the office premises, find out more about corporate event ideas.

Much-Needed Mindfulness Sessions

Finally, consider introducing mindfulness sessions in your workplace. It’s great to organize enjoyable employee events, but it’s also important to prioritize their mental health through much-needed corporate events. If employees are stressed due to work or personal issues, arranging mindfulness sessions with a meditation coach can help them reduce stress and improve focus on their work. This type of staff event idea also supports better mental health. Learn more about how to host beneficial corporate events.

Organizing an Ultimate Internal Events Set Up

Considering different internal event ideas? First, understand your employees’ preferences. Conduct a poll or questionnaire, Whether intra-team or company-wide event. If you can’t decide where to start, this step-by-step guide can help you get started with planning your interactive event. To make event planning and executive more organized and stress-free, leverage event technology. Learn more about the best event management platform here.

Let’s get started!

1. vFairs

vFairs stands out as one of the best webinar platforms because of its comprehensive suite of webinar tools. It is designed to facilitate interactive and captivating webinars for audiences of all sizes. vFairs offers a user-friendly interface, customizable features, and ready-to-use webinar solutions, enabling effective audience engagement.

vFairs webinar platform is distinguished by its ability to provide an immersive virtual event experience, captivating attendees with state-of-the-art technology, AI-enhanced webinar solutions, event gamification, and many other innovative features. Dive deeper into what makes vFairs one of the best webinar software in the industry.

Integrations

vFairs enhances webinar engagement by seamlessly integrating with popular webinar tools such as MS Teams, Zoom, Sequel, Whereby, YouTube, Vimeo, and WebEx. 

This comprehensive integration empowers organizers to host webinars on the platform of their choice, offering them the flexibility and convenience they need.

Multiple Presentation Options

vFairs also offers multiple presentation options to enhance the overall webinar experience and to make the event more functional. This includes: 

Diverse Presentation Capabilities: vFairs’ webinar software grants organizers unparalleled control over their webinars, offering live, semi-live, and pre-recorded presentation options. Organizations can increase the accessibility and longevity of their webinar content by providing it on demand.

Broaden Your Reach with Social Media: Organizers can broadcast live or pre-recorded presentations from the vFairs virtual webinar platform to various social media channels, enhancing reach and engagement. The platform also easily streams to Facebook Live, YouTube, Twitch, Instagram, and more, ensuring that webinars attract a broad and diverse audience.

3D & Realistic Auditoriums

vFairs elevates the experience of hosting webinars by transforming them into immersive, interactive events that mirror the ambiance of a real-life auditorium. Hosts can captivate their audience through the vFairs virtual event platform with bespoke virtual auditorium designs featuring a branded lobby and more, all customizable through a selection of design templates.

Interactive Features

vFairs, one of the best virtual conference platforms, is at the forefront of interactive webinar software and tools that bring your sessions to life. 

Attendees can dive into immersive video features, participate in breakout sessions for in-depth discussions, and engage in team-building activities. The platform’s interactive capabilities also encompass Q&A sessions, polls, and live quizzes designed to boost audience interaction and participation. 

AI-powered Platform 

vFair’s AI-powered webinar platform is designed to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of its hosts. Its webinar summary and chapterization tool allows organizers to add chapters and short summaries on the on-demand video allowing viewers to jump to a section within the webinar that they are most interested in. 

Moreover, the platform’s capability to flawlessly transcribe sessions into text further underscores its commitment to accessibility and convenience.  It empowers event planners to creatively repurpose webinar content in various formats, including blog posts and social media updates. This flexibility ensures that the audience remains connected and engaged with the event content well beyond its conclusion, enhancing the overall value and reach of the webinar.

Personalized Webinar Agendas

vFairs offers a highly customizable event experience, enabling attendees to tailor their participation by choosing the webinars and sessions that interest them the most. Recognized as one of the best webinar platforms, it ensures participants never miss a moment by facilitating the addition of sessions directly to their Google or Outlook calendars. 

Moreover, attendees can further personalize their experience by receiving notifications solely for specific agenda tracks. This platform empowers hosts to craft a more structured and engaging agenda by creating multiple session tracks, enhancing the overall event organization.

Accessibility Features

vFairs stands out as a webinar service provider, offering unique features to improve the attendee experience and simplify event management through its event management platform. vFairs provides comprehensive accessibility features such as assistive technologies and web assistance for attendees with visual and hearing impairments. vFairs strive to reach the widest audience possible by strictly following W3C’s WCAG 2.1 at the AA level and adhering to ADA and AODA compliance.

These features ensure inclusivity and accessibility for all participants. Additionally, vFairs supports multiple languages, facilitating a more cohesive and seamless event experience for a diverse global audience.

Reporting and Analytics

Organizers can benefit from robust performance tracking and analytics capabilities. These tools offer organizers a detailed understanding of attendee engagement through metrics such as views per session, replay counts, link clicks, and more, enabling them to extract actionable insights and optimize future events. 

Furthermore, the vFairs AI reporting chatbot places the event management platform at the forefront of cutting-edge technology, distinguishing it from others. The AI reporting chatbot saves time by gauging event performance, such as session attendance, content downloads, meetings booked, etc. 

Nevertheless, vFairs’ advanced event technology, such as the vFairs event mobile app, and commitment to exceptional customer support solidify its position as a top-tier provider in the webinar platform market. It offers a comprehensive and user-friendly solution for businesses looking to deliver high-quality online events.

Pros and Cons

Pros

“The project management was superb, from guidance and examples to help in planning and design to very timely replies regardless of time of day/week day or weekend. Never failed to find a solution to any of our requests and always professional and polite. Have worked with them on four online events now and always felt absolutely supported and confident in their management through to delivery.” – Jo J., Chief Executive Officer

“It is a user friendly platform, One of the standout features of Vfairs is its intuitive interface, which makes navigation effortless for users of all technical abilities. Whether accessing the platform from a desktop computer, tablet, or mobile device, attendees can easily find the information they need and participate in sessions without encountering any major obstacles.” – Lisa P., Mid Market

Cons

“I didn’t have any major issues. My only irritation was on the back end and not being able to bulk upload the webinars. However, everything else they provide as part of the normal package far outweighed that slight inconvenience!” –  Verified User in Civic and Social Organizations

2. Cvent

Next on the list of top webinar platforms is Cvent. This platform provides a straightforward approach for hosting dynamic virtual webinars. Cvent features a web tool suite for delivering high-quality content and user-friendly functionalities, enabling organizations to host events effectively while maintaining audience engagement. While Cvent offers many benefits, customers are often dissatisfied with the platform’s pricing compared to industry leaders.

 Some of the webinar platform’s key features are:

Multiple Presentation Types

Cvent’s webinar software boasts a versatile range of presentation styles enriched with engaging features like live chat and screen sharing. It also includes interactive elements such as Q&A sessions and polls to enhance attendee participation. Here’s a closer look at the types of presentation styles available:

• Studio Broadcast is ideal for professional one-way presentations with visual control and branding incorporation.
• Collaboration supports interactive two-way communication for workshops and engaging sessions.
• SimuLive combines pre-recorded webinars with a live event feel, which is great for reaching diverse audiences.

Production Tools

Cvent’s webinar solutions are enhanced with advanced production tools. These include customizable backgrounds featuring a variety of preloaded options, flexible layout switching capabilities, dedicated accounts for speakers to engage in attendee chats, and much more.

Branding

Cvent’s website solutions offer limited but considerable branding opportunities, enabling webinar hosts to personalize their events. Users can upload their logos and tailor the attendee experience to their liking. Event planners can choose from light, regular, and dark themes for their registration websites and webinar pages, ensuring a customized look that aligns with their branding.

Pros and Cons

Pros

“They also now have an online webinar software and hub that makes it easier to connect everything back to one another and host videos and other things as a repository to lead capture people well after an event has happened.”-  Rachel S., Director, Brand Marketing, North America 

“The upside to using Cvent would be the interactive opportunities it presents when it comes to interacting with the client.” –  Verified User in Hospitality

Cons

“Costs are getting out of control and don’t match other event technologies across the industry. Overall, the structure feels and creates a sense of “nickeling and diming” the customer because Cvent is considered the “industry leader,” which puts many accounts in a place of settling for other technologies due to costs.” – Lindsay B., Meetings Management Consultant

“A few bits require workarounds and can occasionally not be intuitive to find where content is coming from to edit. Ability to test needs improvement.”  Rachel S., Director, Brand Marketing, North America 

3. GoToWebinar

GoToWebinar is third on our roundup of top webinar platforms. This platform delivers diverse webinar solutions designed to assist organizers in conducting events such as remote employee training sessions, webinars, multi-day conferences, and pre-recorded product demonstrations.

