Adventure Park Insider Summer 2020

TRENDING # online_training # digital_advertising # business_planning # new_products # park_spy # and_more

Adventure Park Insider Operations and Insurance in the COVID Era Key considerations and advice for managing staff and risks.

SUMMER 2020

A Path to Diversity Jumpstart efforts to increase equity and inclusion by following this road map for discussion.

A NEW NORMAL

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ETTER FROM THE EDITORS We have all become pretty adaptable these past few months amidst the coronavirus pandemic. As Charles Darwin said, it’s not the strongest or smartest who survive, it’s the ones most adaptable to change. Adventure Park Insider has also had to adapt in an effort to better serve you, our readers, at a time when our role to inform and support our community is more important than ever.

Going with a digital “e-magazine” format for this summer issue was one of the adaptations we made. This has a couple of advantages in our current world. First, you can access the content in its beautiful magazine form from any device. With many of our readers still working flexible schedules from different places, a digital issue provides easy access and needed flexibility. Second, it’s highly interactive. The articles and the ads include links to find more information about the content, products, and services described here. And third, it allows us to deliver this information and connectivity weeks earlier than would be possible with a print edition.

Of course, we know our readers love the print magazine, and we plan to return to it in the fall.

Regardless of the format, our goal is to help operators adjust to doing business in a new and fast-changing landscape.

We are facing important events in our history that will have profound and permanent impacts. The pandemic has con-

sumed our entire lives since March and will continue to have an impact for a long time. Then as we worked on this issue, America’s longstanding complacency with racism came to a boiling point and people worldwide took to the streets in protest. These are truly extraordinary times of change.

Thus, this issue covers everything from opening protocols, marketing, staff training, and finance to steps on creating a road map to diversity in our industry and community.

Beyond the magazine, you can listen to our Adventure Park Insider Huddle podcasts. We’ve hosted several of these online video conferences to facilitate the sharing of important information and discuss challenges, opportunities, and positive steps forward. This is another adaptation we have pursued, and it has allowed us to bring a truly global perspective to the challenges posed by the pandemic.

The Huddle has been a lifeline for many of us as we complied with stay-at-home orders. The simple act of connecting on Zoom nearly every week helps with business continuity and the quick dissemination of information vital to understanding the impact of the pandemic, how to respond, and the path to reopening.

Learn more about the Huddles and other resources aimed at helping the aerial adventure industry get back on its feet in Park Briefs, page 6. And remember, we’ll update information—including the articles in this issue—online at adventureparkinsider.com.

Operators are reopening after taking steps to mitigate COVID-19. Left: Corolla Adventure Park, N.C. Center: The team at High Gravity Adventures, N.C. Below: North Shore Adventure Park, Minn., clears trees to make room for socially-distanced picnic tables.

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ADAPTABILITY IS THE NAME OF THE GAME

VOL. 6 | NO. 3 | SUMMER 2020

CONTENTS ON THE COVER The new coronavirus pandemic has transformed how aerial adventure businesses must operate. From face masks and more frequent cleaning of high-traffic areas to contactless transactions and new rescue procedures, COVID-19 has put more challenge into the challenge course world.

Photo courtesy of The Gorge, Saluda, N.C.

Take Your Training Online

Cyber-training options are expanding fast.

By Katie Brinton

6 Park Briefs The aerial adventure industry responds to the coronavirus with communal action.

A Staff Report 10 New Products A collection of items for the current climate.

By Sarah Borodaeff 12 Pick Your Platforms Digital advertising requires smart targeting.

By Gregg Blanchard 18 The Road to Recovery Local marketing is critical to restoring business.

By Andrew Bethune

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22 Park Spy “How are you adapting to the coronavirus?”

By Sarah Borodaeff

EDITORIAL OFFICE P.O. Box 644 • Woodbury, CT 06798 Tel. 203.263.0888 / Fax 203.266.0452 Website: www.adventureparkinsider.com Publisher Olivia Rowan­—olivia@adventureparkinsider.com Editor Rick Kahl—rick@adventureparkinsider.com Senior Editor Dave Meeker—dave@adventureparkinsider.com Associate Editor Sarah Borodaeff—sarah@adventureparkinsider.com Digital Editor Sarah Borodaeff—sarah@adventureparkinsider.com Design Director Sarah Wojcik—sarahw@adventureparkinsider.com Graphic Design Consultant Joerg Dressler—joerg@dressler-design.com Production Manager Donna Jacobs—donna@adventureparkinsider.com

Key considerations, guidelines, and advice.

By Cameron Annas and Ruthie Lile

50 3 Letter from the Editors Adaptability is the name of the game.

Navigating Insurance and Operations Changes

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24 Alternate Plans The pandemic proves the value of financial planning and forward thinking.

By Paul Cummings

48 Getting Back to Work Your staff (and you) deserve special attention during a stressful and unsettled time.

By Paul Thallner

30 Park 360: Mining for Adventure Converting old mines to aerial adventures.

By Morgan Tilton

54 Personal Protection Products Small items, from sunscreen to masks, can have a big impact with guests.

By Bob Curley

34 Cancellation Policies Accommodation assures guests during uncertain times.

By Peter Oliver 38 How to Sanitize Your Gear There are no simple, quick solutions. Best bet for now: follow manufacturer guidelines.

By Morgan Tilton 42 Contactless Transactions COVID-19 accelerates the push for advance digital reservations and waivers.

By Jennifer Rowan CONTRIBUTORS Cameron Annas Scott D. Baker Katie Brinton Bob Curley Skip King

Moira McCarthy Peter Oliver Paul Thallner Morgan Tilton Dave Zook

SPECIAL CONTRIBUTOR Paul Cummings ADVERTISING/MARKETING OFFICE 70 Pond Street • Natick, MA 01760 Tel. 508.655.6408 / Fax 508.655.6409 Advertising Director Sharon Walsh—sharon@adventureparkinsider.com Marketing Manager Sarah Borodaeff—sarah@adventureparkinsider.com

60 Creating Diversity in the Outdoor Industry A six-step program can help you bring diversity, equity, and inclusion to your operation.

By Rachel Maestri-Hailey

WAIT, THERE’S MORE!

Head to adventureparkinsider.com for ongoing coverage of the impacts on the aerial adventure industry from the coronavirus, along with our article archive, State of the Industry Report, and more.

CIRCULATION / SUBSCRIPTIONS 70 Pond Street • Natick, MA 01760 Tel. 508.655.6409 / Fax 508.655.6409 subscriptions@adventureparkinsider.com Circulation Manager Sarah Borodaeff—sarah@adventureparkinsider.com A subscription to Adventure Park Insider is COMPLIMENTARY to adventure park industry professionals. Visit our website, www. adventurepark­insider.com, and click on “Subscribe” to get on our list to receive the publication and online content.

ADVENTURE PARK INSIDER — Vol. 6, No. 3, Summer 2020, is published quarterly: Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall, by Beardsley Publishing Corp., 70 Pond Street, Natick, MA 01760-4438. Periodicals Postage pending at Framingham, MA 01701-9998. POSTMASTER: send address changes to Beardsley Publishing, P.O. Box 644, Woodbury, CT 06798.

Copyright 2020 Beardsley Publishing Corp. All rights reserved.

PARK BRIEFS My, How Far We’ve Come As the realities of the coronavirus pandemic began setting in during the latter half of March, there were many more questions than there were answers— but waiting around for the pandemic to end clearly wasn’t an option. So, several organizations responded by shifting focus to offer guidance and resources aimed at helping the aerial adventure industry weather the crisis.

Experts began weighing in to provide the aerial adventure industry with guidance about initial impacts and response, and organizations created web pages to aggregate it all. With everyone cooped up at home, though, it was a confusing, frustrating, and often overwhelming time.

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In talking with operators and vendors in the industry, we at Adventure Park Insider (API) discovered there was a desire to hear what others in the aerial adventure industry were experiencing. Many were wondering how they could handle it all.

Thus began the API Huddle—a facilitated online gathering of aerial adventure industry pros on Zoom.

The first Huddle was a roundtable with various experts who discussed topics such as staff, communication, finance, and operations. More than 160 people took part. The following week’s Huddle turned to a wide-ranging question-storming session that addressed “adapting to the new normal.” This in turn spawned the Association for Challenge Course Technology’s (ACCT) “Think Tank” virtual gatherings to dive into more granular discussion in an effort to produce additional guidance for the industry. Learn more about these in “It Takes a Really Big Village” on p. 7.

HUDDLES, WEBINARS, AND MORE The Huddles have continued on an almost weekly basis, covering topics such as marketing and sales, digital training,

The first Adventure Park Insider Huddle took place April 9, 2020, and gathered more than 160 operators, experts, and suppliers to discuss the challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic. Panelists and the audience shared ideas and resources about topics such as staff, communication, finance, and operations. and opening in uncertain times, as well as a special Huddle with European operators who had already reopened and shared what they learned.

Other organizations and suppliers offered online educational gatherings, too: Be A Better Guide, The Alliance Collaborative, Training Wheels, and more. Productive conversations through online platforms have proven to be not only useful, but also therapeutic.

As time went by and things progressed, a flurry of useful resources and guidelines were produced by existing organizations, ad hoc groups, suppliers, and individuals from around the world to help provide clarity and direction as operators began considering next steps and, yes, reopening for business.

By mid-April, several suppliers shared guidance for properly cleaning and disinfecting equipment, specifically to kill coronavirus—a primary concern for many operators in our high-touch industry. ACCT released “Someday we will reopen,” with a general overview of what operators should consider when planning to welcome guests back.

One of the first comprehensive reopening guides came from the Italian Adventure Parks Association in late April.

Head Rush Technologies was one of the first suppliers to release guidance about reopening with its “Getting Started Again” resource.

Soon thereafter, the International Association for Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA) published a 36-page first edition of “COVID-19 Reopening Guidance” for the global attractions industry. The Alliance Collaborative then released its own 30-page “COVID-19 Reopening & Operation Strategies for Challenge Courses & Aerial Attractions” guide.

In less than three months—from early March to late May—the global aerial adventure and attractions industry showed just how resourceful, creative, and collaborative it truly is. It’s remarkable how far we’ve come in such a short time: from the early days when safely welcoming staff and guests to our parks seemed unthinkable, to having the knowledge and guidance to offer a reasonably safe experience as parks around the world begin to reopen.

NEWS FROM AROUND THE AERIAL ADVENTURE INDUSTRY

It Takes a Really Big Village In mid-April, after the first of the coronavirus-inspired Adventure Park Insider (API) Huddles, trainer and all-around instigator Tom Leahy of Leahy Associates proposed a bold idea to us: hold a “question-storming” session that would form the beginning of an industry-wide collaboration aimed at discovering best practices across all touch points and problematic aspects of business at adventure parks and experiential programs.

It was an exciting prospect. Most folks were still relatively new to Zoom meetings. Tom was proposing that we gather as many voices and perspective as we possibly could (250, it turned out), and encourage all of them to highlight the pressing questions and issues that were concerning folks. Would the Zoom platform actually enable that sort of collaboration? Could it handle the volume of contributions? We weren’t sure it would be possible to manage the conversation and collect all the ideas, but it seemed worth the try.

The Huddle, co-hosted by Tom and API publisher Olivia Rowan, solicited thoughts from a panel that included John Hines, Wildwood Adventure Partners; Andrew Miller, Challenge Towers; Rohan Shahani, Challenge Works, Inc.; Deb Kulcsar, Experiential Learning Associates; Nick Thompson, ClimbWorks; and Kema Geroux, Tree-Rush Adventures at Fontenelle Forest. Their comments got the ball rolling. Dozens of ideas poured into the Zoom chat room.

API associate editor Sarah Borodaeff collected all the questions and comments from this outpouring and organized them into several topic areas.

It turns out that, as a largely volunteer organization, ACCT is quite skilled at organizing volunteer groups for just this sort of project.

Led by ACCT policy director Scott Andrews and Leahy, several groups set to work. They produced 11 Zoom “Think Tanks” regarding protocols for opening, and two webinars on specific aspects of coronavirus response: how to work the Payroll Protection Program, and legal liability. The last two, presented by attorney Wayne Pierce, did “a little bit of settling for operators,” Andrews said. “His approach, which is to focus on what operators can do to make their operations perform better, helped them relax a bit.”

The Think Tanks specifically addressed several types of operations, among them facilitated high activities, guided activities such as zip tours, and self-guided operations. Two areas of focus were addressed in multiple calls.

“We went back and focused on how to keep staff safe, because of the requirements about that,” said Andrews. “That was one of the key pieces.”

Three Think Tanks specifically targeted staff training. “The last two were specifically focused on vended training,” noted Andrews. “The last discussed moving training to an online format: What’s a good process for it?” That discussion was ongoing at press time.

The initial hope for the Think Tanks was that they would lead to a set of protocols that could be applied nationwide. It quickly became clear, though, that the unique rules and requirements of each state made that impossible. Instead, the Think Tanks provide a range of ideas, which helped operators figure out what procedures would best suit their local requirements.

Recordings of the Think Tanks are available on the ACCT website (see page 8 for details).

Leahy, whose idea launched the whole effort, felt the Think Tanks achieved a key goal. “We got a lot of people talking,” he said. “It was a good start. The right people were ‘in the room’ and talking about the challenges.” Leahy added that the subsequent work, from ACCT’s various actions to those of the Alliance

At that point, it was clear that API lacked the resources and expertise to dive deeper into this material. We asked the Association for Challenge Course Technology (ACCT) if it could help, and it did.

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THINK TANKS TAKE SHAPE

PARK BRIEFS

Collaborative, has been a “dream answered. What all the parties have done is awesome.”

NEXT STEPS Now, as parks open and gradually increase capacity, ACCT is shifting its focus to procedures and protocols that are proving successful. “As sites begin to open and more is understood about how to open, the Think Tanks will pivot to what is working,” said Andrews.

“We are tapping into the experience of people in the industry to share what they have learned and to report on the newest information on cleaning, virus transmission, and regulation.”

As the national experience with the coronavirus moves forward and aerial operations continue to evolve with it, ACCT will “work to sum up all the learnings,” Andrews said. The aim is not to catalog specific operations, but recall the lessons learned.

This is not just an academic enterprise, Andrews noted. “We may have to ask a lot of the same questions again in spring 2021, based on how the virus reacts, and if it returns. What we learn about it and dealing with it will be important to know.”

Other useful documents about operating during the pandemic are available on the ACCT Coronavirus Resources webpage.

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Aerial Adventure Operators Get Back to Business

Cautiously and with restrictions, operators have resumed business. Top: Experiential Systems performs a course inspection.

Right: Guests take a family photo before a zip tour at Hawksnest Zipline, N.C.

NEW PRODUCTS _______________________________ We gathered a handful of new products aimed at guest and staff safety and operational enhancements.

BY SARAH BORODAEFF

Eldorado Waves, Bubbles, Blocks, & Crystals Eldorado Climbing has created new 4-ft. x 4-ft. x 2-in. fiberglass climbing wall panels with wave, bubble, block, and crystal

patterns to create an architectural statement wherever they are installed. Made from durable glass-fiber reinforced polymer, the panels can be installed indoors or outdoors to create traverse walls or roped climbing terrain. Each 50-lb. panel has 22 t-nuts in place for route setting and can be ordered in a selection of colors to match the installation space. www.eldowalls.com

Left to right: Eldorado’s Block, Bubble, Wave, and Crystal wall panels.

BlackStrap Civil Face Mask

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The BlackStrap Civil Face Mask is made with dual-layer

construction. The mask has a breathable mesh liner and a tightly woven outer shell. It is lightweight with a tapered design for a contoured fit on a variety of faces. The synthetic fabric is moisture wicking, lens-safe, machine washable, and quick drying. The Civil Mask is made from upcycled fabric in the USA and is part of BlackStrap’s WASTE-ZERO line of sustainably manufactured products that keep fabric scraps out of landfills. www.bsbrand.com

clic-it C-Zip pulley The C-ZiP Pulley from CLiC-iT integrates with the CLiC-iT

Y-Lanyard. It is designed to reduce friction of the connectors on the cable and to limit the risk of a user pinching his or her fingers on longer zip-line spans. The pulley has interchangeable stainless-steel wheels and bearings. Each C-ZiP Pulley is sold with CLiC-iT’s round Climbing Sling C-0. www.clic-it.eu

Fusion Aura Face Mask Fusion Climb USA’s Aura Face Mask features a two-layer

polyester fabric design with a pocket to easily insert a filter. The Aura is washable and reusable and has an adjustable elastic band that wraps around the back of the wearer’s head for added comfort. Available for bulk purchase, operators can also add company name and logo to the masks for a customized look.

The Aura is handmade in the USA. www.fusionclimb.com

FrenchCreek Fall Safety Stratos Lanyards lanyards comes in a variety of models for different needs. The line comes standard in six-foot length and features Z74 locking snaps. Available in single, tie-back, and pack-style, the Stratos meets the performance requirements of ANSI Z359. Customized lengths and snap hook configurations are available for specialty uses. www.frenchcreekproduction.com

Left: The Stratos 22440ASZ tie-off pack style lanyard.

Right: The Stratos 22450AZ single lanyard.

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The Stratos line of energy-absorbing

MARKETING PART II OF III: DIGITAL ADVERTISING

PICK YOUR PLATFORMS Where do you want your digital audience to see your ads?

BY GREGG BLANCHARD, INNTOPIA In the last decade, digital advertising has gone from an exclusive channel reserved only for the biggest brands to a long list of self-service platforms available to any advertiser of any size. But advertising isn’t a yes or no question, it’s a skill. You can’t just do advertising—you have to do it right.

We started this series by analyzing the first building block of any campaign: the audience. In part II, we’ll dig into the ad platforms that are available and discuss how effective each is at reaching different segments of the audience. We’ll then share tips and advice from digital advertising experts on how adventure parks should get started creating and going live with their ads.

PLATFORMS

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While there are dozens of ad platforms available, we’re going to focus on those that are best matched to adventure parks, with an emphasis on social media advertising.

Keep in mind, you can’t create an audience based on age or location if the ad platform doesn’t know the age or location of the people in its network.

The more data a platform has, the more powerful its targeting can be.

Facebook + Instagram When it comes to data, Facebook—and its 2.4 billion active users—is king. Combined with a self-serve interface, many ad-format options, good support, and the ability to target Instagram’s one billion users as well, it’s little wonder why Facebook is one of the most popular ad platforms in the world.

Google + YouTube Google’s main value comes through two ad types. First, Google’s paid search results allow advertisers to bid on keywords and show ads alongside organic search results.

Second is Google’s expansive display network, which consists of millions of websites that display ads alongside their content. When advertisers pay Google to show their ads on websites in the network, the websites receive a cut.

Just like Facebook owns Instagram and offers both through a single ad platform, Google does the same with YouTube. The pair lacks the user data of Facebook and Instagram, but YouTube

can be a very strong platform simply because of how effective and affordable video advertising can be.

Twitter Twitter does feature a simple, self-serve advertising platform, but lacks in both number of users and data about each user.

LinkedIn While LinkedIn may not have as much data about its users or as many users as Facebook, it does have unique data that other networks do not. The LinkedIn ad platform is fairly easy to use and allows a level of targeting for industries and work titles other platforms can’t achieve.

AUDIENCES ON PLATFORMS Each of these ad platforms offers some form of intent, demographic, database, and lookalike audience targeting, so we’ll focus on finding the best ad platform for each audience type.

Demographic Facebook’s expansive data set is the clear winner for demographic targeting.

No other network can offer the same combination of targeting based on things like age, location, and interests.

However, for certain types of ads, especially those related to group sales, LinkedIn is a good option to consider.

Database Once again, Facebook’s 2.4 billion users give it a huge advantage when it comes to database targeting, simply because there is a better chance it’ll be able to match the people in your database to the people in its network.

Lookalike With more guest matches from your database to work with and more data at its disposal to look for people with similar attributes, once again, Facebook is tough to beat.

GETTING STARTED With a good understanding of both the audience types we may want to target and the ad platforms we can use to reach them, let’s start tying these pieces together.

Choosing an Ad Platform: Facebook is King If you’re starting to lean toward Facebook, you’re not alone. Jackie Calvert,

owner of Tahoe-based digital marketing agency Unbound Communications, is a fan. “Facebook, in my experience, is by far the best converting platform for an audience that is not necessarily seeking out adventure parks,” says Calvert.

Rob Prew, co-founder of Cube Rocket, an outdoors-focused digital agency based in Ketchum, Idaho, agrees. “Facebook and Instagram still reign supreme and provide the most bang for the advertising buck,” he says. “For novices, they offer quick and easy ad tools to boost posts or create quick walk-throughbased ads right from your Facebook business page or from the mobile app.”

Digital marketing consultant Adam Buchanan, based in Salt Lake City, Utah, also sees Facebook as a perfect starting point, although he suggests adventure parks first gauge their own social channels and the activity of their competition to decide where to start. “If one of your organic [unpaid] channels or a competitor is performing well on a platform, focus on that first,” Buchanan says. When it came to picking a winner, he agrees that Facebook is still very cost effective if done correctly.

Choosing a Target Audience Our experts all suggest one of two types of audience to begin targeting first: database or demographic. Prew leans toward your database. “The minimum requirement is simply an email address for Facebook audience matching, so you can load email subscribers, e-commerce past purchasers, survey data, and CRM data to build an effective first audience,” he says.

Calvert agrees, but also suggests using that data for further targeting. “Look at

your existing visitors,” she says. “Aggregate data and see who is already coming to your adventure park. Then ask, are they repeat visitors? Is there a trend in lapsed visitors?”

Buchanan suggests using a tool called Facebook Audience Insights to get a head start in building an audience based on demographics. “You can add in certain competitors or interests you already know they have, and it will generate complementary terms and targeting parameters to add to your targeting,” he says.

Creating Your First Ad Knowing what to say can be the trickiest part, but Buchanan has a simple rule of thumb for getting started. “Go into social ads with the mindset that your audience isn’t on social media to consume ads—they are there to be entertained and connect with people. Ask yourself, ‘does this ad creative look and feel like it belongs on social media?’”

Buchanan also suggests considering what questions might be holding someone back from moving to the next stage of your marketing funnel, and to create content that answers those questions.

Prew’s advice is similar, but he also suggests that adventure parks will need to avoid common mistakes as much as heed best practices. “There are a lot of things you’ll want to avoid,” he cautions.

“For example, you don’t want too much text in an image-based ad. Facebook recommends image ads with less than 20 percent text.” He’s also noticed that many beginners get a little too excited and create more ads than they have time to manage. >> continued

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Intent Google’s search ads take the cake when it comes to intent. It’s hard to beat the ability for a ropes course near Atlanta to get its ad in front of someone searching for “Atlanta ropes courses.” However, those ads can also be very expensive.

When it comes to retargeting web visitors who have shown intent through their browsing behavior on your site, Google’s ad network is vast, but Facebook’s 2.4 billion users often provide the largest overlap between its users and your website visitors.

MARKETING More specifically, Buchanan recommends having no more than three ad sets running at a time on Facebook or any single ad platform.

