NORTH MIAMI, FLA. (WSVN) - When it comes party, wedding and event planning, the party is over, at least for now, and that has left South Floridians who work in this industry concerned about their ability to continue to make a living.
President Donald Trump announced guidelines limiting group gatherings to no more than 10 people. That means plans for weddings, bar and bat mitzvahs, quinceañeras and other large events have been put on hold or cancelled.
That reality had hundreds of party planners and event professionals from across the country joining a video conference call Wednesday with Florida International University’s Chaplin School of Hospitality and Tourism Management.
“We’re definitely in a complete reset, and it’s a scary time,” said David Adler, CEO of BizBash. “It’s going to be a rough, rough patch no matter what. We just have to accept the facts.”
The discussion centered around communication with clients and vendors, and about staying afloat financially when the bills keep piling up.
“Caterers are basically — I’ve heard from caterers that we’re in a race against time, because it’s really all about cash flow for most people,” said Adler.
84 West Events is an event planning business in Davie. Its owner, Jeff Greene, said his company is having to postpone or cancel dozens of events over the next 60 days. He organized the virtual meeting.
“In the past, we’ve dealt with hurricanes, 9/11, different things that affected our business nationwide, stopped events happening for a period of time,” said Greene.
With the coronavirus pandemic, nobody knows how long it’s going to be before things return to some semblance of normal.
“Everything might look different at the end of the tunnel, but it’s going to work itself out at the end of the tunnel as well,” said Dr. Lisa Cain from FIU’s School of Hospitality.
Jessica Campbell runs her own event planning business.
“We have a lot of brides, a lot of grooms, and a lot of social event clients who at this moment are deciding whether they’re going to postpone their events or if they’re going to cancel altogether,” she said.
When clients cancel, it can have ripple affects on all the workers who make large events happen.
“It’s not only the wedding planners — the photographers, the cinematographers, the cake bakers,” said Campbell.
Campbell said everyone’s health and safety is the most important thing, and she hopes clients work with them during these tough times.
“One of the things that’s really important is allowing our clients to understand that we’re here for them, that we want to communicate with them,” said Campbell. “We want to help them find another date that might work in 2021 if they can’t get married in 2020 because of the virus.”
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has activated the Florida Small Business Emergency Bridge Loan Program. It will provide short-term, interest free loans for small businesses that qualify. For more information, click here.
For information about disaster assistance from the federal government for small businesses impacted by the coronavirus, click here.
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