16
Cover Story
Safe as
standard
RSA House collaborated with Hire Space for its
first hybrid ‘Safer Event’. CN explores
entral London events
venue RSA House and
event booking
platform Hire Space
joined forces in August to host
their first ‘Safer Event’ together.
The strategy day for Hire Space
was an opportunity to get back to
business at one of their
accredited ‘Safer Venues’ and, of
course, to catch up on some well
overdue team interaction. The
purpose for RSA was to put into
practice all the new procedures
and kick start their events
alongside launching their new
safe menus and hybrid event
offering, in partnership with
Radiance Production.
The event, which took place on
13 August, was held in
accordance with safety guidelines
established in the ‘Safer Events
- A Framework for Action’ white
paper, in accordance with public
health, Government and industry
body guidance.
The day began with the
staggered arrival of guests and
digital contactless temperature
checks being taken by a member
of the RSA reception team.
Guests sanitised their hands at
one of the sanitising stations and
were given a ‘Safer Events’
branded hand sanitising wipe and
a device enabling them to open
doors throughout the venue
without touch.
Thorough signage had been
placed around the venue to
include two-metre physical
distancing floor markers in order
to manage queues, as well as
floor markings, digital and human
signage in event spaces and
public areas to manage the flow
of traffic around the venue. A
one-way system was in place to
reduce interaction among staff
and guests. In a post-event
survey sent to the Hire Space
team, a score of 9.2 was given by
guests with regards to their
overall feeling of safety.
During the morning, the Hire
Space team were taken on tours
of the venue by the RSA sales
team, giving them an insight into
the venue’s 11 event spaces. This
included the newly refurbished
Prince Philip Room and Romney
Room, the Vaults, and the
charismatic exposed brick
Auditorium.
Laura Pearce, head of sales at
RSA House noted how exciting it
was to welcome people back to
the venue. “After weeks of
thorough preparation to get the
venue ready for re-opening with
new and heightened safety
procedures in place, it was
exciting to host our first Safer
Event with Hire Space,” she said.
“This was an opportunity for all of
us to experience the ‘new normal’
and to learn from the new
processes we have in place.
“It’s incredibly important to
reassure our clients and the
industry that although times have
changed, we can hold events
safely while following guidelines
and maintaining a sense of
occasion.”
Catering was provided by RSA’s
in-house caterers, CH&CO, and
enjoyed in the surroundings of the
contemporary Benjamin Franklin
Room; the very room Sir Winston
Churchill was awarded an Albert
medal in 1946. Guests were
allocated their own table to
maintain physical distancing.
With self-service stations a thing
of the past, the RSA team
managed all catering service from
behind Perspex barriers to
minimise shared touchpoints.
CH&CO’s director of food,
Jeremy Ford explained how
catering is now handled
differently. “We understand the
great role food plays in creating a
successful event, so we have
developed innovative ways to
continue to deliver. Now more
than ever supporting our supplier
communities is integral to our
approach. During this time, we
have looked even closer to home
to do what we can to support our
local suppliers such as Cobble
Lane, The Ginger Pig and Knight
Frank, known to us as our London
Larder. A meal with us supports
British farmers and producers”.
The venue’s new meeting
menus also include breakfast
bento boxes, executive sandwich
bags, salad jars and Asian
inspired noodle pots.
The afternoon session was
enjoyed in the Great Room which
is steeped in history and
surrounded by an epic series of
six individual paintings named
‘The Progress of Human
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