October 2020 | Relay Blog

Influencers and experts in the industry share their insights on trends and emerging changes.

What has been the biggest operational challenge(s) to the industry due to COVID-19?

Like most hospitality related businesses, live entertainment venues rely almost exclusively on guests for revenue. With events eliminated, most venues are not generating revenue. The uncertainty of a restart makes short term and long term planning very challenging. Simply staffing an arena or stadium requires hundreds to thousands of employees. The uncertainty of the events makes any personnel decision very difficult.

What is an example of some of the greatest creativity you have seen by operators to address these challenges?

The Atlanta Hawks and State Farm Arena became an official early voting location for all registered voters of Fulton County, GA. During any other year, that would have been impossible due to the NBA games, concerts, etc. A significant portion of their employees were trained and certified to be Poll Workers. Although short term, this engagement allows their organization to provide an amazing experience while having a live connection to staff during a time when many similar organizations have none.

What are the most common communication challenges for operational staff in sports and entertainment venues?

Although there are exceptions, in many venues there are multiple communications systems in use at the same time. In its simplest form, some employees will carry a 2-way radio, some will rely on cell phone communication while many have no device at all. Getting a message to an executive could go from a verbal, to a radio call, to a cell call to maybe even a text. The accuracy and effectiveness can be greatly reduced.

What are the biggest problems or limitations that you see with traditional two-way radios?

With a highly part time work force, training and communication etiquette on any 2-way or cellular communication system can be difficult for many venues. A good training program and patient supervisors can help mitigate the issues, but the reality is most part time employees do not have great 2-way experience. The overall system design and capacity can also contribute to the challenges. Unlike a phone call or a text, most traditional 2-way systems are not capable of tracking and documenting your radio traffic.

“Sports & Entertainment venues have always adapted well to change. Whether its new safety & security measures, technology or simply the evolution of the event attendees’ expectations, venues seek creative measures to make the transitions feel natural and unobtrusive as possible.”

Please share 2-3 operational adjustments that you see as more permanent changes to large venue operations in the future?

The nature of a venues’ live event offerings will always require a significant number of employees be present. However, just like many other industries, the non-event related activities can be performed remotely. Traditionally, venue management staff have reported to the venues for face-to-face production meetings, budget meetings and other gatherings. With many of these taking place on non-event days, venues may adjust and allow a bit more flexibility to work from home windows. Businesses have become quite confident relying on technology for virtual meetings. I envision venues will be able to do the same.
Venue operators have not had many opportunities to implement adjustments since they have been closed to the public. Prior to COVID-19, some venues were already planning and implementing frictionless consumer interactions at places such as concessions. The value of self-serve packaged food & beverage options was already attractive in certain conditions pre-COVID-19. We’ve all seen the adjustments in the restaurant industry with more curbside pickup, contactless delivery and modified drive thru offerings. I see frictionless offerings at Sports & Entertainment venues evolving as well.

Do you see there being a return to normal or an adaptation to the ‘new normal’?

Sports & Entertainment venues have always adapted well to change. Whether its new safety & security measures, technology or simply the evolution of the event attendees’ expectations, venues seek creative measures to make the transitions feel natural and unobtrusive as possible. While it is impossible to predict what will be implemented, venues will find ways to make any necessary changes feel as normal as possible.

What will operators’ top priorities be going into 2021?

As events start to come back and venues look to host events, operators will likely need to focus on the basics of safely staffing, scheduling and reopening their venues. Even under pre-COVID conditions, closing and opening a venue was quite challenging. Anytime you close for an extended period of time, you inadvertently lose a large portion of your part time work force. Unfortunately, many venues were also forced to shed full-time employees as well. In addition, the entire event calendar has been turned upside now. As concert tours and leagues shut down, the future effect on venue calendar management was significant. The normal timing of placing holds for league dates and the windows of those holds has been altered. While league dates will take priority, the other events such as concerts and family shows must be planned around them. All that while operators will also have to deal with added challenges yet to be defined.

Hotel panic buttons are a must-have for hotels for worker safety. And while some brands, cities and management companies have started mandating them, others are waiting to see what best products and practices are. The deadline for implementation has in some cases been extended from January 1, 2021, to 2022, but that doesn’t mean hotel worker safety shouldn’t be an immediate priority. Panic buttons are a must-have line item hotels need to cover, and a significant one at that.

