After months of uncertainty and fear, the hospitality industry is slowly starting to pick up the pieces and embrace the “new normal” as we move forward. But what exactly will that look like? Will events be limited to 50 people or fewer? What about food stations or buffets? Are they a thing of the past, or will they take on an entirely different look? Most importantly, what types of health and safety precautions will we see in the future? All of these questions and so many more remain to be answered, but one thing is for certain: we will be able to rebuild our businesses while rising above the current environment.
“This is the new reality,” said Roy Porter, Activities Director for Engage-Works Inc, during the recent Instawork webinar, Preparing Your Full-Service Experience for the New Normal. "This is our opportunity to be creative and come up with some new ideas."
To aid you in being creative as we wait patiently for events to come back, Catersource will be launching a biweekly editorial series titled “Rebuild & Rise: the catering playbook” which will highlight ideas and information to help you get to back business. Each week, we will feature articles based around a theme, written by both Catersource staff and our contributors.
Weekly themes will include:
- What can we be doing now?
- How can you plan ahead?
- What does this mean for your business?
- When will events come back and what will they look like?
- How can technology play a role?
- What will be the new health and safety requirements?
- How can you protect yourself and your business?
- What will the future mean for your staff?
- How can you start promoting yourself?
- When can you think about reopening?
- How can you think differently about your menus?
- How can you work with your clients differently?
- How many guests can you expect for events?
- What will your operations look like?
The intent of “Rebuild & Rise: the catering playbook” isn’t meant to be the definitive roadmap to recovery, but a blueprint to get you started thinking about the many considerations that will play a role as we enter this next phase. Catersource will also be hosting a "Rebuild & Rise" webinar series, with the first webinar being held on June 26. The webinar will look at how to handle buffets. Learn more here. Watch for the Rebuild & Rise logo touting this robust content via the Rebuilding Strategies topic link https://www.catersource.com/topics/rebuilding-strategies.
“We’re writing the playbook for this, there isn’t any other resource, so we’re writing this as we go,” said Reed Haggerty, Chief Operating Officer at Dsquared Hospitality, during the Instawork webinar. “We have not experienced this before, so we are relying to each other.”
If you are interested in being a contributor to “Rebuild & Rise: the catering playbook” series, reach out to either Kathleen Stoehr or Amber Kispert-Smith with your suggestions.
