10 Stages of Returning to Amusement Expo!

Amusement Expo 2020 – we were all on top of the world. And then we got on the plane to go home and immediately the world shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic. As the market begins to reopen after our industry's most challenging year on record, we couldn’t be MORE EXCITED to celebrate the return to Amusement Expo 2021 in Las Vegas.

The modern business has become a data-driven environment. Data has changed drastically in the last few years due to advances in technology, in this case family entertainment center technology, that has increased the amount of data there is to collect whilst also enhancing the ability to collect it. Smartphones are a great example of this, giving business all different types of information such as search history, locations, and personal data among other stuff too.

After months of being cooped up in quarantine, consumers are excited to gather outdoors in a surge of domestic fun as cities loosen restrictions and FECs reopen. Now more than ever, there will be greater emphasis on the guest experience, but in the new normal, what does the essence of guest service look like?

There isn't a single leader or business category unchallenged by the coronavirus; scrambling hard against the extraordinary demands to lead their business and teams through this crisis. Small businesses are struggling to stay afloat while implementing safety measures to mitigate risk, protecting their people, family and community. Resist being blinded by the massive scale of the crisis and consider the following: when business resumes, and it will, you need employees (talent is a key asset of Family Entertainment and Attractions; hospitality, service and care makes THE difference to any business). So, consider ways to retain talent by cutting company costs without cutting staff.

It’s no secret the coronavirus (COVID-19) has completely shaken up life as we know it. It has affected people, businesses, and industries in ways that no one could foresee. During these unprecedented times, we need to return to the basics and take action to mitigate the risk of COVID-19 and economic crisis.

The coronavirus (Covid-19 pandemic) will change the way we do business, the way FEC's operate - and Embed wants to help you lead the way so you can future-proof your business, today. Right now, in the eye of the storm, you're in a state-of-emergency, focused on your very survival. You're not alone. But, astute business people know the opportunity is right here and now, to work smart in the short term (purely tactical) while working on their biz plan (all strategy) and getting their operation ready for opening day, when the crazy-cooped-up homebound families come out and play. Ready to hustle? Let's go!

Given the current state of affairs with the coronavirus outbreak, the constant flux and uncertainty, organizations and individuals are challenged to prepare for a future that is unknown; the recovery timing is unclear and impossible to predict (but, there is a certainty that this cannot and will not go on forever; the challenge is identifying when this will break, surviving until then, and planning your professional and personal come back). It is without equivocation that a “Challenger Mindset” is required more than ever in order to stay ahead of the change curve.

Facts over Fears. There are times in life when the world moves at lightning speed, but not here and not now… or at least that’s what the media might have you believe. By now most of the world is homebound and/or working from home for the past week, many working from home while home-schooling their kids.

“Those who understand the changes in customer demand and react with speed and enthusiasm will emerge stronger than ever from the crisis.” said Hermann Simon, a business expert in strategy, marketing, and pricing. Take QuarterWorld, a Portland arcade, as an exceptional example of understanding the changes in customer demand and reacting swiftly. They pivoted their business in a mere 24-hours!

It was Helen Keller who famously said, “Alone we can do so little. Together we can do so much.” And, it’s during these unprecedented times, as we come to terms with the uncertainty of the immediate, that we must all come together (figuratively and proverbially) to soothe, support and comfort one-another through this time. But, can we all agree that we must cease from taking out our anxieties on the almighty blessed toilet paper tissue roll? Be honest; no one needs 144 rolls of toilet paper for a 14-day quarantine. And, if by chance you do, then we can all agree that you should’ve seen a doctor long before the coronavirus outbreak. So, in the face of the ongoing onslaught of media around COVID-19, Embed would like to offer a little levity break (a humour break, if you will) for everyone working from home. And for anyone who might bristle at the idea that there is anything funny during these tough times (a global pandemic is not funny, and no one is inferring that it is), please go back in history – at any and all tough historical time periods you will find that humour, comedy, and the arts were a distraction and coping mechanism for humanity. Below are Embed’s favourite memes from across the internet: