The Future of Meetings and Events Post Coronavirus
- By Jessica Elmore
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- 18 Jun, 2020
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Now that gatherings are reconvening, it’s crucial for event and meeting planners to properly convey their reaction and implementation of changes regarding their events.
As attendees, the first difference you’ll notice is that signage
will be added to the front door, lobby, front desk, registration desk,
bathroom, meeting room, sleeping room and meal space acknowledging the following:
- Guidelines for washing your hands
- Importance of maintaining 6 ft of social distance
- Encouraging the use of hand sanitizer
- Different ways to stay healthy
- Advising not to come to work if feeling ill
- Discouraging hand-shaking, hugging and sharing items
In addition to the healthy and safety precautions we've mentioned in previous blogs, meeting attendees can expect the following changes as well:
- Disclaimers on registration sites
- Communicating to attendees the practices going into place prior to their arrival will be the new norm
- People will be seated 6 feet apart and aisles will be closer to 12 feet
- Tables of 10 will now be tables of 4-6
- Buffets will be scarce
- Utilizing venues that are equipped with thermal scanning
- Sanitization and disinfection of common areas
- Markers on the floor to indicate where to stand
- A cap on gathering size for most events
- Pre-packaged and pre-selected meals
- Outdoor space being taken advantage of like never before
- Staff attended coffee stations
- Risk assessment and emergency preparedness
- Force majeure clauses in contracts will be standard
- Marketing materials will be mostly digital
- Microphones will be wiped down after each use
As meeting and event planners, we know the importance of keeping attendees informed and reassured of their safety when they start attending events again. The safety of our clients, attendees, employees and vendors are our utmost priority and we will continue to implement policies and procedures to keep everyone healthy.
During the pandemic, thousands of pilots were offered early retirement packages in order to cut labor bills due to the lack of travel demand. Now that travel for pleasure and business is rebounding from the pandemic, approximately 14,000 flights in the US were recently cancelled or delayed due to the lack of pilots, carriers, and other staff.
