Washington Business Spring 2021 | Page 30

washington business virtual meetings
Of the 62 AWB events held last year , only one was in person , says Carly Michael , the association ’ s events coordinator .
“ One of the reasons we could pivot so quickly was that we had planned on a hybrid event ,” she says . Feedback has generally been positive . Though participants miss in-person networking , virtual meetings allow increased participation from members . Hybrid meetings aren ’ t going away , she says . After a year of Microsoft Teams , Zoom , and Go2Meeting , hybrid will be the new standard for events organizers , as it will be for many education and training programs .
“ This is not a normal economic contraction ; it was manmade .”
Matthew Gardner , chief economist , Windermere Real Estate no , the city is not dead , assuming …
During the darkest days of the pandemic , the death of cities was seen as an inevitable outcome . Not likely , says Lerch , pointing out that the amenities that attract people to cities will continue to be a draw .
“ The general attitude of many analysts — the total demise of urban centers — is dramatically overstated ,” says Gardner . But there are reasons to be concerned . With fewer people living and working in downtown Seattle , the customer base for retail , bars and restaurants will shrink .
Patrick Jones , who monitors regional economies , believes that the post-pandemic gainers may be East King County suburbs . The shift to more remote work will likely also benefit communities in Central and Eastern Washington , as well as the Puget Sound area surrounding King County .
The Seattle challenge is as it was pre-covid : housing affordability , homelessness , high business costs and public safety . If those issues can be successfully addressed , there ’ s no reason the post-pandemic recovery should leave Seattle behind .
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