Nevertheless, the platform should be more user-friendly to better meet the needs of its customers. Users are skeptical of the platform due to its complexity.

The platform offers the following webinar solutions: 

Pre-recorded Events

GoToWebinar’s webinar software enables hosts to pre-record events that simulate live webinars, reducing redundancies and saving time.

Webcast Mode

The webinar platform allows up to 3,000 attendees to join the live stream directly from their browser, eliminating the need to download a mobile app or integrate to join the webinar.

Event Promotion

The webinar plan allows hosts to promote their events on GoToStage to increase awareness and attract more registrations. GoToStage gathers organizers’ content from their channel pages into a single hub for on-demand webinars, making it easier for viewers to discover.

Pros and Cons

Pros

“GoTo Webinar is one of the best and fastest tools to host corporate webinars. Creating a webinar is extremely simple and the customization options are great.” –  Gopal K., Technical Manager, Products

“Very good HubSpot integration; you can even integrate the forms in landing pages.” – Dafne G., Small-Business

Cons

“It is not usable in the browser, you have to download the software, and it looks from the 2000s, not very user-friendly at all. To set up a different background for your camera, you should download another software.” – Dafne G., Small-Business

“For first-time users, setting up a webinar can be complicated. Unlike GoTo Meeting, there’s no direct way to download the GoTo Webinar desktop application. You’ll have to create and start a webinar from your browser and only then will it prompt you to install and open the application.” –  Sanjana P., Web Developer 

4. Hubilo 

Hubilo is a popular webinar platform that provides solutions comparable to those highlighted in our roundup of best webinar hosting platforms. It aims to enhance participant attendance, boost engagement levels, and deliver effective webinars for organizations. 

While the platform may have some limitations regarding event management platform capabilities, it offers the following features to support webinar functionalities.

Integrations

Hubilo’s online webinar software offers integrations with popular tools such as Mailchimp, Hootsuite, Microsoft Dynamics, Slido, and more to enhance event attendee engagement and automation. 

Email Marketing

Hubilo provides a sophisticated email marketing solution that works as the best tool for webinars, enabling users to craft personalized event communications and execute focused marketing campaigns.

Analytics

Hubilo provides detailed insights into event performance before, during, and after the webinar. The platform focuses on attendee engagement and provides multiple event analytics.

Pros & Cons

Pros

“Whether it is branded webinars or large-scale virtual events, Hubilo makes it possible to create these events within hours, and I can start onboarding attendees who can engage and network with fellow attendees way before the event day which gives a feeling of community.” – Jivitesh J., Director Global Events

“The user friendliness (easy to use!), the ability to brand the event, the interface, the customer service (thank you Musaib Maniyar for your quick responses, great help and flexibility!!).” – Verified User in Marketing and Advertising

Cons

“Hubilo’s user experience for admins can be hard to navigate. Many workarounds are required to complete the goals set by clients, and the site lacks customizability in the framework of the web pages.” –  Verified User in Events Services

“It has limitation which we have to work with, things that are set in a specific way in the backend and cannot be changed. The way we had to set-up our agenda was extremely manual, creating one by one session, we were also limited by our clients.” – Pauline L. Director of Operations

5. Bizzabo

Bizzabo is a comprehensive event management platform that incorporates a robust webinar platform. It distinguishes itself with a suite of webinar-specific solutions, earning its spot among the best webinar platforms available. One of the popular platforms for webinars, Bizzabo, is designed to enhance the attendee pipeline, increase revenue, and facilitate the organization of successful events through its acclaimed webinar management software.

Similar to other platforms mentioned earlier, Bizzabo has left some clients dissatisfied due to its lack of engaging features and limited functionality.