When it comes to the offer, Calvert suggests combining urgency with a very specific product. “Something like ‘Flash Sale! Families save 40% at ABC Adventure Park when you book in the next 72 hours,’ combined with a headline like,

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Outline your goals first, then assess which platforms are best for reaching your audience and targeted goals.

Author Gregg Blanchard offers a star rating for how each platform performs with each audience type.

‘Voted Best Adventure Park by XYZ’ can be a nice one-two punch.”

Common Mistakes Each digital marketing expert has a few words of wisdom for anyone getting started with digital ads.

Calvert has noticed countless marketers jumping in without deciding first what they’re trying to accomplish. “Is it to increase day pass sales by 20 percent?

Increase midweek visitation? Increase

general brand awareness?” She points out that your first ad will rarely be a winner, so unless you’re ready to rigorously test and optimize, you may want to think twice before getting into digital advertising.

Prew also suggests asking some hard questions to be sure you are ready to not just set up ads, but to do it right.

“What monthly spend do you have to apply toward digital ad placements?

Do you have video or image content on

MARKETING hand? Are you currently generating a constant stream of content?” In other words: The more prepared you are, the more successful your digital ads will be.

He also points out that while ad tracking may be slightly more advanced to set up, adventure parks absolutely need to have tracking configured on their marketing and e-commerce websites so they can accurately measure the results and see if ads are generating an ROI. Beyond Facebook While Facebook may be a great place to start, consider looking at YouTube if you do a lot of video work or LinkedIn for B2B or group sales. Google Search may also be great to explore, depending on the search volume for experiences like the ones you offer. In each case, be sure you have the resources to do both the initial setup and the ongoing monitoring and maintenance before jumping in.

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In-House vs. Agency Digital advertising can be easy to get

started with, but very difficult to master.

Do you have the time and knowledge to do it all in-house? Or should you work with an agency? Prew is quick to point out that advertising isn’t a “set it and forget it” type of marketing. “Do you have the ability to generate ad copy and graphical image elements? Do you have the capacity to take on learning, creating, placing, and analyzing digital ads in-house?” asks Prew. If not, he suggests getting help from an outside agency.

Buchanan, who has spent 5+ years each as a marketer and a consultant, points out that agencies aren’t being self-serving when they suggest this. “Agencies can actually be cost-effective, because you are just paying a flat fee and don’t have the overhead of having another employee in the office,” he says. “However, it’s nice to have someone in-house who is great at brand voice and can execute quick-turn needs that an agency might be a little slow to execute.”

The balance? He suggests finding an agency that treats itself as an extension of its clients.

THE EVOLUTION CONTINUES Whether you commit the time and resources to try to do it in-house or decide to work with an agency, digital advertising is different today than it was a few years ago, and will likely change even more in the coming years. If you tried digital advertising in the past but don’t use it now, it might be worth taking another crack with today’s tools and ad rates. If it’s not working for you now, don’t hesitate to push pause and try again sometime down the road.

Digital advertising doesn’t work for everyone, but with the right combination of audience, platform, and advertisement it can be a smart, scalable way to generate revenue for your adventure park.

Gregg Blanchard is vice president of marketing for Inntopia, a CRM and e-commerce provider for the resort and recreation industries.

MARKETING

THE ROAD TO RECOVERY Transition from COVID-19 crisis management to recovery by building your brand community, from the local market out.

The Gatlinburg SkyBridge, Gatlinburg, Tenn.

BY ANDREW BETHUNE, Director of Strategy, Origin

If your responsibilities include marketing, and you’re feeling paralyzed by the uncertainty gripping the aerial adventure industry in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis, you’re in good company. The crystal balls of even the most seasoned marketers are clouded. While each day reveals more information, it also raises more questions about how to transition our marketing from crisis management to business recovery.

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Little about the future is certain, but it’s clear that travel is one industry that will take the longest to recover. There is a marketing strategy to work with this reality, though: building a brand community from the local market out.

TRAVEL: THE PATH FROM CRISIS TO RECOVERY The business world is full of predictions for what an eventual COVID-19 recovery might look like, yet many share a number of similarities. Travel industry research and insights company Arival (www.arival.travel) is typical of many forecasters, and predicts travel will see four phases to recovery: 1. Lockdown. The initial phase, lasting

anywhere from two to four months in most places. In April, when most states implemented stay-at-home orders, travel demand was down to almost zero, at less than 1 percent of 2019 numbers.

2. Easing. A gradual softening of social distancing measures and travel restrictions, limited tourism re-openings, and a slow rebuilding of travel-related businesses. This began in some states in May, and could last anywhere from four to nine months. Arival anticipates demand will grow to anywhere from 5 to 40 percent of 2019 numbers.

3. Returning. With removal of all significant travel restrictions, widespread growth appears as economies recover.

This phase could begin any time between this fall and spring 2021, possibly lasting until spring 2022. Travel reaches 40 to 70 percent of 2019 numbers.

4. Recovery. A return to “normal” preCOVID travel behavior is likely to occur by spring of 2021, in the optimistic scenario, and as late as summer of 2022 in the pessimistic view. In this period, demand is forecasted to recover to 70 to 90 percent of 2019 numbers.

Will the aerial adventure industry follow the broader travel industry? Following the Great Recession in 2008—the most recent, and somewhat comparable shock—some sectors of travel and tourism rebounded more quickly than others. This time around, though, the coronavirus effect will be layered on top of the economic downturn and recovery. Regardless, local, drive-up traffic is likely to return first.

MOVING FORWARD For those of us in marketing, transitioning from our locked-down state into the easing phase is upon us. During this phase, it is realistic for many operations to expect a significant change both in who we see visiting and how they visit, as people are likely to remain closer to home.

Operations that currently serve a local or regional audience with limited ancillary services may maintain much of their current customer base and see a faster return to “normal.” Operations in destination areas with significant tourism infrastructure and a focus on longhaul guests will face larger challenges, though, as it’s reasonable to expect

THE EASING PHASE Start by building your brand community. During the easing phase, the question we should be asking ourselves is, “What marketing strategies can we implement that could tap our local and regional customers?”

For many aerial adventure businesses, the focus on this customer may feel like business as usual. For others, it might require a whole-scale shift. Regardless, a business as usual approach to marketing isn’t appropriate.

Build the brand locally. A more appropriate focus—one that aligns both the needs of the business with the mindset of consumers—is to rebuild a strong, engaged community of local and regional brand enthusiasts who also represent the best potential for nearterm revenue.

Why focus on building community first? In times of crisis, it’s a natural human reaction to focus on family and community. Like it or not, humans are instinctively tribal creatures (read author Sebastian Junger’s great book, “Tribe”), and challenging times stand to emphasize our tribal nature. We seek to surround ourselves with people that share our values, our ideals, and our common interests.

Brands are as much a part of our “tribes” as people are. Just as members of a community expect their fellow citizens to act in alignment with their values and promote the greater good, consumers expect brands to do the same. People will choose the brands they buy—or the aerial adventure attractions they choose to visit postCOVID—based on how that brand fits into their “community.”

In addition, a focus on brand building is timeless and futureproof. Regardless of how adventure parks navigate the path to recovery, brand messaging will always be relevant and appropriate.

Tactical or conversion-oriented messaging might not be.

In this time of recovery and community building, brands must look inward and focus on their brand strategy to guide decision making, and then outwardly communicate their values and purpose in ways that align with the sentiment of the times. Doing so will help to cultivate deeper, more meaningful relationships with customers.

Time to reset? The current situation offers up a unique opportunity to pause and hit “reset” on how we market and who we market to.

• For operations with little history of brand marketing and/or with a limited existing community of loyal brand enthusiasts, this may mean looking for ways to build a brand with the local and regional customer.

