Tis the season, but Calgary's corporations still cautious around holiday parties

December usually comes with events, charity galas, and corporate celebrations. But the pandemic has continued to put a damper on how Calgarians gather. 

While parties aren't all on hold, planners have noticed their clients continue to be cautious this season.

"I think most of our clients are certainly eager to bring their employees back together. They just don't want to rush it," Renée Pittet with OneWest Events said.

The invite lists are compact, Pittet said most of their clients with in-person party plans are for employees only, no spouses allowed.

Hotel Arts has events on the books. But Kimberly Dobbins said clients are limiting invite lists to departments instead of entire offices or groups. 

Over the last couple of weeks, Dobbins said bookings have grown exponentially. 

"Everybody has made the decision that they are going to do an event this year," Dobbins said. "It's going to be smaller in numbers and we're just quickly turning them into events with the leads coming in only a week prior."

Corporate holiday scene moving to the new year 

In September, Pittet said it looked like the holidays were making a comeback. Then, COVID-19 cases climbed putting the healthcare system under serious strain. Eventually, the province put work from home orders and restrictions in place. And those holiday bookings shifted. 

There are always stragglers celebrating the holidays in January, but Pittet said the number of events delayed to the first and second quarter of 2022 is unusual. 

"So normally, obviously, you want to celebrate the holidays during those holiday months," Pittet said. "The volume is more than we're used to … to gather your employees at that time of year is not something that you see very often."

Online events are still on

The hybrid model is still happening too. Some companies are holding off on gathering, but still sending things like meals, gingerbread making kits, or other activities home with their workers to complement virtual events. 

Closed offices aren't being decorated for the season. But Pittet said there's a "home for the holidays" theme in condos and apartment lobbies.

"So some sort of cheer in the buildings," she said. "We're seeing a lot more of that. So window displays and I guess a building, apartment buildings, that sort of thing. I'm not so much in the offices anymore."

'Brace for impact'

Pre-COVID, OneWest Events hosted hundreds of events throughout the year, most during the holiday season. This year, while things have improved over 2020 Pittet said they are still down about 80 per cent. 

Throughout December at Hotel Arts, Dobbins said they are seeing three or four events on Fridays and said they would typically host 20 events on a normal holiday Friday. 

"It's just been a roller coaster ride. I'm sure for a lot of people. But this industry, in particular, it's a lot of stop and go," Dobbins said. "One phrase that we keep hearing is brace for impact because it is a very hard stop when the stops happen."