Now, let’s delve into some of the standout webinar hosting platform’s features:

Studio Quality Video

Webinar hosting platforms like Bizzabo provide high-quality video for sessions, ensuring seamless streaming for pre-recorded webinars. They also offer live streaming with purpose-built software and personalized tools.

Engagement Features

Bizzabo’s webinar software offers various attendee engagement features, such as live calls to action, polling, Q&A, and virtual clapping. Through polling and Q&A sessions, attendees can actively participate in the webinar.

Pros & Cons

Pros

“Webinars ran fairly smoothly, though we did need some additional support for some technical components that needed to be custom built prior to our event.” – Jessica R., Partner Marketing Manager

“The website set-up is quite systematic and easy to use. For instance, creating the agenda and adding speakers are very easy to do and easy to add to the site in the website editor. It also allows seamless export of registrants and the engagement data is very useful.” –Nicholas S. Marketing Manager

Cons

“It’s a nice platform but I would like it to be more intuitive. There are things in the set-up that are very important to do but we can forget to change, maybe to have a sort of notification would be great .For the language it’s not flexible. we have to create our own landing pages when we want to do webinars other than in English” – Lina G., Mid Market.

“The level of customization options available for event pages on Bizzabo is somewhat limited, which may not align with my preferences. Although there are templates and designs to choose from, making significant changes is restricted. This limitation makes it difficult to create a unique event that truly represents our brand.” –  Donna M., Founder

6. Zoom

Zoom is a popular video conferencing platform that provides webinar solutions. It is well-known for its video and audio conferencing capabilities, allowing people to connect remotely via the app or desktop. These aspects make it a great fit for our best webinar software blog. 

However, it is essential to remember that Zoom has repeatedly been criticized for its security vulnerabilities, causing significant user problems.

Let’s take a quick look at Zoom’s webinar platform offerings.

Reporting and Analytics

The reporting and analytics feature of Zoom’s webinar platform allows webinar hosts to generate reports on registered attendees, including polling, attendee engagement, and Q&A for post-event follow-up.

One-click HD Screening

The one-click HD screen is a webinar solution that lets attendees easily share videos and audio clips during the webinar. This feature also allows participants to view panelists and presentations simultaneously.

Accessibility Features

Zoom’s webinar platform offers accessibility features such as closed captioning and keyboard shortcuts. These features help ensure that participants can equally enjoy the webinar sessions regardless of their impairment issues. 

Pros & Cons

Pros

“It is very user friendly and has tons of useful features to help give a great webinar class. It has AI tools and if for any reason you should have issues they always have customer support ready to help answer any questions.” – Alberto S., Senior Loan Officer

“Zoom has evolved its tools since the Pandemic. Their latest update which lets you choose to include yourself as a presenter in the slide or presentation is a helpful feature.” – Eunice R., Division Coordinator 

Cons

“It would be nice if we could set the presenter invitations to block their calendar for a specific length of time prior to the webinar going live.” – Heather T., Director of Learning and Development

“Zoom events and webinars has a scope of improvement in providing security measures. The customer support services also need to be improved to resolve various issues faced by audience and event host.” –  Divyansh T., Assistant Software Engineer

7. ClickMeeting

ClickMeeting is widely recognized as one of the best webinar software and is known for its reliable services. The platform offers a range of webinar features, including predictive demos, marketing, online courses and training, business meetings, collaborations, and hosting large events.

At times, users have experienced disruptions and interruptions while using the platform, leading to inconvenience during events.

Some webinar platforms provide key features that are well-suited for hosting webinars.Here a few offered by ClickMeeting.

Live Webinar

ClickMeetings’ Live Webinar feature allows webinar hosts to present content to up to 1,000 attendees in real-time.

Breakout Rooms

Breakout rooms is another popular webinar solution that can create up to 20 virtual classes and training sessions.

Virtual Backgrounds

ClickMeeting is webinar software that enables you to present your webinar with various background displays, allowing you to keep your background blurred, similar to Google Meet’s video conferencing tool.

