Keller Williams announced on Friday it will take its annual Mega Camp conference fully digital later this month, as it did during the height of the pandemic in 2020
As a result of the rising number of COVID-19 cases, which reached a seven-day average of 100,199 on Thursday, the Austin-based annual conference has been deemed too risky for in-person attendance, a Keller Williams spokesperson told Inman.
Austin Public Health recently deemed the area’s risk to the highest level, stage 5, as a result of case numbers surging to pre-vaccine levels.
“We are seeing an incredibly low number of staffed intensive care unit beds and increased strain on hospital staff due to the Delta virus and its infection of unvaccinated individuals,” Dr. Desmar Walkes of Austin-Travis County Health Authority said in a statement. We have vaccines that are safe and effective in protecting people who are fully vaccinated from severe illness and death. Each of us has the responsibility to keep our community safe. Please get vaccinated and wear a mask,”
Keller Williams’ decision to go fully digital was made to preserve the safety of its attendees.
“The safety of our people is paramount,” Keller Williams spokesperson Darryl Frost said. “And we continue to follow CDC, WHO, state and local guidance regarding COVID safety measures.”
The online conference will take place from August 23 to August 26, and currently has over 10,700 agents registered to attend.
The agenda of this year’s conference will focus on skills and strategies agents can use to successfully maneuver through current and future unexpected market conditions.
Last year, Mega Camp, also held digitally, had 34,848 agents attend. According to the brokerage, this year’s sales are expected to exceed last year’s in the next two weeks.
Keller Williams has been having a strong 2021. In the second quarter, the brokerage saw sales jump 35 percent compared to the previous year. Additionally, the company’s global agent count increased annually by 9.6 percent.
“In Q2, we outperformed the market and have achieved substantial worldwide production and agent count gains in the face of dramatic market pressures,” Carl Liebert, the CEO of Keller Williams’ parent company KWx said.
