As the world slowly starts to emerge from a year-long hibernation and event planners are tasked with planning amazing events within set budgets, they will also be responsible for securing a spectacular event space that is also COVID safe to ensure all attendees’ confidence in attending an enjoyable and safe event. Whether it’s for social or professional gatherings.
According to a survey conducted by OpenTable and the James Beard Foundation, 45% of diners say a restaurant’s food is most important when selecting a restaurant in 2021, with 34% of diners saying a restaurant following regulated health and safety measures is most important.
Pricing used to be one of the first pieces of information potential customers looked for when deciding on a restaurant, but now the second most important factor is how COVID safe your venue is. This survey did ask specifically about dining out - but the habits remain the same for events. People do want to attend in-person events this year, but they want to attend them safely.
The first place you shared with customers how you were handling the new safety guidelines and mandates were undoubtedly your website and social media accounts - letting the general public know what you were doing to keep guests and staff safe, as well as what the new guidelines for visiting were.
Now it’s time to update your EventUp listing with the same helpful information. Yes, as vaccinations roll out across the country and internationally, folks are emerging from hibernation and are ready to start planning in-person and hybrid events again, however, I foresee most of the safety precautions to stick around long after everyone has been vaccinated. More personal space and contactless menus and ordering are my favorite.
Here is an extensive list of specific health and safety measures that you can mention in your listing if you have implemented them at your venue.
- Contactless menus
- Contactless ordering
- Contactless pay
- Separate entry & exits
- COVID signage
- Sanitization stations added throughout the venue
- Protective screen dividers between seats
- Spaced out floor plan
- All employees to wear gloves and face coverings
- visual social distancing markers
- Staggering entrance and exit times
- Cleaning logs of common areas such as check-in and bathrooms
- No-touch trash cans
- Extra hand sanitizer, gloves, and masks for any guests who may need it
- Open-air areas
- Updated ventilation
Where to add COVID safety measures in your listing
The four best sections to update how COVID safe you are:
- About Section
- FAQ Section
- Videos
- Photos
About Section
The About section is the most important section you can update on your EventUp listing when it comes to adding COVID safety measures and procedures that you have implemented and will continue to follow over the next several months. Adding them here is as simple as pasting in a bulleted list of items. The idea is not to add everything little thing you have changed over the last twelve months but to add some of the more important things at a high
FAQ Section
Under the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section you can add a high-level question such as “Have you implemented COVID safety measures?” with a simple Yes or No answer, direct the views to read your About section or you can add more specific questions such as “What COVID training has your staff taken?” or “What COVID certifications have you earned?”
Videos
If you have uploaded any videos to your social channels of you walking around your space showing off any COVID safety measure you have implemented, add the link under the Videos section along with a description of the specific measures in your About section.
Photos
If you have any high-quality photos of the added COVID safety measures in your space, or even have screenshots of any training courses or certifications you have earned, you can show them off in your photo album so visitors can view them when they are scrolling through your venue photos.
Training & Certificates
If you are interested in getting additional training or certified in COVD-19 safety procedures here are a few resources that we recommend checking out. If your staff or overall venue completes any courses or does become certified, be sure to add which training and certifications you have been awarded to your listing under the About section or even under the FAQ section.
- ServSafe is offering free COVID-19 Training and Resources - these courses come with a Record of Training with your name on it
- Become SG Clean certified, there are only six main requirements that your venue will need to meet. Once you are certified, your venue will be added to a list of venues so potential customers can find you.
- American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) is offering individual and enterprise classes to help hotels welcome back guests and employees to achieve a collective top priority - protecting everyone against the coronavirus.
Looking for more ways to optimize your EventUp listing? Check out our blog post: How To Optimize Your EventUp Listing
