Article dated 06/03/2020 - last updated 18/03/2020

PREAMBLE: Colloquium has had to cope with the postponement of 2 of its events in recent days. We wanted to share our experience with you, focusing on "decision-making". Our aim is to provide our customers with the best possible support at this delicate time. This document is neither contractual, nor exhaustive; it is simply intended to be collaborative.

If you have any comments, additions or questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at info@clq-group.com. We'll do our best to complete this document.

In the context of the COVID-19 crisis, many associations are faced with a Cornelian choice: maintain, postpone or cancel their event. A complex decision with cascading consequences...

Even if the situation seems urgent and the decision complex, don't lose sight of the fact that an event is a complex (but rich!) chain. Its success and longevity depend on each of the parties involved.

3 tips 

• Consult all your partners. Don't make a sudden decision without hearing several sides of the story, several points of view.
• Even so, make sure you make your decision (and implement it) quickly. 
• Arm yourself with courage!

Ensure you have the right sources of information

The government, of course. A question-and-answer page is updated in real time and can give you information on the situation at any given moment https://www.gouvernement.fr/info-coronavirus

UNIMEV, Fédération des métiers de l'événement, regularly updates situation analyses, working methodologies for organizers and legal advice. https://www.unimev.fr/coronavirus-covid-19/

Added March 18 - source Unimev:
See the news flash CORONAVIRUS COVID-19 - POSTPONEMENT/CANCELLATION OF AN EVENT

Taking stock of the legal situation

March 18 addition - source Unimev

Theorder issued by the Minister of Solidarity and Health on March 14, 2020 - supplemented by an order dated March 15 - prohibits restaurants, cafés, bars and cinemas from opening, as well as meeting, conference or performance rooms (Type L) and exhibition halls (Type T) from welcoming the public, until April 15, 2020.

Force majeure or not? 

• If you are affected by a prefectoral measure or ministerial decree, contact the prefecture of the département where your event is to take place and ask them for a written statement prohibiting the holding of your event.
• If you are not affected by a prefectoral measure or ministerial decree, then force majeure will not apply and the decision to maintain, postpone or cancel will be up to you.

This point determines many of the consequences of the decisions you are about to take. Only a prefectoral measure or a ministerial decree imposing a ban can constitute force majeure for organizers. (see Unimev)

Note: Force majeure is generally specified in the General Terms and Conditions/ There is no fixed rule. Each company defines in its General Terms and Conditions what applies in the event of force majeure. Otherwise, if there is no article in the GCS concerning force majeure, the amount due corresponds in principle to the service provided at the time of the force majeure.

Insurance

Check the conditions of your cancellation insurance if you have taken one out. Check whether it covers infectious diseases and particularly COVID (normally this is no longer the case for insurance taken out after December 2019). 

• If your cancellation insurance covers COVID 19, you need to be accompanied throughout the process by your insurer. Any decisions you make must be validated by your insurer before your cancellation insurance can cover you.
  Good to know : An insurer will generally prefer to maintain or postpone your event, rather than cancel it. It may therefore cover the cost of maintaining your event (purchase of equipment such as masks/gloves, gel, etc.).
• If your cancellation insurance doesn't cover COVID 19, contact your insurance company anyway, so that we can support you even if you're not covered, by providing expertise or even legal support.

Survey all stakeholders

Sponsors

Review the information contained in your general terms and conditions of sale to clearly identify the conditions that would apply to your partners in the event of continuation, postponement or cancellation.

Call your 5 biggest partners and share your questions with them. Ask them questions to identify possible obstacles in each situation: 

• What do you think of the current situation? Are there any particular recommendations in your company concerning gatherings?
• What is the policy applied internally to date? Are travel and gatherings authorized for staff? 
• Which period would be more appropriate in the event of a postponement?

The idea here is to informally sound out the possible consequences of maintaining, postponing or cancelling. Our experience shows that companies' internal recommendations are often more drastic than those imposed by law. 

This round-table discussion is important both to give you an idea, to fuel your thinking, and to anticipate the hidden consequences of postponing or staying the course. 

Partners' main concerns

In the event of a stay
- Sanitary measures put in place in the event of a stay
- Costs of cancelling participation if unable to attend

In the event of postponement
- Postponement of the entire financial investment in the event at no cost
- Negotiation of hotel and transport cancellation fees

Service providers

Build collaboration and trust with them! Discussion is the key. 

List all service providers and check the terms and conditions that apply in each case. 

The main service provider you'll need to deal with quickly is, of course, the location. Take stock of the situation with him and consider the following possibilities: 

• What are the conditions for maintaining and possibly reorganizing the event's format? 
• What are the conditions for a postponement: financial, possible dates, same organization as planned (same hall, same venue, etc.)?
• What are the conditions for cancelling an event, except in cases of force majeure? 

Then survey the position of your main suppliers: venue, audiovisual, technical, catering, general installation, etc. Where do they stand with their other events? What is the position of the local authorities? Their management? Do they have any additional information from their subcontractors or other partners such as the Tourist Office, Convention Bureau, Chamber of Commerce?  

Put everything on stand-by while you make your decision: document printing, delivery etc...

Main concerns of a receptive

In case of maintenance
- Sanitary measures to be taken on your side

In case of postponement

- The sales generated by the event must not be carried over into another accounting period
- If you're thinking about postponing, there are certainly other events considering it, so possible postponement dates can quickly become an issue. 

Other service providers' main concerns

In case of maintenance
- Sanitary measures put in place to guarantee the safety of its staff
- Sizing of the similar service

In the event of postponement
- Reimbursement of expenses already incurred that cannot be postponed
- Postponement of the service under the same conditions (no reduction in size)
- Availability on the new dates

In the event of cancellation
- Compensation?

The speakers

Call your event's keynote speakers to discuss the possibility of continuing or postponing the event. 

• Will they take part in the event if it goes ahead? 
• In the event of postponement, are they available on the planned dates?

The hotels

This is a very delicate subject for some events. It mainly depends on whether or not your event welcomes groups, or whether or not you manage the accommodation of your participants: 

• If you're thinking of postponing the event, again you're probably not alone, which means that hotels are receiving a lot of requests for postponements or cancellations at the same time. Keep this in mind; times are complex for them too. 
• If your event brings together a large number of participants or staff, the consequences of a postponement or cancellation for your partners will mainly be on this item. Whether or not you manage the hotels for your partners, this point will inevitably be part of the negotiation in the event of postponement or cancellation, since it represents significant amounts.

Contact the 5 hotels with the largest room quotas. Take 5 hotels from 5 different groups. The group will probably impose a similar cancellation fee policy from one hotel to another. So survey as widely as possible.

If postponement is envisaged, discuss with these hotels the possibility of postponing quotas to the dates envisaged and the conditions for doing so: 

• Availability of rooms for the planned period?
• Room rates for the planned period?
• Any cancellation fees on initial quotas?

Good to know: Hoteliers operate on a seasonal basis. If you postpone to a busy period for them, they will probably be less willing to negotiate. If you postpone to a slower period for them, it will be easier to obtain room quotas on the one hand, and to negotiate prices and cancellation fees on the other.

Hoteliers' main concerns

In the event of maintenance
- The triggering of force majeure at the last moment

In the event of postponement
- The possibility of reselling the rooms released (which in the event of infectious diseases is very difficult: tourism and events are major consumers of rooms)
- The weight your event can carry if you organize your event every year in the same city, hotels will want to maintain a good commercial relationship with you.

In case of cancellation
- Take heart!

The participants

Difficult to consult them all, of course... 

Review your general terms and conditions of sale to clearly identify the conditions that would apply to your participants in the event of postponement or cancellation. 

The congresses organized by Colloquium and concerned by the postponements are aimed at an audience of healthcare professionals whose role in managing the epidemic itself is important. This is a crucial point in the decisions that may have been taken during this period. 

Your shareholders' main concerns

In the event of a stay
- Sanitary measures implemented in the event of a stay
- Cancellation fees if the participant does not (cannot) wish to take part in the event

In the event of postponement
- Availability on the dates envisaged to be able to postpone participation
- Possibility of reimbursement of registration fees in the event of inability to participate on the new dates
- Assistance in obtaining reimbursement of expenses incurred (train or plane ticket, hotel room) 

Idea : Offer online participation for those unable to attend in person

In the event of cancellation
- Reimbursement of participation: registration fees and assistance with reimbursement of train tickets and hotel accommodation etc...

Added March 9 - source SNCF

Passengers wishing to postpone or cancel their TGV or Intercités train journeys will be able to do so "free of charge for exchanges and refunds" until April 30.

For refund requests on OUI GO trains, refund requests must be made through https://remboursement.ouigo.com/

Added March 9 - excerpt from COVID 19 AP-HP item - source Twitter 

"As of March 9 and until further notice, participation in international congresses, symposia and colloquia is not authorized (except those related to COVID-19), and is to be restricted to what is strictly necessary for national events."

What about the event budget?

It's difficult to estimate the budgetary impact in each case, as negotiations with partners and service providers are carried out on a case-by-case basis, and each has different interests.

In case of retention

• Sanitary measures to be implemented to guarantee the safety of participants
• Possible commercial discounts to be considered in the event of dissatisfaction on the part of partners and participants if the event no longer corresponds to what had been envisaged: session cancellation (speakers not present), low attendance at stands or symposia, etc.

In case of postponement

• Postponement costs (if any) for event providers (costs already incurred cannot be postponed)
• Updating of congress materials, financing of communications linked to the postponement of the congress
• Cancellation fees for hotel rooms and transport tickets for guests and staff paid by the event.
• Possible commercial discounts to be considered in the event of dissatisfaction on the part of partners and participants if the event no longer corresponds to what had been envisaged.
• Staff or additional fees to manage the postponement of the event - Colloquium does not charge additional fees. We consider ourselves to be in solidarity with our customers in this type of crisis.

In the event of cancellation

• Cancellation fees for event providers
• Reimbursement of participants and sponsors

Informing and communicating 

Once you've made your decision, we advise you to communicate quickly and thoroughly. 

As soon as possible, publish general information for all your audiences on your event's website, clearly and factually explaining your decision (even in the event of a stand-still).

In the 2nd stage, this time by email, contact each type of population with a tailored message, explaining the reasons for your choice. 

• For the speakers, a new confirmation of their intervention on the new dates; 
• For partners, a more commercial contact to ensure continuity of customer service, and above all to explain the reasons for postponement or cancellation. 
• For participants, you can detail the cancellation conditions or refund possibilities if applicable. 

Don't forget to provide them with a certificate of postponement or cancellation by name, to help them make use of their own insurance.

We also recommend that you publish a FAQ page on your event website, answering the main questions your participants may have. 

Please note: Don't forget to date your communications, as the situation can change very quickly. And remember to update them as you go along. 

Your event is only a few months away...

At present, it's impossible to put a date on when the situation will return to normal, so stay alert but don't make any hasty decisions.

• Once again, keep an eye on your terms and conditions and those of your service providers. 

• Communicate about maintenance if this is the case, and set regular deadlines to review progress with the various stakeholders in your event.