As hotels and meeting venues are slowly starting to open up, how do we—safely—start getting our industry back to work?
Focus on Safety and Health
Undoubtably, the biggest concern for meeting and event professionals is reducing risk and promoting wellbeing within the meeting space. Beyond following routine handwashing guidelines, specific attention should be placed on high-touch items in the meeting space such as light switches, computer mice and keyboards and microphones. With technicians at the forefront, training on sanitation practices will be of upmost importance during the initial phases of recovery.
Space It Out
Even with gathering guidelines lifted, it’s still important to maintain proper physical distancing. With this in mind, work on designing your meeting space to have ample room in between attendees, utilize multiple breakout rooms and virtual meeting software to connect guests and stagger your schedules so that not all your attendees are at the same place at the same time. Work with your venue in advance and use floor decals to help guide traffic flow.
Coronavirus Dialogue Series: MeetSAFE
Technology is Your Friend
Whether planners opt for smaller meetings or have a remote audience and need to go hybrid, advancements in meeting technology assist in making both possible. Tools such as wireless presenters, delay monitors, web conferencing and digital polling can be very valuable in making the experience seamless.
Take Things Slow
We are just beginning the early phases of recovery, and there will certainly be learnings along the way. Be sure to communicate with your presenters, guests and stakeholders, and share learnings with your peers as we work together to get our industry back. With your support, we continue to move forward.
To help kickstart this effort, PSAV has recently launched MeetSAFE—a set of guidelines to help the live event industry safely adapt to the changing landscape for meetings and events. Click here to check out a quick infographic.
Learn more about this initiative during an MPI Academy webinar on July 15, when Annette Moody and Matt Johnsen from PSAV join us as part of the Coronavirus Dialogue Series.
Photo by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash
