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Adapting dance floors to the new normal

There is no doubt that the common denominator between countries worldwide and their take on reopening nightlife, is to either show proof of vaccination, previous negative rest, or having passed covid previously. This is something that is being applied in many countries in the EU and also in US cities such as New York and has recently been announced that will be enforced in Los Angeles.

Furthermore, the act of dancing or closing off the dance floor has been enforced in the past and is still being applied in some countries. For instance in Montreal (Canada), nightlife players are taking a stand against the states rule that prohibits indoor dancing. These decisions are quite hypocritical since in many places where dancing is banned there are no such measures or capacity limitations in concerts or sporting events.

Na putu oporavka

Though club-goers are getting back on the dance floors, the road to economic recovery for the industry worldwide still has a long road ahead. The economic loss and the little aid given, if any, has caused many venues to reach very critical situations and some have had to shut down like for instance Club Goa in Rome (Italy) has just announced it will be closing after 26 years. The pandemic has also brought many consequences and behavioral changes in nightlife. Many countries are reporting a shortage in nightlife employees due to the fact that they have had to look for other sources of income during the long months of shutdown and insufficient economic aid.

On the other hand, the Night Time Industries Association (NTIA) has recently warned that in the UK there is a shortage of bouncers that can pose a “threat to public safety”. It blames the lack of security staff at venues on people quitting during the pandemic, Brexit, and lack of EU workers. This is even creating the need to close venues or cut hours due to the scarcity of security personnel.

Also, the INA has detected a product shortage in regards to alcohol and refreshing drinks in Europe, this is also been blamed on the worldwide transportation issues related to the Brexit and other factors making it impossible for distributors to get product to nightlife venues.

Nightclubs not to be blamed for drink spiking

Lastly, regarding the recent news about drink spiking happening in nightclubs in UK cities and the organization of boycotts. The nightlife industry is devoted to making clubbers’ night out as safe as possible, these types of criminal acts shouldn’t fall back on nightlife business owners. In fact, the INA has been working since 2012 on several international quality distinctions. One of the seals is precisely a safety certification named International Nightlife Safety Certified that includes a sexual harassment prevention protocol that trains all staff to detect and act in situations where there is a possible victim of sexual harassment or in this case, someone’s drink has been spiked. The INSC is one of the distinction that makes up the Triple Excellence in Nightlife that vows for improving safety, acoustic pollution, and service quality. Now that the nightlife sector is finally reactivating, the INA is working to implement quality seals and make venues come back stronger than ever before in terms of gastronomy and nightlife (GastroMoon).