The confusion over panic buttons:

While hospitality technology grows with need, it isn’t always an across the board need or solution. More than that, since panic buttons are a new requirement, there isn’t a lot of research about what will work best – folks just know they need to get something that works, period. And while there are many existing options, they’re often overpriced and not always reliable. Moreover, existing solutions require extensive setup and overhead. And they’re not at all flexible, so if regulations change again, you’re stuck with something unwieldy and pricey to boot.

The Relay difference:

If you’re looking for a solution that’s compliant, affordable and efficient – you’ve come to the right place. Relay is an easy to deploy, flexible panic button. Best yet, it’s also an elevated communications solution, so you’re combining two critical line items into one (with better value). With Relay, you save money, setup is nonexistent, and you offer hotel staff a practical, easy solution.

Still trying to figure out how this applies to you, your property, and your staff?

Some background on hotel staff safety compliance:

In May 2019, Hospitality.net reported on hotels in Miami Beach, Florida being the first to implement “Employee Safety Devices, AKA Panic Buttons, AKA Staff Alert” devices in all properties. The article then went on to explain the positive domino effect this would have with hotels nationwide then implementing their own employee safety devices. Sadly, a year later many hotel properties are suffering the effects of coronavirus with fewer guests. Unfortunately, Hospitality.net also refers to some industry folks “misrepresenting” the so-called minimum legal requirements of the new regulations. In an article on the topic from earlier this year, Hotel Technology Reports distills the major challenges this way “the problem, rather, is the inability to cope with change when it comes.”

In the hospitality industry as in the rest of the world, 2020 has been a year filled with unexpected changes. And despite the new regulations being set in place, there hasn’t been active or regular enforcement in the implementation of the new safety solutions for better hotel security.

“Panic buttons are a must-have line item hotels need to cover, and a significant one at that.”

Safety makes (dollars) and sense:

An article on Hotelmogel.com covered some of the reasons to proactively implement better solutions for hotel worker safety, and of course, a lot of it was about the bottom line. The article cited some as looking at purely a financial standpoint in terms of “fines, insurance costs, and reputation effects on ADR or occupancy.” But there was more to the argument. In the article, it also stated that “Wearables that are purpose-built for security empower your team because they now feel safe enough to comfortably interact with all guests.”

Here are the top 5 things your panic button must have and the reasons why Relay offers the best solution:

Easy to deploy: Other setups are difficult, cumbersome, and expensive. You have enough stress without worrying about unsightly (and expensive) wiring and finding a reliable team to outsource the task. It’s annoying, it’s time-consuming and it adds to your overhead cost.
Flexibility: Everyone requires the same result, but they still want their panic system to behave differently. Some people want everyone alerted to a panic, while others prefer a select group. Some hospitality managers require an audible tone when the panic button is triggered, while others choose a silent alarm. Some want a panic button to immediately open a line of communication with the person in distress, others don’t in case a perpetrator makes them say everything is fine when it’s not. Relay allows you to customize how you want your panic button to behave. It also allows for modification depending on what you need and when.
Future-proof: There’s no pain quite like researching and investing in a massive upgrade to your property only to find that it’s outdated by the time it’s installed. Panic buttons are a new requirement and as such, things will probably change along the way. Because Relay runs on a flexible software system, it was designed to be future-proof and adapt to new changes in regulation or rules. Once you choose Relay, you know longer have to worry that it will be outdated. We update as we go so you don’t have to, even as the rules and regulations may change.
Affordable: Let’s be honest, the vast majority of existing systems are prohibitive to the point of being unaffordable, especially for smaller or private properties. Relay is priced at 50% less than the majority of our competitors. And you combine required safety features with a twofer of a reliable communications device. Why pay for two systems when you can combine your communication tool for staff along with the required panic button? On a practical level, who wants to lug around two devices when you can use only one? Relay streamlines the process of buying a panic button system and provides all hotel staff with a reliable alternative.
Communication: When someone is in distress, your immediate reaction is to check in and find out what’s wrong and how you can help. Because Relay is a two-part system in one, you can both immediately assess a situation while providing comfort or assurance. You’ll also immediately know whether it’s a false alarm, an unruly guest, or something else entirely. Being able to assure someone while acting immediately to address any safety needs is priceless. Why waste time on a clunky system that may or may not allow someone in distress to immediately ask for help.

Bottom line

Despite a lot of haziness surrounding the new panic button mandates, it’s easy enough to create a nimble and reliable system with Relay.

The Future of Active Work for Large Venues