• For operations that have been neglecting brand marketing to their existing local and regional community, or that have lower brand sentiment with those

19 Summer 2020

more day visits from frugal local and regional customers and fewer destination guests in a vacation-spending mindset.

MARKETING

require intensive resources.

customers, this may be an opportunity to re-engage that market.

Creativity rules! As valuable as content is, creativity will drive its success and its ability to reach and engage your audience. During the pandemic, we’ve all seen the flood of creativity that locking people in their homes has unleashed.

(What’s your favorite meme so far?)

Creative ideas that tap into the current zeitgeist and resonate with customers based on this shared human experience are rising to the top.

• For operations that have strong existing brand communities in their local and regional customers, congratulations!

Now is the time to double down and foster or celebrate that community more than ever.

CONTENT AND CREATIVITY Content is one of the best tools we have as marketers to build brand community.

It naturally allows for deeper engagement and storytelling, making it a more natural tool for communicating values and creating more meaningful connections with consumers than traditional, interruptive forms of advertising (display, pre-roll, etc.).

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Pair this with the fact that the distribution of content can be less costly and more targeted, and you have an approach to marketing during the crisis that isn’t likely to break the bank or

This doesn’t automatically require major creative and production resources, either. Some of the best branded content we’ve seen this spring has obviously been produced quickly, with simple production techniques. Take Ford’s COVID response ads, for example (search “Ford built to lend a hand”). In mid-March, Ford pulled all its high-production-value national vehicle advertising, pivoting to a brand message around the company’s support for those impacted by the pandemic. The ads used simple archival footage and basic text and graphics. It’s the type of creative that perfectly cap-

tures the brand’s values and the mood of the moment, while requiring minimal work to execute.

Smith Optics took a simple approach to brand-building, modifying its “Pursue Your Thrill” tagline to create a #PursueYourChill user-generated content campaign. This invited athletes and enthusiasts to share how they are staying healthy and safe—physically and mentally—so that they can pursue their thrill again when the time is right.

The beauty of such marketing efforts is how they align brands’ values with the current situation. Rather than simply pulling their marketing or shutting down their spend, smart marketers are using this time to make their brand communities stronger than ever.

THEMES FOR BRANDS So, what creative themes can you and your team play with to align your brand’s values with the mood of the current times?

Charity. Has your brand pivoted resources or energy into supporting local charities or healthcare providers during the pandemic? Can you create content to tell the story of why and how your brand took these actions?

Community. Can you tap into your existing customers and brand enthusiasts to share user-generated content? Many of us are longing to relive the memories of better times when we could travel freely with our friends and loved ones.

If your brand values revolve around connection, belonging, or shared mem-

How we weather the dark times is what defines us, both as people and as brands. ories, can you create a digital way for people to share these memories and tell their stories about what the brand means to them?

For brands looking to build community where there isn’t one currently, or for brands looking to rebuild community with an audience that has become disenfranchised, can you lean into brand ambassadors? Are there community members with an authentic connection and passion for your brand, and who also have influence in the market you are looking to tap into? Can you use these ambassadors to re-engage consumers who may otherwise overlook your brand, and remind them of all there is to love about you?

TURNING CHALLENGE INTO OPPORTUNITY While there’s no doubt that the COVID-19 pandemic presents an unprecedented challenge for humanity and the aerial adventure industry, this too shall pass. How we weather the dark times is what defines us, both as people and as brands.

This period of transition from crisis management to recovery presents a unique opportunity to pause and rethink your marketing in a way that may have seemed impossible in the past.

How we as marketers treat this opportunity—while finding the balance to not be opportunistic—may well define how successfully we are able to emerge from this crisis as an industry.

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History and nature. Can you play with the heritage and/or natural features of your park—building on the nostalgia many people are feeling right now for the past and their desire to be outdoors—to communicate your values and purpose? Can you look back at where you came from to express your brand’s reason for being? Can you highlight nature—flora, fauna, animals, geology, etc.—to remind people why they should love you as more than just an exciting activity?

PARK SPY THE QUESTION: Are you open? What kind of changes have you made as a result of the coronavirus?

With restrictions easing in many states across the U.S., denizens are cautiously seeking activity as they emerge from their homes. We asked operations what they’re doing to make guests feel more comfortable when they come back.

Check out all the Park Spy missions online at www.adventureparkinsider.com and use them as training tools with your team! Have a question our Park Spy should ask? Send your question to Sarah Borodaeff (sarah@adventureparkinsider.com) and if we use it, you’re immune for that issue!

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PARK #1, TN First contact: Female.

API: Stated question.

Staff: Sure! We are open and taking reservations, so we’d love to see you!

API: Are there any changes because of COVID? Staff: Yes, we have made a few changes in response to the virus. So first off, we’re screening everyone before they arrive and if they might be sick then we’ll ask that you reschedule or cancel your tour.

API: OK. Staff: So, we’ll send the check-in documents to you the day before your tour to fill out online. If you don’t get to it, you can do it here on your own mobile device. Umm, we’re limiting tours to 10 people and increased our gear cleaning.

API: What are you doing to clean gear?

Staff: It depends on what the piece of equipment is, but generally we’re cleaning everything more often and added a gear rotation system so things get time to rest between uses. Umm, we’re also fever testing staff daily and requiring that they wear masks.

API: Are guests required to wear masks?

Staff: We’re encouraging it but not requiring it.

API: OK, anything else I should know?

Staff: I think that’s everything, but if you have any questions, please give us a call back!

API: Will do.

Score: 7 Comment: Friendly and gave the basic overview, but she missed some important details: This operation’s website lists more measures, including hand-washing stations, water, etc.

PARK #2, GA First contact: Female.

API: Stated question.

Staff: We’re open! Did you have a day in mind you’d like to come?

API: Are you making any operational changes because of the virus?

Staff: Ummm, let me check on that. (on hold) Staff: So, we haven’t made a lot of changes, because we were already cleaning the buildings and the gear regularly. But we’ve added some hand sanitizer for people that want it.

API: OK. Are you requiring face masks or fever checks or anything like that?

Staff: Ummm, if you want to wear one you can, but not many people do.

API: OK. Any other changes for the

cancellation policy or anything like that?

Staff: Hang on, let me check. (on hold) Staff: No, we’re using our normal cancellation policy (reads off cancellation policy).

API: OK, thanks.

Score: 4 Comment: She was friendly enough. We’re usually all about staffers checking to get the correct info, but now is a time for whoever answers the phone to be well versed on COVID-related adjustments because it’s important. Don’t know = don’t care.

PARK #3, VT First contact: Answering machine.

“Thank you for calling (park). We are currently closed due to the coronavirus.

We do not have a scheduled open date at this time. However, our team is actively working on figuring out best practices for when we do later this summer! For more information, check out our website at (website) or you can leave a message here and we’ll get back to you as soon as we can!

Score: 7 Comment: If you’re closed and no one is

PARK #4, AZ First contact: Male.

API: Stated question.

Staff: We are opening next week and we’re pretty excited about it.

API: I bet. Have you made any changes in response to the virus for the zip tour?

Staff: Yep! So, we’re capping our tours at eight people per tour. We’re asking that everyone wash their hands before they put gear on. Ummm, have you done our tour before?

API: Not your tour, but I have been zipping before.

Staff: OK, so you know how the guides will typically help you put on the gear?

We’re going to have you do that as much as possible, and the guides will instruct you using hand gestures and demonstrations. Ummmm, you have to fill out waivers online in advance and, ummmm, you have to wear full fingered gloves, and yeah, that’s about it.

API: Are you requiring face masks?

Staff: No, since we’re outside we’re not and it’s not like they do much anyway.

API: OK, anything else I should know?

Staff: Nope, that’s about it. You can book online or give us a call when you’re ready.

API: Will do.

Score: 5 Comment: Started off well and then threw the mask comment in there. Don’t alienate your potential guests with personal opinions.

PARK #5, TX First contact: Answering machine.

“Thanks for calling (park). We are currently closed for the winter season and will be reopening for the summer in April.

For more information and to book your adventure, visit our website!

Score: 0 Comment: I think you missed a spot. This park’s website has info about how it’s closed due to the coronavirus, and even has a projected reopening date in June. Yes, people

still actually use the telephone, so make sure outgoing messages are up to date.

PARK #6, NC First contact: Female.

API: Stated question.

Staff: We are opening this weekend!

We do have some changes to how we’re operating, so let me give you the rundown.

API: Great.

Staff: So, let’s start off with before you arrive. We’re asking that everyone sign a participant agreement electronically before they arrive. So, when you make a reservation, you’ll receive a confirmation email with a link to fill that out.

API: OK. Staff: And then, once you arrive, we’ll have a staff member meet your group outside to verify that everyone has signed the waiver electronically. We’re also requiring that everyone wear face coverings. If you have one you can bring your own, or you can purchase one in the retail store here. We have some fun ones!

API: Are there any requirements for the mask? Do they need to be N95s or anything like that?

Staff: A homemade cloth mask is just fine. We just ask that it covers your nose and mouth.

API: Gotcha.

Staff: Yeah! Other than that, we’re just asking that you leave personal belongings in your car. We’ll hang onto your car keys if you want, but we will wipe them down. Umm, and we’re screening staff before they start work for the day, cleaning common areas between groups, and we have handwashing stations available for you.

API: Sounds like you’ve thought it through.

Staff: We’re trying! Do you know how many people would be in your group?

API: Ummm, probably five.

Staff: I ask because if you’re more comfortable doing a private tour with just your family, we can do that, too.

API: Where can I find more information on that?

Staff: Those are all custom tours, so you’d need to call us back when you’re ready to book. But you can find all this information, plus information about the tour and the changes we’ve made be-

cause of the virus, on our website. Oh, and I almost forgot, if you’re not feeling well and need to reschedule, just let us know. We’d rather have you come another time if you’re sick.

API: Thanks! I’ll check it out.

Staff: If you have any questions or when you’re ready to book, give us a call back!

Score: 10 Comment: She got right into the new procedures without me needing to prod, and presented them in a friendly, confident manner. This gives callers confidence in the park’s level of care, which is vital anytime, but especially vital now.

Identity revealed: The Gorge

Debrief: The pandemic is permeating every aspect of life right now, including whether or not to participate in leisure activities—such as an afternoon of zip lining.

In order to open, steps need to be taken to make the workplace and guest experience as safe as possible. What each operation does to mitigate the risk of anyone contracting COVID-19 will be influenced and informed by their state and local authorities, the prevalence of COVID-19 in the area, as well as the comfort level of their guests—a key component to the successful re-opening of any business.

Operators need to effectively communicate to guests any changes they’re making to normal operations in response to the pandemic. Guests need to know what the new procedures are before they arrive in order to keep things running smoothly.

Plus, those who are nervous are going to be more likely to give it a try if it sounds like you’re on top of it.

A blasé approach to this communication—regardless of how individual staff or owners feel about the situation—will negatively impact business. Why? Because guests who don’t care about the measures you’re taking will visit anyway. But guests who do care and get the impression you don’t will likely never consider visiting your park, now or in the future.

23 Summer 2020

available to answer the phone, this is the way to do it. The website had some additional information as well. Nice one!

FINANCE

ALTERNATE PLANS We must continue looking ahead for the sake of our business, no matter how weird things get—or have gotten.

BY PAUL CUMMINGS, Strategic Adventures

“Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.” — Mike Tyson

we can do when those uncertain times arise. You know, hypothetically.

ure out how much you’ll need, and then make a plan to get there.

This quote is very indicative of where we are this year. I think we all feel like we’ve been punched in the mouth. But that doesn’t mean we have to—and by no means should—stop planning.

PLANNING FOR UNCERTAIN TIMES

Key factors. The amount of working capital needed depends on a few factors.

The first, of course, is the seasonality of the business and how many months of the year you are operating. The more months of the year you are open, the more working capital you will need.

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There are two different times during the course of a business’s life where planning for the unexpected happens.

The first is during the initial planning stages of the business, and is often in response to some imaginary need that might befall the business in the future.

This includes squirreling away cash or setting up lines of credit to use when needed. Insurance policies also put into place safeguards against damage to property, theft, employee injuries, and the like.

The other time for planning happens when a disaster or unexpected event actually occurs, and we start scrambling.

We scramble to comprehend what’s happening, try to deal with it the best we can, pray that someone else has all the answers and will share them with us, and try to predict the future. This is where many of us find ourselves today.

While planning in this environment may feel like drinking from a fire hose, we’ve found that the best way to look at emergency contingencies is to break the challenges into small, manageable chunks. We’ll start by looking at some of the different ways that we can plan for uncertain times. Then, we’ll look at what

When you first started your business, chances are you were full of hope and wonder, with visions of sunny days, profitable seasons, and an image in your mind that everything is going to run smoothly in the future. By now, of course, you’ve realized that there will be potential problem areas ranging from employee conflicts and inclement weather events to natural disasters and the occasional global pandemic thrown in for good measure.

By now you know that we have to prepare for these types of events. But what kind of planning goes into being ready for unexpected interruptions?

WORKING CAPITAL

We always recommend that operators have a certain amount of working capital set aside as a cushion for the unexpected. This is by far the most important tool in planning for uncertain times—and the easiest to dismiss. It’s so easy to allocate cash on hand to more immediate expenses, like extra tree work or an additional platform, especially in the early stages of the business.

At present, we probably don’t need to explain the importance and value of extra working capital. The trick is to fig-

The second factor is the availability of employees in the area. If it is difficult to hire staff for your business, you will want a larger buffer, in case you cannot open to full capacity at any point during the season.

The third factor is the overall size of your facility. Larger facilities have higher cash demands and greater maintenance needs than smaller ones. Facility costs extend to any attractions that you operate, land that you operate on, and any buildings that you use for check-in, concessions, or other operations.

How much do you need? Working capital needs are based on the business’s monthly fixed expenses, wages of critical staff, and your pay (or at least a portion of it). You can’t help anybody else if you can’t keep yourself above water! Here’s how to figure it: For this example, we assume that you have $40,000 a month in fixed expenses, $15,000 in critical wages, and $10,000 for you as the owner. That brings us to a total of $65,000 a month needed in working capital. At a mini-

FINANCE mum, you want a working capital fund of at least three months—or $195,000 in this case. (Of course, six months’ working capital would be better.)

Here is what the working capital fund for the three potential outcomes in our example would look like: 1. Closed for three months - $195,000 2. Closed for six months - $390,000 3. Closed for 12 months - $780,000 I know, I know. That is a lot of money!

I don’t expect that most of you had all that on opening day. But the goal should be to develop that fund as time goes on and your business begins to grow.

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It’s also worth including some working capital as a line item when you are writing a business plan and applying for financing. While you probably won’t get a full year’s worth, many lenders are understanding and willing to honor a small amount of working capital if it is justified in this way.

BUSINESS INSURANCE

While there is no substitute for a large amount of working capital, there are other steps that you can take to plan for uncertainty. A good insurance policy will take you a long way. In addition to the standard umbrella policies, you should make sure to add business interruption insurance. While this specific type of insurance doesn’t cover pandemics, it can provide financial relief for things like property- or weather-related closures.

LINE OF CREDIT

Additionally, if you are far from achieving your working capital cushion, you may want to apply for an additional line of credit—and start pulling from it before you need it! Many lines of credit dried up just weeks after the closures from COVID-19 began. While you do have to pay back that money in due time, a quick financial infusion could mean the difference between weathering the storm and closing permanently,

particularly for a small business.

