Tips on a Smooth Re-opening of your Hospitality Venue Post Lockdown

Frustration levels are high for hospitality owners, particularly in Greater Sydney who have experienced three gruelling months of lockdown. While Victoria has had some relief with regional Victoria opening up, the restrictions of just 10 patrons being able to be seated has left many venue owners with no choice but to still keep their doors shut. Fortunately, the end is nearing as we all work towards a 70% vaccination rate with predictions of re-opening in mid-October for Greater Sydney, and hopefully sooner for Melbourne.

It’s the seemingly never-ending waiting game and a feeling of powerlessness that has taken a toll on many hospitality venue owners. The only positive spin is the resurgence of dining out will be immense as soon as people are free to go out with friends and family.

Here we share some tips on the best way to prepare for re-opening and celebrating all that our biggest vibrant and passionate hospitality markets in New South Wales and Victoria have to offer;

• Have all your patrons check-in upon arrival. This has become a lot stricter this time around with a lot of venues now manually checking patrons have actually checked-in before being seated. There are many options on how you can do this effectively and efficiently, one of the simplest ways to do this is by setting up a QR code.
• Be sure to ensure all your staff are up to date with the free Department of Health and Human Services COVID-safe training.
• Ensure your tables are at least 1.5 meters apart to comply with the social distancing laws.
• Make sure you have the fastest and most reliable point of sale system (POS) to ensure there is no time wastage.
• Having the right hardware is key to complement your POS system. To combat ongoing restrictions and more outdoor dining options, a lot of hospitality owners are opting for hand-held devices over traditional POS terminals.
• Ensure you are connected to the latest integrations to make your life easier. It’s imperative nowadays to have an online ordering solution and to improve efficiencies further and to potentially save on floor staff, there are many order at table solutions.
• Limit all your bookings to a two-hour dining limit.
• Make sure you have a reliable booking system, and that customers have a booking before dining, this will help combat long lines and people gathering at the entrance to your venue. You can also monitor the arrival and departure of guests this way.
• Be sure to offer hand sanitiser stations in areas that have a lot of foot traffic, like the entrance and outside the restroom.
• Clean high traffic areas such as bathrooms, counters and registers regularly. Thoroughly clean each table including menus between parties.

We are all praying the current predictions for re-opening next month stay true and if the current vaccination strategy proves sound, one thing is for certain and that is hospitality in Australia are set for a boomer of a Summer!