The hospitality and entertainment sector has been hit very hard since the Covid 19 lock down but now we can see that escape rooms around the UK are starting to open again, most will have some restrictions due to the covid 19 and preventative measures in place to keep as many visitors and staff safe.
With many escape room companies in the process of updating and creating new rooms being put on hold due to the virus work has restarted on completing the works that were planned for this summer.
Escape Hunt announced on Thursday that all eight of its venues in England will reopen on 11 July, following their closure in March as a result of Covid-19 restrictions.
The company said it had restarted work in Norwich and Basingstoke – its two new sites which were put on hold as a result of the lockdown. Both sites were expected to open in the coming months, bringing the number of Escape Hunt branded locations in the UK to 11.
Some of the larger escape room companies offer virtual games to enjoy online with Escape Hunt just releasing their new room called ‘Doctor Who: Worlds Collide’ groups take control of a games master and guide them around the physical room to find hidden clues and solve puzzles.
They have to figure out how to escape before time runs out and stop Cybermen from breaking through a tear in space and time. Groups of up to six people can compete in the one-hour challenge
Guidelines for Escape Rooms
The Government & UK Hospitality have released some guidelines for all escape room companies and a link for guidance can be found here.
UK Gov The visitor economy
UK Hospitality Chief Executive Kate Nichols said: “Escape rooms have been one of the biggest hospitality success stories of recent years. It has been exciting to see such rapid growth in escape rooms in a relatively short space of time to become one of the more dynamic, avant-garde aspects of the country’s hospitality scene.
“I am extremely pleased to welcome so many of them into membership of UK Hospitality. This new arm of membership not only solidifies UKH as the leading voice for the hospitality sector, it means that so many exciting, new businesses have the representation they need.
“Of course, they are joining at a very stressful and precarious time for so many businesses. Escape rooms have been shuttered throughout this pandemic and businesses that may still have been prospering will have been hit.
Escape rooms are highly structured indoor attractions, where access and management of people can be easily controlled and risks minimised, and risks to staff minimised and managed.
Examples include pre-booking, limited and controllable group sizes, constant monitoring of customers, prevention of mixing by different groups, lack of queue, control of where people are and what they touch within the venue, underpinned by robust and targeted regular cleaning regimes and monitoring. Of course each business is different and will have to risk assess against the overall guidelines on a case by case basis as to whether they can meet the COVID-19 Secure guidelines and therefore reopen.
UK Hospitality Guidelines for re-opening
“We are very pleased, therefore, to be able to welcome escape rooms into membership with their own guidance for a successful reopening. It will give them the best possible chance to get back up to speed following the lockdown. I hope it gives them the security they need to continue delighting and surprising guests and showing everyone why this is one of the most vibrant sectors across the whole of the country’s economy.”
We at Escape Room Search would like to wish all the escape room companies throughout the UK a safe and prosperous year ahead and we look forward to hearing from you with information about new rooms and customer experiences in the near future.
