By ISSA and R.V. Baugus

The Global Biorisk Advisory CouncilTM (GBAC), a Division of ISSA, has announced that 26 new facilities have successfully completed accreditation through the GBAC STAR™ Facility Accreditation Program, including three IAVM member venues.

The latest round includes the Portland’5 Center for the Arts in Portland, Ore.; Myrtle Beach Convention Center in Myrtle Beach, S.C.; and Oracle Park in San Francisco, home of the MLB’s San Francisco Giants.

“One of the main goals of cleaning and disinfecting is to remove potentially harmful pathogens, but many organizations still struggle with how to do so effectively and efficiently,” said GBAC Executive Director Patricia Olinger. “Our team of experts offers insights gathered from our years of industry experience as we guide facilities through the GBAC STAR accreditation process.”

The GBAC STAR accreditation program takes a complete approach to cleaning, disinfection, and infection prevention to ensure there is commitment at all levels of the business. Facilities must adhere to 20 program elements, including sustainability and continuous improvement, standard operating procedures, cleaning and disinfection chemicals, worker health program, and audits and inspections.

“The GBAC STAR program continues to gain momentum globally as more facilities seek reassurance that their approach to cleaning, disinfection, and infection prevention is sound,” said ISSA Executive Director John Barrett. “Accredited facilities can proudly display their seal of accreditation to guests to highlight that they’ve achieved third-party validation for cleaning.”

Apply for GBAC STAR facility accreditation today at gbac.org/star. See which facilities are accredited or are working towards accreditation via the GBAC STAR Facility Directory.

By Jimmy Im

Appetize has been selected to provide mobile ordering at 5 additional sports venues with Interact, the company’s advanced mobile ordering system. Interact is part of Appetize’s Enterprise Commerce Platform, which is used by over 63% of major league teams in the U.S. to run their food, beverage, and retail businesses. Appetize has been deploying mobile ordering at an increasing pace since the start of COVID-19 as stadiums, arenas, and venues upgrade to contactless solutions for the safety and well-being of their guests. Appetize mobile ordering has also been shown to yield, on average, a 22% increase in order size versus orders made at the point of sale.

“Since we first enabled mobile ordering at stadiums in 2012, Appetize has led the way with innovative cloud point of sale and digital ordering solutions. Today, we’re proud to power the food, beverage, and retail business of almost two-thirds of U.S. major league sports teams,” said Appetize Co-Founder and CEO Max Roper. “Like many top venues we partner with, these five stadiums are making the move to a modern, mobile-enabled operating model that will continue to be commonplace long after COVID-19. We’re thrilled to work with them to improve the fan experience, both now and into the future.”

Mobile ordering minimizes staff contact and improves speed of service by allowing fans to purchase concessions and merchandise directly from their phones. With Appetize Interact Mobile Ordering, guests can avoid keypads, touchscreens, and cash by using their phones to order and pay directly, whether through in-app mobile ordering or an appless mobile website. For added convenience, Appetize Interact Web also supports location-aware QR codes, so it can be launched by simply scanning a QR code, with location information for delivery embedded in the code. As more venues continue to reopen, mobile ordering has become essential for fan and staff safety and convenience.

“Creating a contactless fan experience will be imperative to welcoming fans back to Dodger Stadium, and Appetize has played a major role in these preparations by optimizing our concessions and in-seat service offerings with contactless payment and mobile ordering solutions,” saID Tucker Kain, Dodger President of Business Enterprise. “Dodger Stadium has many unique challenges as a historic venue with baseball’s largest capacity, and we look forward to continuing to work with Appetize to evolve and modernize our amenities for the changing preferences of fans.”

The 5 recent mobile ordering activations at venues include:

Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles, California. The 56,000-seat stadium—home to MLB’s LA Dodgers—integrated 780 cloud-based POS systems (including 650 fixed Android terminals and 130 handheld POS for waitstaff). Fans can order food and beverage through their phones in the Dugout Club, Baseline Box seats and Home Run seats using the Appetize mobile POS system.

AT&T Center, San Antonio, Texas. The 18,581-seat indoor arena—home to the San Antonio Spurs—recently expanded their mobile ordering offerings, which include multiple food and beverage concepts where fans can order from.

Children’s Mercy Park, Kansas City, Kansas. Sporting Kansas City’s nearly 20,000-seat award-winning stadium is piloting mobile ordering at events this year with Appetize via the integration of Interact Web. As a sports industry leader in the implementation of technology solutions, Sporting Kansas City continues to use world-class Children’s Mercy Park as a living laboratory for next-generation applications to tailor the fan experience.

Toyota Field, San Antonio, Texas. The 8,000-seat soccer specific stadium recently expanded its POS with Interact Web mobile ordering, which went live September 5th.

