Getting started as a Zoom Sessions host


You can use Zoom Sessions to streamline interactive single-session and recurring sessions events with features like event branding, multiple-host collaboration, registration management, and event management.

Zoom Sessions hosts can easily create and host events, whether internal or external events. This platform is useful for businesses, organizations, and enterprises—both large and small—to reach out and engage with their attendees.

This article covers:

Prerequisites for getting started as a Zoom Sessions host

Note: For access to the latest Zoom Events and Webinar features, we strongly recommend hosts to update to the latest version of the Zoom desktop client/mobile application.

How to get started with Zoom Sessions on the Zoom Events platform

As a host, you can switch between Organizer Mode and Attendee Mode. The Zoom Events platform holds both modes' features and functionalities.

Note: Only users with a Zoom Sessions license can switch to Organizer Mode.

Organizer Mode

The Organizer Mode provides an easy-to-understand site to help you create events with features and functionalities specific to your experience as a host. When you sign in to Zoom Events, you will always land on the Events page.

You can use Across Hubs if you are the hub owner or hub host of the active hubs. Under Across Hubs, it shows the aggregated event listing and recording listing with the hub column.

In Organizer Mode, you have the following features/functionalities:

In the top right corner of the page, click your profile picture to do the following actions:

Attendee Mode

Top navigation menu

As a host, you can switch to Attendee Mode to use an attendee-specific Zoom Sessions site and experience the Zoom Events platform from the attendee perspective. This mode provides an organized event browsing experience for attendees. Additionally, users who do not have a Zoom Sessions license will be automatically set to Attendee Mode and cannot switch to Organizer Mode.

After you switch to Attendee Mode, you will be directed to the Events Portal when you first sign in to Zoom Events. The top navigation menu will display the Events Portal and Hubs tab. 

When you click the Hubs tab, it will show the Recent and Following tabs in the dropdown. The Recent tab displays hubs you recently engaged with. The Following tab displays the hubs that you’re following.

Attendee profile picture menu

When you click your profile picture, you can click the following options:

How to get started with billing and payments

Add a payments account to your Zoom Events hub

Hosts can publish paid events only if their hub has a payments account added to it. If a payments account is not added, then hosts can only publish free events. 

Learn more about adding payments.

Link a PayPal Business or Stripe account to your Zoom Events hub

PayPal is a simple and powerful way to accept payments online for Zoom Events. You can also link a Stripe account as an alternative online payment platform. Link a PayPal Business or Stripe account to accept payments online.

Learn more about linking PayPal business to Zoom Events hub or linking Stripe to your Zoom Events hub.

Add corporate or hub business information

Certain countries require hosts to provide information about their business for tax compliance validation and booking purposes. As an account admin, hub owner, or host who is also the account admin and/or hub owner, you can add information about your business to the corporate account and the hub account. Learn more about adding business information.

Add available events in India

Additionally, the Zoom Events platform notifies event organizers without business information about Indian regulation requirements and allows them to enter their business information so they can easily complete event setup. Learn more about publishing available events in India.

How to get started with hosting Zoom Sessions events

Zoom Sessions hosts can use the Zoom Events platform for event setup features and functionalities. On Zoom Events, hosts can manage their profile, create a Zoom Sessions event, use registration management, view event analytics, and more.

Manage host profile

Hosts can edit their host profile to include the information—host's profile picture, contact information, host media, and links to the host's social network links—they want to make available on their public host profile page.

Learn more about updating your Zoom Events profile information.

Create a Zoom Sessions event

The single-session event type is useful if you want to create a single-day event that contains a single-session meeting or webinar. Event attendees can participate in Q&A sessions, join the event 15 minutes before it starts, and receive HD videos.

Attendees can access session details and speaker intro, join the Zoom Sessions event with the client (or from a web browser), and watch the session recording (when available) in the lobby.

You can use the recurring sessions event type to configure a meeting or webinar to occur across multiple instances. Hosts can choose/edit when their recurring session will occur, whether it’s daily, weekly, monthly, or no fixed time. They can also set an end date or set specific dates/times for their recurring sessions. Recurring events will count attendance at the individual session level.

You can also edit and duplicate a Zoom Sessions event at any time.

Learn more about creating a single-session or recurring sessions event.

Note: When account owners and admins disable and lock web portal settings that affect core features in Zoom Events (i.e., polls, webinar resources, etc.), those features will be greyed out and display the lock icon . The host can hover their mouse over the locked feature and view the message that they cannot use that feature because it has been disabled and locked by an admin.

Start events

Hosts must have a Zoom Sessions license to start an event.

Note: If the host's Zoom Sessions license is expired, revoked, or reassigned, they will lose their host privileges, such as starting an event. Hosts will have a 168-hour (7-day) to have a Zoom Sessions license assigned to them.

  1. Sign in to Zoom Events.
  2. In the left navigation menu, click the top dropdown arrow  and select Across Hubs.
  3. In the left navigation menu, click My Events.
  4. Click the Upcoming tab.
  5. To the right of the event you want to start, click Join Lobby.
  6. Click Start.

View Zoom Sessions event analytics

You can access reports and view metrics about your event’s performance from the Analytics section of the Zoom Sessions event setup. Hosts can review their event’s overall, general information and download CSV reports.

Learn more about managing Zoom Sessions Summary analytics, the starting point of Zoom Sessions event analytics.

Use registration management

Zoom Sessions registration management provides a single location for event organizers to easily manage their registrants and event registration, helping them create successful events.

Learn more about using Zoom Sessions registration management.

Cancel and refund a Zoom Sessions events

Hosts can cancel a live event from the Events page, resulting in sessions ending immediately and the canceled event being removed from the Zoom Events platform.

Additionally, attendees will see a message that the event was canceled followed by an email notification that informs them the event has been canceled and they will receive a full refund if the canceled event was a paid event.

Learn more about canceling and refunding Zoom Sessions events.