While none of these tools is foolproof in and of itself, the right combination of working capital, easy access to a line of credit, and a solid insurance policy could be enough to keep you afloat even during the worst of crises. Most crises, anyway.

PLANNING IN UNCERTAIN TIMES

Everything so far is speculative, based on worst-case planning during better times. Now let’s look at where we are today in the age of COVID-19.

Out of the blue, we are suddenly faced with shutdowns, phased-in reopenings, concerns about a second wave of shutdowns, and a very uncertain future for the adventure industry. And none of that even factors in the additional costs of personal protective equipment (PPE) for staff, additional sanitation practices, and potential loss of revenue due to operating at a lower capacity in order to adhere to social distancing guidelines.

1. Stay informed. The number one action that we can all take is to stay informed. Stay connected with your state and local governments, the Association for Challenge Course Technology, your vendors and distributors, and of course, Adventure Park Insider. All of these sources are striving to figure out what’s next and provide useful information.

you haven’t done so already, you’ll want to take a good hard look at your cash flow. Right now, you probably have a little bit of extra time on your hands.

What better time to go through and really hone your financial skills and knowledge and apply them to your business?

If you’re really feeling up to the task, dig deeper into any subscription-based accounts that you use and see if there are any ancillary services that you can cut—or try negotiating a lower rate.

Even small things like extra domain names that you bought when you were starting the business can add up.

So what can we do to be as prepared as possible for what comes next?

Stay in touch with your bank, too. This is an important partner during uncertain times, especially if you are applying for disaster loans, renegotiating leases, or researching deferred payment options through the SBA. In times like this, relationships matter.

2. Analyze your cash flow. Secondly, if

Go through your bank and credit card statements, and make note of any monthly or yearly subscriptions or software that you no longer use. If you are closed, make sure that your AdWords and other advertising accounts are turned off. You can always “unpause” ad campaigns at a click of a button when you reopen.

Above all, protect your cash! Even a handful of little items can add up to several hundred dollars per month.

3. Communicate with stakeholders.

Our third recommendation is to communicate with your employees, clients, and partners. No one expects you to have all the answers in these uncertain times. Still, it’s important to be as transparent as you can.

If you have a reopening date, let your employees know! If you don’t, that’s okay, too—but make sure that your employees know where you stand, and

27 Summer 2020

So what can we do to be as prepared as possible for what comes next, whatever that may be?

FINANCE

subscribers to unsubscribe.

what your line of thinking is. The more information they have, the more they will trust you, and the more willing they will be to return when you do reopen.

The same is true with your partners.

With customer email, it’s always best to limit your exchanges to one or two quick touch points a month. You can go into greater depth on your website and in social media.

As far as communication with existing clients, you’ll want to keep them in the loop as well, with guidance on things like safety and sanitation, reopening dates, and any new policies that may be in place. The more you can communicate why you are doing what you are doing, the more connected they will feel to the whole experience, and the more likely they will be to come back.

4. Take care of yourself. Finally, it’s important to remember to take care of yourself. Recall the air travel admonition, “Put your own oxygen mask on before helping others.” While we’re probably not spending too much time in the air these days, that analogy has never rung truer.

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The catch here is that you’ll want to be very careful to limit how frequently you communicate, especially via email. I’m sure you’ve been managing a barrage of COVID-related emails lately, from every list you’ve ever subscribed to, and trust us—your customers are experiencing the same! The last thing you want is for your business to get lost in the noise— or worse, add to it, and inspire your

Between the stress of a pandemic and the added challenge of having a bunch of outdoor professionals locked inside for weeks on end, we’re probably all feeling a little bit on edge. But if you don’t take time for yourself, you won’t be at your best to complete any of the steps that we’ve outlined.

So, take breaks. Go out for a hike. Do some living-room yoga. Read a book.

Whatever you need to do to get to your

“happy place.” The importance of that can’t be overlooked.

Above all, be gentle with yourself. None of us are experts in managing the sort of crisis we are experiencing, and we are all just doing the best we can.

CONCLUSION

We don’t want to end this with platitudes like “We’re all in this together” or “It’s time to embrace the new normal.”

There’s not much that’s normal about those of us in the aerial adventure industry! But we are all stronger together, and we can take solace in the way everyone is banding together to share knowledge and best practices, as well as what we’re doing to plan and move forward.

Someday we’ll look back at this and tell the people who come after us about what this time was like. Barefoot, in the snow, uphill, both ways. And then we were punched in the mouth.

MINING FOR ADVENTURE

By Morgan Tilton

Entrepreneurs worldwide are turning old industrial

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grounds into recreation sites and wildlife habitats.

Flying on a zip line through lush treetops high above the wild terrain beneath you certainly spikes an adrenaline rush. Add a massive herd of exotic creatures and the excitement kicks up a notch. Now, it’s like you’ve been dropped into the Maasai Mara National Reserve in Kenya or a scene from Jurassic Park—except the zip line you’re riding is in southeast Ohio.

The Wilds, 80 miles east of Columbus, is a 10,000-acre conservation center on reclaimed coal-mine land. It’s a rare juxtaposition, and precedent for turning old mining sites into healthy, vibrant resources.

“We want to be on the front lines of conservation science and help to protect endangered species, which we do through an innovative expertise in large pastures and big-animal herds that thrive in those spaces,” says The Wilds vice president Dr. Jan Ramer. The nonprofit specializes in the caretaking and research of big-animal herds, and also offers educational programs and unique outdoor experiences for guests, from fishing and horseback riding to zip line safari tours.

The Wilds exemplifies a best-case scenario of reclamation alongside a few other zip line adventure parks also based on reclaimed land. These can provide

extraordinary adventures. However, most—like The Wilds—had to carefully manage their environmental restoration.

There are a number of abandoned sites scattered across the U.S. but nearly all come with complex hurdles.

THE HARD REALITY OF RECLAMATION The biggest challenge is that cleaning up former mine sites typically requires a ton of work, time, and money, says Chris Holmes, public affairs specialist for the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE). This agency, housed within the United States Department of the Interior, works to ensure that citizens and the environment are protected during coal mining and that the land is restored to beneficial use when mining is finished. That work includes assisting The Wilds as it still navigates acid mine

Opposite page and left: Zip World in Wales claims the zip line at Penrhyn Quarry is the fastest in the world. average of 50 feet above the ground.

The tour ends with a 26-foot rappel.

Most of the platforms are free-standing structures, with composite decking and tin roofs attached to utility poles. One platform is built in a tree.

Each guide is trained to the ANSI/ACCT standard in addition to unique local operating procedures. For example, lowering a participant to the ground mid-line requires the presence of animal management personnel. Some of the zip lines traverse large lakes, where an unexpected mid-zip evacuation requires a boat.

drainage on its property.

THE WILDS

An estimated 500,000 abandoned mines exist across the nation, according to the Bureau of Land Management.

In general, reclamation costs are high.

“We’ve handed out billions of dollars in the past 40 years—and there’s $10 billion of work that needs to be done— for coal mining reclamation. The cost of today’s clean-ups falls on the coal mining companies, as required under the law,” explains Holmes.

Ten zip lines and a rappel are built in and around The Wilds’ animal pastures, which are occupied by exotic species such as giraffes and herds of Sichuan takins. The tour is an incredibly rare “flight seeing” experience.

Less complete reclamation work done prior to SMCRA has led to a range of diverse reclamation challenges today, says Sara Eckert, another public affairs specialist for OSMRE. On the positive side, “We see a lot of really incredible things happening when it comes to reclamation benefits. A lot of abandoned mine lands are reclaimed and provide tremendous benefits to the community, including areas for hiking paths, motor sports, cross country and running trails, and water access for fishing and canoeing,” she says.

Here’s a look at two successful aerial adventure projects.

