What can we do to avoid cancelling our events?

There’s been a lot of talk around large events cancelling due to the Coronavirus. On 3 March, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said the government was not currently recommending the cancelling of large events such as the London Marathon or school closures, unless this was advised by Public Health England.

“There may be things that we have to do down the line that we may not want to, but we will need the powers to do that, hence proposing emergency legislation.”

The message we keep hearing is to carry on as normal and to remain vigilant. Wash our hands every two hours for a minimum of 20 seconds, and always cough and sneeze into a tissue – then bin it! It’s the same basic hygiene that we all know and use to avoid catching common colds and flu. Now, it’s just about reinforcing that common-sense message.

It’s also reassuring to hear from travel agency boss Miles Morgan. Appearing on a BBC News coronavirus special on Monday 2 March with Independent travel correspondent Simon Calder, Miles said that the ‘vast majority’ are carrying on with their travel plans. He commented: “I’m pleased to say the vast majority, over 99% of people, are just carrying on as normal with their holidays which is absolutely right. It’s a perspective. It’s a matter of looking at just how many people are affected, the areas that are affected, and in the scheme of the world, it’s still very small numbers of people and areas.”

So, as an industry, to help avoid cancelling, what are we doing to support our events going?

Duty of care

We’re all watchful with the latest developments on the news, but it’s important we communicate between ourselves. We want our events to run, and we must be mindful of duty of care to our delegates.

Hotels and venues – are you putting any additional measures in place for appropriate sanitary, health and hygiene to ensure delegates remain vigilant? Let us know if you have anything in place and we’ll share this for you.

WHO event planning guide

The World Health Organization has released an interim guidance on how to deal with Covid-19 outbreak.

Some of the most significant passages include setting up dedicated areas for isolation in the event a participant should develop symptoms during the event. These requests may impact the delicate balance of many events, usually planned months in advance and with set budgets.

These recommendations are in addition to local governments’ requests.

We’re all responsible for ourselves

With IMEX due to take place in May, the organisers currently have no plans to postpone or cancel its show, despite some major events cancelling across Europe in the past few days. They’ve shared that it is a collective responsibility to focus on the facts and to act with common sense and sound judgement, taking the advice of the relevant authorities and scientists. In the words of Gloria Guevara, President and CEO, World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), “containing the spread of unnecessary panic is as important as stopping the virus itself.”

Event organisers – get yourself insured!

As much as we don’t want to think in, cancellation might be your only option. We have to listen to what the experts are advising us and act accordingly.

Purchasing event cancellation insurance helps to protect you against financial loss due to a health crisis or disaster such as the current coronavirus. In a recent article on MPI by Maria Lenhart, she discusses the importance of event insurance, especially for those that run events as a revenue stream. Understand what coverage you are purchasing and ensure it covers not only cancellation of the event, but for reduced attendance. There will be a premium to pay for this level of insurance, but if the worst-case scenario was to happen, you might be thankful.

Click here more advice and guidance for event organisers.

Extension in cancellation fees

Marriott International and Intercontinental Hotels Group (IHG) have both extended their cancellation fee waivers for stays booked in South Korea and Italy, due to the rise in the coronavirus (Covid-19) cases in these countries. Marriott International’s cancellation fee waiver policy also covers Japan.

Melia Hotels draws up post-virus action plan

A post-coronavirus sales and marketing action plan has been prepared by Melia Hotels. The aim is to boost the recovery of hotels that may be affected both in China and elsewhere. The Spanish chain also has a “comprehensive” global contingency plan in place. This includes the preparation and response to public health and safety in all its hotels and offices worldwide, the “continuity of business and operations” as well as legal and financial aspects.

Let’s work together – let’s communicate

As a community, let’s not be afraid of the Coronavirus, but work together to ensure, where feasible, our events can run. If you can’t avoid cancelling an event or do have a big cancellation, let us know. We’ll communicate this across our platform and see if we can support you in filling the space and reduce cancellation fees.