Pros and Cons

Pros

“We use ClickMeeting daily for hosting educational webinars, and online meetings. It is a valuable tool, which helps us to extend our reach to a broader audience and thanks to the recording option gives us the opportunity to connect with those unable to attend our events live.” – Caroline K., Online Education Manager

“What I like most about the program is the opportunities it offers when organizing online meetings. I like the clarity of the interface, the ability to record meetings and share presentations.”- Joanna J., Mid Market

Cons

“I would very much like a customized design for the webinar rooms. The option of using the Unsplash archive is nice, but unfortunately it often takes a long time to find suitable background images. It would be nice if I could use my own images here and if there were more options when designing the webinar rooms.” –  Thomas L., Small Business

“There are a few negative points that cause the lagging of this premium tool. You can also face some glitches and bug issues while navigating.” – Camia T., Enterprise

8. Zoho Meeting

Zoho is one of the most popular and reliable webinar platforms available. The platform claims to offer a secure video webinar platform to help organizers enhance their online presence.

It’s crucial to keep in mind that the platform must enhance its capabilities to offer automated webinar options. This improvement is necessary to ensure comprehensive webinar solutions without causing any inconvenience for event organizers.

The Zoho Meeting webinar platform facilitates real-time or on-demand events, connecting the audience to a larger audience using conferencing software for webinars.

Now, let’s take a look at one of the key features of the webinar platform: 

Video Webinars

Zoho Meeting’s webinar conferencing software offers video webinar features that enable the distribution of live video feeds of organizers and co-organizers, along with the webinar presenter. This tool engages and allows webinar hosts to share their screens and interact with the audience.

Customized Registration Form

Zoho Meeting’s webinar platforms allow hosts to create customizable registration forms with fields and questions related to the webinar. You can also promote your brand by adding a company name and link to the registration page.

YouTube Live Streaming

If you want a platform to reach a wider audience by live-streaming on YouTube, you can choose who can access your sessions and stream your webinar in real-time.

Pros & Cons

Pros

“We evaluated Zoho Webinar for our social non-profit organization for a month. We run an actual webinar with multiple hosts and approx. 100+ attendees.”  – Ashutosh K., Small Business 

“The Polls and voting option is very helpful in determining the best idea from different. Very easy to use and has better User Interface.” – – Neelam V., Software Quality Analyst

Cons

“The chat and messaging section does not appear in the middle of a webinar or video conference. Recording in the meet session is not allowed and also you will be charged whenever there is a new joiner in the meeting. Limit on the number of people that can attend a webinar or video conference.” – Neelam V., Software Quality Analyst

“They showed inability to conduct automated webinars.” – Sheril M, Small Business

9. BigMarker 

BigMarker is a web-based platform that combines webinar software with marketing features. It helps users host online events and web conferences. 

The platform should have a more manageable interface to better cater to the needs of its customers.

Here are some of the features worth knowing about:

Add your branding

BigMarker helps quickly sell tickets for your webinars, classes, or workshops and receive payments through PayPal.

Payment Options

With BigMarker, you can monetize your webinars, classes, or workshops with built-in ticketing and withdraw proceeds to PayPal.

Event Advertisement

The webinar software lets you feature your webinars by promoting them through email newsletters and sharing them on BigMarker’s social media channels.

Pros & Cons

Pros

“Bigmarker is easy to use and to set up with numerous, great and flexible comprehensive features.” – Mohsin D., Senior Account Executive

“BigMarker’s webinar platform was a game-changer for us. It is seamless, interactive and is very user friendly. The user experience for both presenters and attendees is excellent..” – Christina R., Small Business

Cons.

“There are almost TOO many options and settings. If you don’t know what you’re doing, you want to be careful, or at least spend time learning what things do before you play with them..” – Eric V., Mid-Market

“The main dislike of Bigmarker is it has bugs and it lags somewhat but the privacy and encryption is nice and the main dislike if the lags and bugs which delays the meeting times and joining time of attendees.” – Sailesh R., Student Partner

10. WebinarJam

The last on our list of best webinar software is WebinarJam. It is a cloud-based broadcasting technology that offers an all-in-one webinar platform. It is powerful and autonomous and provides key webinar solutions.

The platform’s lack of simplicity and ease of understanding often leaves customers feeling dissatisfied. Here are some of the features that the platform offers.

Meeting Management

WebinarJam’s meeting management tool is a widely utilized service for hosting webinars. This comprehensive service encompasses scheduling, creating agendas, and remotely managing attendees during a webinar.

