We’re rounding up the biggest venue news of the week—in one convenient place. Got a tip? Get in touch!

Thompson San Antonio, a 162-room hotel slated to open in February, made our list of the 25 Most Anticipated Event Venues in the United States for 2021.Photo: Courtesy of Thompson San AntonioIn Case You Missed It
On bizbash.com, we rounded up 25 of the most anticipated event venues, hotels, convention centers, stadiums and museums slated to open in 2021. We also explored a holographic art experience that’s paying homage to the many bars and nightlife venues forced to close their doors, either temporarily or permanently, due to the pandemic.

Here are six more things you should know this week…

1. Event venues are eager to help with vaccine rollout.
As the world anxiously waits for COVID-19 vaccines to become more widespread, more and more event venues are offering their services. Vaccinations are already happening at spots like Dodger Stadium and Disneyland—and on Tuesday, the National Independent Venue Association (NIVA), AEG, Live Nation, International Association of Venue Managers and other event-related organizations teamed up on an open letter to President Biden.

“Our industry has thousands of venues throughout America that are under mandated closures and sitting empty,” reads the letter, which also argues that event professionals are available and well-equipped to lead up vaccine distribution. “Event venues make ideal community vaccination sites: they are located in most urban, suburban and rural communities, often near transit lines and with easy access to parking. … Due to the nature of our business, our buildings and workforce are accustomed to patron queuing and crowd management.”

The American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) has also sent the president a letter offering more than 50,000 hotel properties that can help. 

2. International resorts are offering free coronavirus testing for U.S. travelers.
As of this week, international travelers boarding flights to the United States are required to present a negative COVID-19 test taken no more than three days before their flight. Properties around the world have quickly sprung to action; for example, Hyatt Hotels announced this week that it will offer free COVID-19 testing for guests traveling to the U.S. from its resorts in Mexico, Costa Rica, the Caribbean and South America. “The company claimed to be the first major hotel chain to offer widespread free testing, though other individual international hotels and some smaller hotel chains have announced similar measures,” reports USA Today. “Hyatt also announced in a news release it would offer 50% off room rates and 30% off food to guests who can’t travel due to the testing requirement.”

Other chains and properties adopting the practice include Atlantis Paradise Island in the Bahamas and COMO Parrot Bay in Turks & Caicos, as well as Karisma Hotels & Resorts properties in Mexico, the Dominican Republic and Jamaica.Atlantis Paradise Island in the Bahamas is one of many international resorts offering free COVID-19 testing for travelers to the United States.Photo: Courtesy of Atlantis Paradise Island

3. Esports venues are adapting to the pandemic.
The Esports world continues to grow by leaps and bounds, even if the pandemic has pushed pause on some of the industry’s planned in-person venues. In a recent interview with Esports Insider, sports design firm Henderson Engineers and Vancouver venue The Gaming Stadium discuss the future of Esports venues, sharing how future spaces will focus on safety, what the industry has learned from COVID-19 and more. Read the full interview here.

Related: Why Every Event Producer Should Care About Esports

4. Venues continue hosting socially distant experiences.
The show must go on—in a safe way, of course. Event venues are continuing to draw business by hosting unconventional, socially distant experiences, like AREA15‘s upcoming Valentine’s Day picnic offering. Held in The Portal, the Las Vegas venue’s 360-degree, projection-mapped room, the two-person experience includes a romance-themed picnic basket with interactive activities and a three-course dinner from chef Todd English.

In Park City, Utah, meanwhile, High West Distillery—billed as the world’s only ski-in distillery—is hosting dining experiences inside a snow globe from Alpenglobe. The heated globes can host up to eight people, and offer fresh air circulation, independent sound systems, mood lighting and views of the Wasatch Mountains. And Goodstone Inn & Restaurant, located an hour west of Washington, D.C., has debuted new luxury glamping accommodations for private events. The 18-room, 265-acre property now offers tents featuring queen beds, a bistro set, lantern lighting and dedicated restrooms.At High West, guests can dine inside heated snow globes, located at the distillery’s Nelson Cottage in the heart of Park City, Utah.Photo: Courtesy of High West

5. Hotels are leaning into unconventional private dining options.
Hotels are also thinking outside the box to draw business; some are now offering rooms and suites that can be booked for a few hours, specifically for guests to have a stylish spot for a private meal. In an article this week, Washingtonian explored this new trend that’s popping up at luxury spots like Sofitel Washington, D.C., which is renting rooms for 2.5 hours and a $70 food and beverage minimum. The publication reports: “The hotel hopes the in-suite dining program will bring back business from locals who want to escape the confines of their own homes, or those who want to plan a special occasion celebration without worrying about changes in weather or regulations. ‘We wanted to provide a private, safe, hygienic option,’ says [general manager Karla Erales].”

6. Eater’s new series examines the financial impact of the “pivot.” 
Food-focused website Eater has launched a fascinating new series asking restaurant operators what exactly it has taken to pivot during COVID-19. The first featured venue is Detroit Shipping Company, a Michigan food hall with six restaurants that typically accommodate 600 people for dining, events and entertainment. General manager Matthew Zacklan gets honest about the real costs of pivoting to carryout and reduced-capacity seating, the 145 private events he’s had to cancel, how he dealt with staff layoffs and more. Read the whole thing here.