A new certificate program is helping to rank event venues who are providing safe spaces during the COVID-19 crisis. The Global BioRisk Advisory Council (GBAC), a subset of ISSA, has been working with events venues to work through their cleanliness and safety procedures.

The GBAC programs helps venues through a process that includes:

  • Prepare: An assessment of preparedness and staff education on biorisk prevention and containment.
  • Respond: The program will help your staff to understand how to assess, contain, monitor, and eradicate disease to protect customers, visitors, employees, and your community.
  • Recover: GBAC will help their members develop and implement a recovery plan for reopening, as well as future prevention.

According to GBAC, hundreds of venues, hotels, and municipalities have now been GBAC-certified. More than 3,500 facilities are currently seeking the accreditation.

“Our staff worked diligently for several months on the GBAC Star application submittal process. We evaluated every aspect of our business to ensure we are operating in the safest possible manner for our employees, clients and their attendees,” Boise Centre executive director Patrick Rice told Northstar Meetings Group. “By taking this important step, we want to reassure meeting organizers that the Boise Centre is committed to operating safely and we are prepared to welcome in-person events.”

In addition to venues and hotels, airports and airlines have also achieved the accreditation, including American Airlines. Hyatt has also committed to rolling out the program across their entire portfolio.