Holt Arena, Idaho State University, Pocatello, Idaho. The 12,000-seat, multi-purpose college football stadium recently deployed Interact Web mobile ordering. Fans are expected to return Spring 2021.

Jimmy Im is Director of Public Relations for Appetize.

By Dennis Dennehy

AXS, a pioneer in identity-based ticketing technology, and legendary independent concert promoter JAM Productions (JAM) announced a long-term agreement to bring an enhanced ticketing experience to Midwest concertgoers.

JAM will first begin to roll out the AXS mobile-first solution at Chicago’s Riviera Theatre, The Vic, and Park West beginning late 2020. As part of this experience, AXS will provide top of the line products and services, including premium reserved ticketing functionality and 3D seat maps, which will allow JAM to further showcase its legendary venues.

“As an independent concert promoter and venue operator, we look for every opportunity to compete more effectively. When we evaluated our options, it was clear that only AXS could give us all the tools we need to improve the fan experience and drive incremental revenue, along with better functionality to manage our business. We are excited to partner with them,” said Jerry Mickelson, CEO of JAM.

In addition, JAM will be armed with dynamic pricing technology, membership capabilities, real-time reporting, and marketing tools to personalize the overall fan experience from discovery to purchase.

Dean DeWulf, SVP-Music for AXS commented, “We are incredibly proud to partner with Jerry and his team at JAM to provide a premium ticketing solution and white glove service for concerts and events at his iconic venues.”

Dennis Dennehy is Chief Communications Officer for AEG Presents.

Kathryn Gidluck manages the Guest Services Operations Centre (GSOC) at the award-winning Vancouver Convention Centre.  GSOC is a high volume 24/7 operations centre that acts as the communications and operations hub of the building.  Kathryn exudes her passion for the venue management industry by fostering collaboration, encouraging growth, and by transforming challenges into opportunities while embracing her awkward humour.  Although early in her career, Kathryn is writing her legacy by being a positive influence and role model, while strengthening her leadership skills and contributing to the success of her organization and industry.

“Amidst all of the uncertainty in the world, it took me off guard to receive such great news that I had been chosen as a 30 Under 30 award recipient!”

Join your Foundation in congratulating Kathryn on being honored as one of the 30|UNDER|30 Class of 2020 and don’t forget to come back each Thursday as we spotlight another honoree!

By Erin Jepson, CMP, CVP

(The following was written on Tuesday, October 27)

Once again, I was knocked down a few notches today by a simple assignment. Yesterday kicked off 5 days of virtual VenueConnect. This is the annual conference I attend put on by the International Association of Venue Managers. This year was supposed to be in Long Beach back in July, but you know how that story goes. Going into this week, I was both excited and hesitant. If you’ve been following along, you know that I have a love/disappointment relationship with my industry right now.

I love it.

I love working in it.

I’d love to keep working in it.

But I’m disappointed by the situation COVID has forced me in as it relates to that industry.

So perhaps more of a love love love/disappointment relationship. For the most part, I’ve remained positive. Participating in meetings and projects… wearing my board member hat with the same professionalism, seriousness and pride that I did pre-COVID. However, every now and then, I’m knocked down and it’s getting harder and harder to get up, brush myself off, and keep going.

Yesterday went by just fine. We were all in the same boat, working to make the industry stronger. We were all just faces and names on a screen… no titles… no place of employment… no category of employed or looking for work. But today, right out of the gate, the blow came.

“We’re going to split you up in small groups, introduce yourself, introduce your position and venue…”

And there it is. Another opportunity to let people know that they are still bringing home a paycheck and I am not. Another opportunity to open the door for people to wonder “geez, I wonder what she did that she lost her job and I didn’t”. Another opportunity for my self-doubt to settle in like it seems to LOVE to do lately. I kept it positive, as I do, spinning it that I’m looking for the next exciting opportunity. However, I left that 5 minute small group intro session thinking about how I’d phrase that question if it were me arranging the session. After all, inclusive leadership requires thinking like this. It’s actually quite simple.

“Introduce yourself, introduce your role within the industry and where you make an impact…”

Now there’s a question! Instead of “I’m Erin, I was director of events and guest services at blah blah blah venue… but I’ve been laid off because of COVID”, my answer is much better and I can celebrate my career rather than my temporary situation.

“I’m Erin, convention center sector director on the IAVM Board of Directors and during my 16 years in the industry I’ve developed teams and helped professionals further their careers at both a non-profit performing arts center and a mid-sized convention center… I can’t wait to add more venues to that list in the future…”

And it’s that simple.

During this time, when so many of the professionals in our industry are in the same situation I am, why do we keep asking the first version of this question? Because it’s how it’s always been done. Two of the 6 people in my small group were like me, facing an uncertain future because their decades long career was pulled out from under them in the blink of an eye. So it may be time for a change. It’s time to stop asking people to present themselves as their job and rather present themselves as their impact to this world.