Analytics and Reporting

WebinarJam’s platform offers a comprehensive analytics and reporting feature, including a dashboard on webinar traffic, region, attendance, and event monetization. Users can customize pages by designing and managing landing pages and webinar funnels.

Pros & Cons

Pros

“Easy to use. You don’t need to install anything like goto.” – Verified User in Information Technology Services

“The best feature which I liked was making a recorded video into a live broadcast. It is solving the biggest problems of most young entrepreneurs. The features like adding a chat, creating a poll, showing the poll results, sending reminders before the webinar starts with customizable emails, a separate dashboard to reply to live chat messages.” – Verified User in E-Learning 

Cons

“The setup process was time-consuming and frustrating. I also hate having to pay for two systems when it could easily just be one. Lastly, you do have to use a clean browser without any extensions or you may have issues.” – Brady P., Lifestyle Architect

“No breakout rooms, no agency model available, and the awkward wait while the presentation goes live (and technically being live before you are “shown” live). Attendees not being able to see other attendees’ names. A few mobile issues. 10-second delay from talking to being heard by the audience. No saving of the poll results, support not great.” –  Theo P., Co-founder

Choose The Best Webinar Software For Your Next Event

 This extensive list will help you get closer to choosing the best webinar software for your needs. Although the best webinar software mentioned offers similar solutions, such as video and audio conferencing tools, accessibility features, and more, it’s important to think beyond the basics when making your choice. 

Among the best webinar software listed, vFairs offers more than just essential webinar solutions. Instead, it is a complete event management system with AI-powered webinar solutions, integrations, analytics,  and accessibility features to help you host a successful and interactive webinar. To learn more about how vFairs can be the best platform to host a webinar for you, book your demo now.

This event is designed for a diverse audience including patient advocates, community-based organizations, vision and eye health organizations, researchers, public health experts, healthcare providers, educators, government agency staff, legislative staff, and corporate partners. Attendees will gain valuable insights on topics such as the impact of social determinants on eye health disparities, innovative strategies and technologies in eye health, and how to engage individuals to reduce barriers to care and create meaningful policy and programs.

What makes the Focus on Eye Health Summit unique is its comprehensive agenda, which includes keynote presentations, reaction panels, and interactive discussions. The event features esteemed speakers like Stacey B. Lee, JD, Professor of Law and Ethics at Johns Hopkins University, and panelists from leading health organizations. The second day of the summit will include a focus on the role of artificial intelligence on vision health- from early detection of eye disease to support for those with vision loss. Additionally, the summit offers networking opportunities through chat features and social media engagement using the hashtag #EyeSummit.

Jeff Todd, President and CEO of Prevent Blindness, emphasized the importance of the event, saying, “This year’s Focus on Eye Health Summit will once again convene leaders, experts, and stakeholders who are passionate about advancing the vision and eye health of our nation and our world. We invite everyone to register today and take part in this significant event and the important dialogue it encompasses.”

Muhammad Younas, CEO of vFairs, expressed his enthusiasm for the partnership, stating, “We are thrilled to collaborate with Prevent Blindness for their 13th Annual Focus on Eye Health Summit. Our platform is designed to facilitate meaningful connections and provide an immersive experience, ensuring that all participants can engage effectively and contribute to the vital discussions on eye health.”

Prevent Blindness

Founded in 1908, Prevent Blindness is the nation’s leading volunteer eye health and safety organization dedicated to fighting blindness and saving sight. Focused on promoting a continuum of vision care, Prevent Blindness touches the lives of millions of people each year through public and professional education, advocacy, certified vision screening and training, community and patient service programs and research. These services are made possible through the generous support of the American public. Together with a network of affiliates, Prevent Blindness is committed to eliminating preventable blindness in America. For more information, visit us at PreventBlindness.org, and follow us on Facebook, X, Instagram, Threads, LinkedIn and YouTube.

About vFairs

vFairs is an all-in-one event management platform that powers in-person, hybrid, and virtual events. Our event technology empowers companies worldwide to host custom, immersive events and achieve incredible results. The platform features a virtual events platform and mobile app, each offering immersive virtual venues, advanced networking, world-renowned customer service, and many features that help you host unforgettable events.