As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, social distancing remains a must. We’re confident that the party and event planning industry will come back stronger than ever, but for now, we recommend that our vendors and party planners adhere to the guidelines provided by the WHO, CDC, and federal and local governments. We do not encourage or recommend that our members book events where they are prohibited.
Last updated: July 24, 2020
To help you navigate this difficult and uncertain time, we put together our top 5 recommendations for handling events that have been impacted by COVID-19.
1. Compassion & Kindness Will Go a Long Way
At this point, party planners have may have no choice but to cancel or reschedule their events. Understand that this isn't something they want to do. We're hearing from many heartbroken clients, as I'm sure you are, that have had to cancel important events that they've been planning for several months.
We understand it's difficult right now to offer refunds, but helping your clients out in some way now can lead to great referral business in the future.
2. Add the Words 'Postpone' and 'Reschedule' to Your Conversations
If clients call about cancelling their event, encourage them to consider postponing or rescheduling it to later this year or next. Let them know you would love to still provide your services at a future date and would be happy to work with them through the rescheduling process.
3. Think Outside of the Box
We have seen many vendors offer to take their performance virtual—in fact, over 5,000 vendors are now offering their services virtually on The Bash. Now, this doesn't work for all vendors or for all event types, but think about different ways like this to go above and beyond for your clients.
Pro Tip: If you can offer virtual performances right now, opt in to virtual events on The Bash and make sure to update your bio and even profile name to include that information.
4. Proactively Reach Out to Your Clients
We recommend proactively reaching out to your clients who have events scheduled for this year, if you haven't already. Let them know you are here to help guide them in rescheduling their event. It's important to make your clients feel cared for during this time as well as excited about planning the event in the near future.
5. Lean on Others for Support
Reach out to other event professionals for support and tips for handling event cancellations and postponements amid the COVID-19 pandemic. They're all experiencing what you are right now and so having someone to talk to that can relate to what you're going through right now, can help!
Please also continue to lean on our team here at The Bash for help and guidance. Of course we're here to help facilitate event cancellations, but we're also here to support you, whether you need advice or just someone to talk to.
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What are you doing to work with clients amid COVID-19 cancelled and rescheduled events? Comment below.
