As of this writing, no one quite knows how long it will be before museums, theme parks, and similar large-scale institutions will be safe to reopen. Large crowds, shared spaces, and overall risk of increased close contact will inevitably delay their reopening beyond what many other business types face.
Though it may be a while out still, reopening will happen eventually! And museums and theme parks need to be ready to make sure they’re doing so in a safe and responsible way – for the sake of both their employees and patrons. And it’s important to start preparing now for how you’ll do so. There are several simple steps that you take to make it a smoother transition so your business can once again thrive.
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1. Implement Sanitation Standards Prior to Reopening
It’s vital that your staff and guests all feel comfortable with reopening. The most important step in doing so is ensuring a sanitary environment across your entire business.
Bathrooms, handrails, headsets, countertops, ticket machines, self-checkouts, and any other place that people touch must be regularly cleaned.
Before reopening, come up with a uniform and thorough plan to train each team member on. Be sure that every person is performing these tasks in the same and at the same intervals. You should have already been following strict rules for cleanliness, but it is now more essential than ever to do so.
Do the same with any shared materials, like pamphlets, brochures, or headsets. These should be on a planned rotation so that each item is thoroughly cleaned between uses. With your point of sale resource management, you can keep this orderly and efficient.
2. Set Up Your Museum eCommerce Shop
Hopefully, your business has already created an eCommerce shop. With a rise in online sales, every business, no matter the size or niche, should be moving their store to the web. Now, of course, this is more pressing than ever. Consumers are trying to complete more of their shopping online than ever before. And this habit isn’t likely to change, even in a post-COVID world.
Luckily, eCommerce stores are easy to get started. Check with your POS solution to see what integration options are available. KORONA fully integrates with WooCommerce and Magento, making it easy for museums and theme parks to move their gift shop inventory online to a simple retail store. And the platforms make customization a breeze, so you can keep your webshop on brand.
3. Promote Online Ticketing and Reservations
Likewise, you can move your ticketing and reservations online. Through an event management system, you can create custom events and shows on your online reservation system. Set specific times, capacities, locations, employee schedules, and more. With a cloud system, they’ll all be updated in real-time, so you’ll never be overbooked and guests can see how many remaining tickets there are for each event.
Just like your eCommerce store, this system can be integrated with your entire operational software so that all sales for reservations are reflected in your POS reporting and metrics.
And getting your guests to book these online will cut down on your lines and minimize hand-to-hand interactions or another close contact between people. Tickets can be printed at home or displayed on a phone with a bar or QR code for easy redemption.
4. Have Guests Use Self-Checkout Kiosks
Alternatively, for guests that don’t book online, you can add self-checkout kiosks at your institution. Self-checkouts again reduce visitor contact with your staff.
Your software should integrate with various hardware options, allowing you to get a combination of devices to create the best overall experience for everyone involved. Desktops at ticket booths, self-checkout kiosks, and mobile tablets give flexibility for guests trying to buy tickets onsite. But if you don’t have any kiosks, look into them before reopening your museum or theme park.
5. Use Automated Gate Entry
Aside from POS checkout integrations, all museums and theme parks must also integrate with security features at their gates. Most often, these are turnstiles and sliding gates.
Again, look for software that gives you options. Turnstiles are the most traditional form of gate entry, but with new standards due to COVID-19, many businesses are turning to automatic gates that require no direct contact. Your visitors can simply scan their ticket to an attached bar and QR code scanners and pass through, keeping the process fast, sanitary, and secure.
Once hand-to-hand contact is normal again, handheld scanners are also available so individual employees can manually scan each entry.
6. Get Contactless Payment Machines
Yet another important POS integration for museums and theme parks to reopen smoothly is with payment machines. Again, for a more sanitary checkout process, encourage your guests to use contactless payments if they have them accessible.
Even prior to COVID, contactless payments were an important item to implement at your store. After all, many shoppers have adopted them and expect to be able to use them at any business they shop with. But, now, it’s even more vital to have them.
Check with your POS solution to see what credit card machine they integrate with. At KORONA, our software integrates with various payment terminals, including many contactless options.
7. Limit Capacities for Exhibits and Events
Lastly, analyze your space to set safe capacities for your shops and attractions. You won’t be able to pack a room in for some time, but that doesn’t mean that you have to stay completely shut down.
- Reconfigure your line system for ticket buying and entry
- Limit capacities for smaller or special exhibits
- Change maximum attendance levels for any show spaces
- Add tape or markers for guests to stand apart from one another while waiting for attractions
- Make capacity changes in your custom event management software
How to Reopen Your Museum or Theme Park with KORONA
If you have any questions on how any of these items work, reach out to us at KORONA. Our software can handle each item on this list, and we integrate with various options so our customers have a choice. We’ll help you find the best fit for your business, while also trying to save you as much money as possible on your credit card processing and hardware.
To learn more, set up a free trial and demo. We’ll take you through the system and show you how our point of sale and event management can change your business for the better.
