Guidelines and measures relating to Covid health and safety have been confirmed for The Business Travel People Awards 2021, which take place next month.
The awards, now in their 10th year, are being held at the London Hilton Bankside on September 15, the second evening of The Business Travel Conference which takes place over two days at the same hotel.
Hilton’s EventReady and CleanStay programmes will both be in place to protect guests, ensuring event experiences that are clean, flexible, safe and socially responsible.
Hilton Bankside staff will wear masks at the awards and will be taking regular voluntary lateral flow tests leading up to and during the event.
Guests at the awards ceremony will also be encouraged to take a voluntary lateral flow test prior to attending which can be ordered free of charge from the NHS.
There will be numerous hand sanitisation stations throughout the awards and guests will encouraged to use these frequently.
Guests will be offered an optional wristband on arrival with colours based on a traffic light them. Green bands will indicate to others that a person is comfortable with hugs and physical contact, amber will show this should be restricted to fist bumps or elbow greetings, while red will show that a guest is happy to chat but would like to avoid any physical contact. Wristbands can be changed during the evening.
“We hope this will help avoid any awkward moments and will make everyone who joins the awards celebration feel relaxed,” said Kirsty Hicks, Publisher and Head of Business Travel for BMI Publishing, which organises the conference.
“Guests can also be assured that the event will occupy less than 50% of the Hilton Bankside Ballroom so there’ll be plenty of space for networking.”
Tickets will be sent electronically prior to the event to simplify arrivals and registration staff will be increased to further speed up the process.
The bowl food that will be served at the awards will be served on trays where guests can select their choice and have minimal contact with waiting staff.
Attendees to the awards will be asked not to attend if they display any of the three symptoms listed on the .Gov site which are
a) high temperature
b) a new, continuous cough
c) a loss of sense of smell or taste or it’s changed.
If someone does present with symptoms, there are plans in place with Hilton Bankside to protect them and others from the risk of transmission.
As with The Business Travel Conference, a full risk assessment has been done for the awards ceremony.
