We're rounding up the biggest venue news of the week—in one convenient place. Got a tip? Get in touch!
In Case You Missed It
Last week, we rounded up seven questions planners should be asking venues in a COVID-19 world. Learn how to keep your attendees safe by getting answers before you commit to an event space.
Here are six more things you should know this week...
1. More convention centers are building permanent spaces for hybrid events.
With hybrid events as the norm for the foreseeable future, venues throughout North America are adapting in increasingly creative ways. In Canada, for example, on Dec. 14, the Palais de Congrès de Montréal will become the first convention center globally to add three immersive rooms to its permanent facility. The three rooms can host between 30 and 60 people on the Palais’s main floor, and are equipped with 105 laser projectors and 119 surround-sound speakers that allow for customizable, 360-degree projections. Organizers will be able to choose from personalized or turnkey packages that include various options of impactful visual settings developed by the OASIS immersion creative team.
A number of properties are also building permanent broadcast studios for livestreaming and hybrid gatherings, including the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York, the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, and the David L. Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh.
2. Spotify is working to help save independent music venues.
As part of its annual Wrapped campaign this year, Spotify is partnering with the National Independent Venue Association (NIVA) to help spotlight music venues that are struggling during pandemic-related shutdowns. Over the next few weeks, the brand is taking over the marquees of 30 closed venues with messaging about how big musicians got their start, along with the hashtag #SaveOurStages, to draw attention to the Save Our Stages Act currently in Congress. Spotify is also donating $500,000 to those venues and to the NIVA Energy Relief Fund, which provides short-term relief for independent venue operators. 
The Spotify and NIVA partnership took over the marquee of The Riverside Theater in Milwaukee, along with 29 other venues across the country. “As 2020 draws to a close, the live music industry enters month nine of no shows, no income, no federal support, and ever-mounting debts,” said NIVA co-founder Stephen Sternschein in a press release. “Music is what connects us all ... Artists like Bruce Springsteen, Lady Gaga, The Weeknd, The Strokes, and so many more began on the very stages that today are struggling to survive.”Photo: Courtesy of NIVA
3. IWBI and GBAC are pooling their resources to create safer venues.
Two heavy-hitters in the venue-safety space have teamed up to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 at event properties. The International WELL Building Institute (IWBI) and the Global Biorisk Advisory Council (GBAC) have announced a joint initiative to create streamlined solutions for building owners. The GBAC STAR Facility Accreditation Program will now be the recognized path of cleaning and sanitization criteria within IWBI's holistic WELL Health-Safety Rating. The two groups are also working on future collaborative efforts, including joint education, training, and advocacy efforts.
Learn more about the two programs in our previous coverage, here and here.
4. Venues are finding meaningful, creative ways to celebrate the holidays.
Venues throughout North America are finding ways to mark the holiday season in a safe way—and focusing on giving back. One highlight comes from the Sofitel Los Angeles at Beverly Hills, which is offering festive decor and themed cocktails as well as give-back activations including a virtual dog-rescue event with local shelter Wagmor Pets called "virtual pawlidays." The property is also hosting a blood drive and toy drive with Cedars Sinai Medical Center.
In Canada, meanwhile, The Congregation Machzikei Hadas is presenting "LIT: A Drive-In Hanukkah Experience" tonight in the Ottowa-based synagogue's parking lot. The service will feature a giant Menorah lighting, a pyrotechnic drive-thru photo booth, and kosher doughnuts, latkes, hot chocolate, and other Hanukkah treats delivered to vehicles. All attendees are encouraged to drop off donations for Ottawa Kosher Food Bank, Warm Socks Drive, and A Ripple Effect Toy Drive. 
Sofitel LA's "Christmas Joy"-themed decor is meant to depict the holidays from a child's perspective, with oversized decorations including a 10-foot-tall Christmas tree made from hundreds of presents.Photo: Courtesy of Sofitel Los Angeles at Beverly Hills
5. Thrillist highlighted 2020's heroes in the hospitality industry.
In case you missed it, food and travel site Thrillist recently debuted its "hospitality heroes" of COVID-19 list. Honorees range from a bartender in Dallas who created micro-grants for undocumented restaurant workers, to a Philadelphia restaurateur who created a grassroots campaign to lobby Congress for unemployment benefits. Read their inspiring stories here.
6. Kimpton is leaning into your new favorite hobby.
If you bought a chessboard after watching Netflix's new hit series The Queen's Gambit—you're not alone. Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants is getting in on the game too, launching a new chess board lending program at select properties around the country: Guests can check out a chess set to play with during their stay. Kimpton is also offering a variety of cocktails inspired by the show, with appropriate names like the "Check Mate," the "Sicilian Defense," and the "Play It Like a Girl."
