Creating a Hybrid event

This guide walks you through setting up and launching a Hybrid event on RingCentral Events. This event format is perfect if you're planning an in-person event but wish to extend the experience to online attendees. Hybrid events offer both virtual and onsite features.

Step 1: Create your event

1. In your Organization Dashboard, click Create event.
2. On the next page, complete the following:
   • In the Name box, type your event name.
      Note: The name of your event can be changed at any time from the Event Dashboard.
   • Under Starts at/Ends at, enter the start and end dates and times of your event. The duration limit on the RingCentral Events plans is up to 10 days. 
     Note: Your event limit is strict, but you can extend your event by 15 minutes before it closes in case your program is running late. You can also extend the time of your event from your Event Dashboard before the event ends as long as you remain within your duration limit.
   • To add your event to an existing series, enable this option and select a series from the dropdown. 
     Note: This option will only appear if you have created one or more event series.
   • Select Hybrid or Onsite event as the preferred event type. 
   • In the Venue Name and Address boxes, type your onsite venue name and its physical address.  
   • Click Create hybrid event.  
   
3. Next, select the virtual event areas you want to use. You can change this later. Once ready, click Continue.
   
4. Finally, enter the description of your event. Once ready, click Continue.
   
5. At this point, you'll get redirected to the Event Dashboard. The Overview page features a helpful checklist designed to guide you through the event setup.
   

Step 2: Check your event details

Navigate to Setup > Basics in your Event Dashboard to access and adjust the fundamental event settings. Some of these settings may have already been configured during the event creation process.

Event name and time

Here you can change the name of the event or the start and end times you've previously selected. 

Description

Here you can adjust the event description you've previously added. It will display on your Classic landing page. In the Description box, you can embed widgets, videos, hyperlinks, file downloads, and extensive descriptions. Refer to our guide Customizing content and additional information areas to learn all supported customization options. 

Event areas

Here you can enable or disable event areas and set where your attendees will land first when entering the event. Depending on the goals and nature of your event, you can choose any combination of these areas or all of them.

• Reception serves as a lobby where attendees can learn about the event and get oriented. 
• Stage segments are for live speakers, presentations, talks, interviews, live-streaming, and webinars. The Stage can be powered by our built-in RingCentral Events Studio. 
• Sessions are segments for live video group discussions, breakouts, and roundtables. You (and your attendees) can set up virtual groups in Sessions based on a topic. A Session room can be configured as open, moderated, or also powered by our built-in RingCentral Events Studio.
• Networking is where you can set up Networking and allow attendees to connect, explore common interests, and share professional details with each other. 
• Expo can be used for virtual exhibitor booths, whether you have two or two hundred of them.
• Replay allows you to show event recordings to attendees during and/or after the event for up to 12 months.
• App Area allows you to share apps with your audience, without directing them away from the RingCentral Events platform. 
• Custom Area adds an additional icon to your event navigation and links to an external page of your choice.

Event format, location & visibility

Under Event Format, you can convert your event into onsite. For further details, refer to the guide on changing the event format.

Under Venue name and Address, you change the location of your in-person event.

Event visibility can be adjusted to hidden, public, or private:

• Public events are indexed by search engines.
• Hidden events are joinable only via a link or invitation. Not indexed by search engines.
• Private events are password-protected. Great choice for test events and events with limited access for privacy reasons. Not indexed by search engines.

Event URL & Session display

To display the Event URL and Session Display settings, click Advanced setting. 

The event URL is the link to your event registration page and all pages inside your event. You can change the part after https://events.ringcentral.com/events to your preference, as long as it is not already in use by another event. For more details, refer to our guide on Changing event URL slug.

Under Session Display, you can adjust the visibility duration of a scheduled Session outside its scheduled time. By default, if a Session is linked to a Schedule segment, it will only display for 5 minutes before and after the scheduled time in the Sessions area of the event. For more details, refer to our guide on Accessing a scheduled Session before the start time.

Step 3: Set up registration

At RingCentral Events, we’ve built our own registration systems so you don’t have to worry about using another platform to collect, track, manage, and accept payments for your attendee list. However, it’s completely possible to use a separate registration system and then import the registrations in bulk or send out Magic Link invites.

Landing page

The landing page is where attendees register for your event by claiming tickets. You can also use it to display the various components of your event, such as sponsors, schedule, and speakers.

To set up your registration page, navigate to your Event Dashboard > Registration > Landing Page. You have two layouts available: 

• Classic is our default option. It has a predefined design and automatically displays all of the available event information, so you don't need to spend time setting it up. 
• Advanced is a drag-and-drop page builder that provides a customizable layout, branding, speaker bios, and custom fonts. There are four main themes to choose from, but all are customizable. 

