Hosting Celebrations in the COV-19 era
Planning your event in this new era is a challenge. Due to the need for Social Distancing, new laws may require that less than 50 guests attend a gathering at one time. So it’s time to rethink and re-plan weddings, celebrations, and galas. In the year 2020, it is not business as usual, it is time to stop, reset, and reinvent.
The event venue industry is not something that opens their doors from one day to the next. Couples planning their wedding, people coordinating galas and fundraiser plan many months in advance. Concerts and Operas need to plan their 2021 Seasons. We are currently taking reservations/bookings for the Fall and Winter months offering our “Hybrid” services with the understanding that we will refund or schedule depending on the restrictions on the date of the event.
In the Northern California East Bay, the Berkeley Hillside Club is now offering “Hybrid Events”, combining the Virtual and Actual. By including Virtual programming, a wedding or gala can now have 50 physical guests and many more joining in on line—and from far away. Guests who are not able to travel or attend can now be a part of the celebration. Tables and chairs for 50 or fewer guests can be provided in the Berkeley Hillside Club’s charming environment with virtual on-line attendees shown on a large screen or on table monitors.
Established in the late 1800’s, this historic club was created to preserve arts and culture. Until today it has been serving it’s mission statement by offering concerts, operas, dances, and other art-related events. The COVID19 made this club come to a grinding halt.
Now, by combining this traditional business model and joining with software programs such as Zoom and REMO, the Hillside Club is tailoring experiences to fit an event’s needs. Its management can create celebratory packages, including private label champagne to send to out of town guests so that everyone can enjoy vital hospitality together.
Those hosting celebrations may find financial benefits to “Hybrid Events”,:
- A controlled number of guests to calculate catering cost: A smaller party means less
overhead cost in catering, alcohol, place setting rentals.
- Less travel expense for out of town guests.
- The pleasure of having out of town and older family members be a part of
their event who would otherwise not be present.
- Shrinking the carbon footprint with more people attending with less travel.
The Berkeley Hillside Club is currently booking events as well as having staff that would be pleased to meet and consult with hosts of other venues to plan for “Hybrid Events”, entering a new era for celebrating important events in actual and virtual setting.
