Before COVID-19, meeting planners could comfortably fit 40 people in a 1,450 square foot meeting room that was set classroom style. When meetings start up again, however, those calculations will have to change dramatically—that room should be set to accommodate only 10 people.
That’s just one bit of advice from “MeetSAFE Guidelines,” a new digital booklet created by audiovisual firm PSAV, a member of the Events Industry Council’s COVID-19 Business Recovery Task Force. The booklet is intended to assist planners in redesigning event spaces and keeping surfaces and indoor environments clean in order to prevent the spread of bacteria and viruses.
The 21-page guide addresses meeting design, room layout, traffic flow, technology considerations, and enhanced cleaning procedures. In one section, there are sketches (as shown here) of several traditional meeting formats alongside new variations of those formats that allow for social distancing and fewer surface touches. It also addresses the need for more total event space and detailed, well-placed signage to make the new landscape work, and outlines the technological equipment and logistics required to hold a hybrid event that has remote attendees in addition to in-person attendees and presenters at one or more sites.
“The Events Industry Council applauds PSAV for its leadership in providing relevant guidance and tools to industry professionals,” said Amy Calvert, CEO of EIC. Chip Rogers, president and CEO of the American Hotel and Lodging Association, added that “these tools, aligned with the hotel industry’s newly announced Stay Safe standards, will be critical in preparing us to safely welcome back guests and employees as the economy reopens.”
To get a copy of MeetSAFE Guidelines, click here.