Registration settings

To set up a custom registration close date for your event, allow bulk ticket purchases, change ticket currency, customize registration confirmation message, or enable domain restriction, navigate to the Event Dashboard > Registration > Landing Page. 

Tickets

To create tickets, navigate to the Event Dashboard > Registration > Tickets. By default, a free ticket will be created, which you can delete or edit to fit your needs. To learn more about ticket settings, refer to our guide on Creating tickets.

In a Hybrid event, in the Ticket settings, you can configure your ticket access type:

• Hybrid: Attendees will have access to both onsite and online parts of your event.
• Virtual: Attendees will only be able to view your event online.

When an attendee acquires a hybrid ticket, they will also receive a QR code in their Order confirmation email that they can use to check in to the onsite event.

Registration form

To create required and optional custom registration questions, navigate to the Event Dashboard > Registration > Registration Form.

To learn more about question types, refer to our guide on Creating a registration form.

When adding a new question, you will be able to manage Answer Visibility across different stakeholders of an Onsite event:

• Attendees at self-check-in: When attendees check in via Kiosk Mode, they will be asked to verify their information. They will be able to see their answers.
• Admins of the Organizer app: Organizers will be able to see and edit the answers in the Organizer app.
• Lead mode of an attendee: Exhibitors will be able to view the answers when lead retrieval is enabled, and they are given access via their booth.
  

Step 4: Define your hybrid schedule 

Establishing a detailed and organized schedule is crucial when managing a Hybrid multi-track event. To create a schedule, go to Event Dashboard > Venue > Schedule. To learn more about schedule settings, refer to our guide on Creating a schedule.

When adding a schedule segment, you can specify the segment format:

• Virtual: Visible to both virtual and hybrid ticket holders.  
• Hybrid: Visible to both virtual and hybrid ticket holders.  
• Onsite: Visible only to hybrid ticket type holders.

For hybrid and onsite schedule segments, you can also configure:

• Onsite space: Choose which room at your onsite venue the segment will take place in.
• Onsite capacity: Specify the capacity of the room where the segment is taking place. This allows attendees to book seats at onsite segments.  

For more details, check out our guide on Adding a hybrid or onsite segment to schedule.

Step 5: Outline your onsite experience

RingCentral Events Onsite suite includes several features for different onsite solutions, including event check-in, segment check-in, badge printing, and lead retrieval. The onsite part of the Event Dashboard can be configured in the following 6 steps. 

Floor plans

To add floor plans, go to Event Dashboard > Onsite features > Floor Plans. Attendees registered under a hybrid ticket can access them in the RingCentral Events Attendee app to easily navigate. For detailed steps, refer to our guide on Adding floor plans.

Check-in areas

To create check-in areas, go to Event Dashboard > Onsite features > Check-in Area. Through a check-in area's QR code, you and your onsite staff can sign in to the RingCentral Events Organizer app to manage event and segment check-in. For detailed steps, refer to our guide on Creating and managing check-in areas.

Kiosk mode

To create and customize kiosks, go to Event Dashboard > Onsite features > Kiosk Mode. You can switch to the kiosk mode in the Organizer app to allow attendees to check in independently. For detailed steps, refer to our guide on Setting up a kiosk.

Badges

To create badges, go to Event Dashboard > Onsite features > Badges. The badges can be associated with different ticket types. They will be printed out when checking in via the Organizer app through the connected printer. For detailed steps, refer to our guide on Creating and designing a badge.

Signatures

To collect signatures from attendees during check-in at a kiosk, go to Event Dashboard > Onsite features > Signatures. For detailed steps, refer to our guide on Setting up signature collection.

Lead retrieval/Expo

To assign Lead Retrieval licenses to the Expo Booths, go to Event Dashboard > Venue > Expo. This enables assigned Exhibitors to collect leads in the RingCentral Events Attendee app. For detailed steps, refer to our guide on Assigning Lead Retrieval license to an Expo Booth.

Go LIVE!

While there are numerous additional customization options available, you now have the fundamental components to kickstart your event.

Ready to share your event and open registrations? Head over to your Event Dashboard and click Publish.

Once your event is published, you can start accepting registrations via your Landing page and start rehearsing with your speakers.

You can edit all the details of your event before it starts, so there’s no need to worry about making everything perfect before publishing. On your Overview page, you can also track registrations, ticket sales, and revenue.