Newly added for 2022, the "La Sala" space (pictured) spotlighted BIPOC and Latin-owned beauty brands and brand talent and their heritage, with content conducted in both Spanish and English with subtitles. See more: How Sephora Expanded This Year's ‘Virtual House of Beauty’
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In Case You Missed It
To techies, Kara Swisher is in a league of her own—so getting a look inside the renowned journalist's final Code Conference was a treat for the BizBash team. The 2022 event, which took place Sept. 6-8 in Los Angeles, struck a bittersweet tone as Swisher bid farewell to hosting and organizing the annual business-to-business tech event—which this year drew a who's-who of big-name speakers, including CEOs like Apple’s Tim Cook, Google’s Sundar Pichai, Amazon’s Andy Sassy, and Snap’s Evan Spiegel, plus politicians like Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Senator Amy Klobuchar, and Governor Gavin Newsom. Click here for a look behind the scenes.
Spotlight On
How about some good news? Tech company Bizzabo recently unveiled a survey that bodes well for the return of in-person events. Conducted between June and July of 2022, results revealed that 83% of event organizers plan to host at least three in-person events in 2022. But don’t count out virtual just yet—the same survey shows that 68% of event organizers also plan to have a virtual component at their next in-person gathering.
The survey follows trends that Bizzabo itself is seeing: So far in 2022, the number of in-person events held on Bizzabo’s Event Experience OS increased by a whopping 724%. At the same time, though, the number of virtual events held on the platform has been consistent, decreasing just 0.43%. “In-person events have returned this year, and their purpose has been elevated as marketers bring a renewed focus on delivering meaningful experiences for those gathering physically and virtually,” said Alon Alroy, CMO and co-founder of Bizzabo, in a press release.
More Event Technology We're Excited About This Month
To better harness the power of customer and attendee data...
Late last month, Salesforce unveiled Salesforce Genie, a real-time data platform that powers the entire Salesforce Customer 360 platform. Salesforce Genie ingests and stores real-time data streams and then combines them with Salesforce’s transactional data, creating a unified, real-time customer profile that’s visible and actionable across the entire platform. This means that sales reps can get real-time insights into every single customer, allowing them to deliver highly personalized customer service and experiences.
“Every business leader wants to take advantage of real-time data to create compelling, personalized customer experiences. Milliseconds matter in this new digital-first world,” said David Schmaier, Salesforce’s president and chief product officer, in a press release. “That’s why we built Genie, our most significant innovation ever on the Salesforce platform. Genie makes every part of Customer 360 more automated, intelligent, and real time.” 
Bonus: Click here to see inside the 20th-anniversary edition of Dreamforce, the tech giant's largest annual consumer-facing event.Photo: Courtesy of Salesforce
For an immersive virtual meeting environment...
Tech and floorplan design company Allseated has launched Meetaverse, a fully immersive virtual environment for companies to host events and meetings, facilitate interactive experiences, and even create entire digital offices—all on one platform. The fully customizable design allows for a variety of interconnected experiences, with different groups and departments able to host different meetings in adjacent virtual "rooms." Other capabilities include screen sharing, GDPR-compliant meeting recordings, self-guided navigation, live Q&A and chat options, analytics, and more.
To easily book event transportation...
Bus charter marketplace CharterUP recently launched Self Serve, a new feature that allows customers to book their charter bus trip in minutes—without using a booking agent. Customers can now browse real-time availability, multiple quotes, vehicle and pricing options, and operational reviews before scheduling customized charter services themselves.
“Both the supply and demand sides of the industry are using the same outdated tools and processes that I used [over a decade ago]," said Armir Harris, founder and CEO of CharterUP. "CharterUP is changing those, one tech implementation at a time, with the ultimate goal of helping customers charter a bus in 60 seconds or less."
To streamline ticket scanning at large events...
UK-based company Halo Solutions has launched Ticket Scanning v 2.0, which can easily scan a mix of barcode tickets, QR codes, and other ticket types, whether purchased in advance or at the door. The integration can be accessed entirely via the Halo app on any handheld smartphone, with no extra software or hardware required—meaning any smart device can be turned into a high-quality ticket scanner. This rapid, easy-to-use functionality means venues can streamline queuing at large events, avoiding buildups of large crowds and the elevated risks associated.
“We continue to listen to the industry and deliver the features they need. This rapid and well-designed solution for ticket scanning means that we’ve managed to lower hardware costs, whilst simultaneously raising the standard of the activity,” said Halo Solutions CEO Lloyd Major in a press release. “Connecting that to our incident management platform, and feeding the crowd data directly into the hands of those who need it, really empowers decision makers on the night and in their planning for future events.”
For a convenient hospitality tool...
ResortPass—a marketing and technology solution for hotels and resorts to maximize revenue through day passes, experiences, and events—has debuted a new, convenient tool called ResortPass for Hotels. The new app allows hotel partners to manage guest bookings on the go and unlock new revenue streams. From an iPhone, hotel staffers can check in guests and view reservation details; adjust pricing and inventory; quickly create and adjust reservations for amenities, activities, and event space; and more.
The Latest Updates, Funding, and Merger News
Fresh off the success of Megan Thee Stallion's virtual reality concert tour, as well as its new partnership with K-pop giant SM Entertainment, concert production company AmazeVR has raised $17 million in new investments. This ongoing round joins the $15 million bridge round that was raised in 2021, and puts AmazeVR's current Series B raise at $32 million. Founded in 2015, AmazeVR uses its exclusive and proprietary technology to capture hyper-real, 9K+ live-action footage of artists performing—giving fans front-row seats to artists in 3D stage environments.
Looking to learn more about how to harness your event data? The Event Leadership Institute has launched its online Event Measurement & Analytics Certificate, a five-week course that gives participants tips and tools for evaluating data to measure an event’s success, identifying event data sources and the best ways to collect them, calculating event R.O.I., and more. The course is being led by event tech experts Joe Colangelo, co-founder and CEO of event data aggregation company Bear Analytics, and Vinnu Deshetty, founder of event management platform EVA.
Tech solutions provider Personify has purchased Charlotte, N.C.-based company GTR Event Technology. Through the new acquisition, Personify plans to offer a complete event management platform for organizers of trade shows, conferences, corporate meetings, and other events of all variations and sizes. “The addition of GTR to Personify’s Community Experience Platform further enables our mission of helping our clients to manage and grow their communities," said Scott Collison, president and CEO of Personify. "Our clients often want us to serve all their technology needs including event, association, and community engagement technology. GTR’s products now allow Personify to be a single source."
