What are the venue considerations for events during COVID?
- Location and accessibility
- Implementation of health protocols
- Capacity of space
- Layout
- Ambiance and amenities
Many planners struggle to find the right venue for holding their events effectively despite the number of options to choose from. Moreover, the current COVID-19 situation made it even harder to hold events that fulfill their objectives while ensuring the safety of its participants. Upon booking a seminar venue in Manila, there is a need to implement heightened health protocols and address potential safety risks. In this article, we delve into some of the most crucial venue considerations for events during COVID-19.
Maintaining social distancing, regular sanitation, and temperature checking are some of the key procedures that must be considered for face-to-face events today. The safety of the staff, key speakers, and attendees remains the priority of conference halls in the country such as the World Trade Center Metro Manila. Read on to learn more about considerations when looking for an event venue during the pandemic.
Location and Accessibility
When looking for an event venue, it is important to consider its accessibility to attendees or guests. COVID-19 has also led to travel restrictions across certain cities.
If you want to ensure participants can attend with ease, ensure that your event planning team is aligned with current travel guidelines from the local government. You can opt for a location that can be easily accessed such as Pasay in Metro Manila. With several major highways and artillery roads, this central district is highly open for traveling guests that need to attend essential events.
Before finalizing the venue, make sure traffic isn’t congested. You should also see to it that attendees will have access to a myriad of transportation options when heading to the venue. Doing so can help avoid late participants that can miss important parts of the event.
Implementation Of Health Protocols
During these unprecedented times, participants would want to know if you can be held accountable for their safety. This is the most effective way to gain their trust and attract them to attend your event. It is expected that implemented health protocols are communicated to potential attendees, even a few weeks before the event itself starts.
Take the B.E. (Business Events) SAFE Program launched by the World Trade Center Metro Manila last November 2020 for example. This program outlines a comprehensive framework of how the world-class event venue in Manila would be preparing for face-to-face events to restore clients’ confidence. Among the stringent measures are body temperature checks, discouragement of unofficial visits, social distancing, intelligible signages, no-contact registration, enhanced contact tracing, the mandatory wearing of face masks, ascribing proper indoor air quality, and many more.
Given the threat of the pandemic, choosing a venue that has health protocol considerations is extremely vital to event safety and success.
Capacity Of Space
There are event venues that can hold up to 90 participants in a cocktail-style table arrangement. Others can provide spaces as expansive as 400 square meters to accommodate participants. Of course, your choice is highly dependent on whether the space is capable of accommodating all the guests while observing social distancing measures.
Before you choose a venue, consider rolling out a pre-registration period. This way, it will be easier to identify if the venue can ensure the safety of participants. The venue should also support the 2-meter social distancing requirement at any point in time.
Layout
When planning for an event during the pandemic, it can be especially challenging to encourage engagement between key speakers and participants. If you are planning to hold a business conference, it is a must that everyone is aligned with the goals to ensure event success.
With these in mind, the layout of the venue should be conducive to event productivity but also the safety of guests. As a planner, you should forecast the flow of traffic around the venue. There should be enough spaces for maintaining social distancing. A good way to go about this is by opting for a theater seating style. This layout diverts everyone’s focus to the speaker because the seats are facing towards the stage and ensure economical use of the venue space with proper spacing.
Conversely, if the event is a trade show, the layout of the venue must cater to the specifications and setup requirements of the booths. It will ultimately depend on the type of event.
Ambiance And Amenities
When you plan on holding any kind of face-to-face event, make sure to pay attention to its ambiance. Business conferences require a professional setting, while trade shows may be more casual.
For this venue consideration factor, the availability of proper equipment, space, and support team will also play a vital role in addressing the safety needs of the event. Here are some of the amenities you should consider:
- Temperature checkpoints
- Sanitation team
- Dedicated isolation space for COVID-19 patients
- Audio-visual setups for presentations.
Key Takeaway
These are just some of the venue considerations for events during COVID-19. It can be especially challenging to hold events during the pandemic, but with the coordination of all event teams, it is possible to ensure the safety of guests and staff alike.
Event engagement and quality should not be sacrificed just because strict protocols are in place. Take a different approach and partner with a world-class seminar venue in Manila that takes the necessary health measures.
Click here to know about how WTCMM can help make your event safer today.