Reclaiming the Land The Central Ohio Coal Company donated this acreage to the non-profit in 1984. The property had been surface mined for coal for four decades. This left the environment with highly acidic mine drainage with concentrations of

The Wilds in Ohio is a 10,000 acre conservation center on reclaimed coal-mine land, featuring ten zip lines.

31 Summer 2020

That law is the 1977 Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA). It requires coal mine operations launched from 1977 on to adequately reclaim land during and following the mining process.

OSMRE also supports reclamation and cleanup of pre-1977 mines, which are typically smaller but far more numerous.

The attraction, which opened in 2011, was designed by Zip Line Creations LLC, which also owns and operates Hocking Hills Canopy Tours near Rockbridge, Ohio. The zip lines range from 200 to 800 feet long and carry riders an

The complete 10-zip-line Safari Tour ($84 per person) lasts several hours, while the abbreviated 5-zip-line Overlook Tour ($54) runs 1.5 hours.

tures, in 1992, was the Przewalski’s horse, a critically endangered animal native to Mongolia. The herd thrived and later was reintroduced in Russia, bringing its recovery full circle. “Our goal is to have assurance herds,” says Ramer. To ensure genetic diversity among endangered species, she notes, The Wilds and other accredited institutions breed and trade various species rather than pull animals from the wild.

The Wilds restored 100 acres of riparian buffer. heavy metals, the result of a chemical reaction that occurs when surface water, such as a pond, mixes with sulfur-bearing rocks.

Over the decades, The Wilds has completed several progressive phases of reclamation, including contouring, topsoil, and erosion control plantings.

A few remnants of the coal mining operations still exist, including high walls left over from mining blasts and digs, and the acid mine drainage on the northern end of the property.

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“The lake has a pH of orange juice. It’s not normal but not horribly acidic,” says Ramer. “The water runs from this lake through a series of about six beaver dams down to a creek. By the time it reaches the creek, the beaver dams have done an appropriate filtration process.”

Scientific research, which has tracked the progress in cleaning the land and water, has been one of the benefits of operating on reclaimed mining land.

Ramer adds, “There’s no one solution with fixing acid run-off. Properly altering high walls requires good engineering, and equipment is used to fill in the landscape or diminish parts of the wall. Our director of restoration ecology works hard with local and federal agencies to address those situations, and we’ve received grants from those governments to help.”

Supporting Endangered Species The first species released to the pas-

Nurturing trees is difficult on reclaimed mine land, due to soil compaction and low nutrients. To create wildlife habitat, The Wilds has restored and established 700 acres of prairies, 20 acres of wetlands, 100 acres of riparian buffer, and 20,000 linear feet of stream.

Researchers are studying several tree establishment techniques with a goal to resurrect forests on reclaimed grassland sites. More than 10,000 tree seedlings have been planted since 2014 for this purpose.

The Wilds has been a costly endeavor, says Ramer, but the positive economic impact has been tremendous for the neighboring communities. The Wilds contributes nearly $15 million to the regional economy through promotion of wildlife conservation, entertainment for travelers, and direct and indirect job support, according to a study by Ohio University.

Powerfan with Zip World’s own braking trolley designed in conjunction with ISC. Including the second, shorter zip, it’s a two-hour experience with a total zipline length of 5,102 feet.

It’s a powerful attraction, too: Nearly 100,000 participants are drawn to ride the Velocity 2 each year.

Sean Taylor, founder and CEO of Zip World, was naturally drawn to the location. His mother lived a handful of miles away from Penrhyn, so he grew up familiar with the site.

“We’re really lucky. Penrhyn is the finest example of using the topographical land of a post-industrial landscape,” says Taylor. “We can’t drill. Our foundations are made of concrete mass on slate tips. We have environmental values and are a stakeholder in the special qualities of Snowdonia National Park, which we border.”

The facilities include free parking, a restaurant and cafe, a viewing platform, another viewing area with picnic benches, pet care (seasonal), a meetings and events venue, a gift shop, and lockers.

The visitor center, called The Adventure Terminal, is a modern building that allows participants to hang out (social distancing permitting) and enjoy a great view of folks zipping down the Velocity 2.

ZIP WORLD Across the Atlantic in the United Kingdom, Zip World recently built a legacy of aerial adventures on old mining grounds throughout North Wales. In 2013, its inaugural location launched at Penrhyn Quarry, near Bethesda, a 400-acre site that was at one time the world’s largest slate quarry. Now, it houses what is billed as the fastest zip line in the world and one of the longest in Europe, the Velocity 2.

Riders can reach speeds of more than 100 mph—up to a record 119 miles per hour—on the longest of two zips that flies 1,640 feet above a turquoise-toned quarry lake. The braking system is a

Llechwedd is the historic mining site where the current Slate Caverns by Zip World exists.

The underground cavern at Zip World’s Slate Caverns features a via ferrata, rope bridges, and 13 zips.

Everything was done by hand, with gun powder, like our predecessors.”

Above ground is Titan, a tour with three separate spans, each with four parallel zips. The two-hour excursion covers a cumulative distance of 6,200 feet. Zip World Caverns is a three-hour underground adventure with 13 zip lines, as well as a via ferrata, rope bridges, and more. A Zip World team of instructors leads each trip and delivers a training session before guests enter the course.

That said, “It’s easier to get the planning done” for constructing an adventure in a mine as opposed to starting from scratch, Taylor says, since it’s already a developed site. And it leaves the surrounding environment untouched, which appeals to him.

The cavern presented some unique challenges. “It was a higher cost to develop, because there was a lot more manpower and it took a lot longer [than our other locations]. We needed to do a lot of geological surveys. We had to install a net [below the ceiling] in case of collapse.

Economic Pluses For each location, Zip World secures a long-term lease, builds at its own cost, and pays the landowner a percent of the turnover. “Private equity has a safety and restoration liability with owning mines.

It’s a lot easier to lease,” explains Taylor.

Zip World has, even more than The Wilds, benefited its local economy. In 2018, North Wales Tourism conducted an economic impact study of Zip World, including the two adventure sites built on reclaimed mining land and a third woodland location. The total annual visitation across all three locations is close to 500,000. Over a five-year period, the company brought $325 million into the

surrounding North Wales economy.

“Our towns and villages are quite deprived post-agricultural and industrial communities,” says Taylor. “We employ 450 staff at the busiest time. We have a headquarters in Llanrwst. Our supply chain—fences, equipment, harnesses, and trolleys—consists mostly of goods that are all made locally. It’s fairly rewarding to be in a position to do that.”

THE BOTTOM LINE Clearly, reclaiming an abandoned or old mine site for recreation or an adventure park isn’t a low-cost or fast process, in most cases. However, investments like these benefit the environmental, cultural, and economic stability of communities that once thrived when the mines were operating.

As The Wilds’ Ramer says, “It takes a champion for a reclamation and conservation effort like this to happen. Other former mines need a champion with the right influence and background to push forward the effort.”

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Above-Ground, Underground Adventures By 2014, Zip World expanded to another site, Slate Caverns. The Caverns sits on a former slate mining site near the town of Blaenau Ffestiniog and offers both underground and above-ground zip lines. The underground cavern is enormous. “You can fit St. Paul’s Cathedral in it,” says Taylor.

CUSTOMER RELATIONS

CANCELLATION POLICIES With COVID-19 complicating the picture, operators seek

BY PETER OLIVER

to accommodate guests’ requests to cancel—without breaking the bank.

The word itself, “cancellation,” resonates with finality. But when it comes to cancellation policies at adventure parks across the country, flexibility is really the name of the game. That’s the consensus of a number of park operators interviewed by Adventure Park Insider, and flexibility has carried extra weight as park operators have revised cancellation policies in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The biggest COVID-19 step is to allow— no, strongly urge—anyone who’s feeling COVID-19 symptoms to stay home. In that case, there’s typically no penalty for cancellation, even at the last minute, and many operators offer a credit.

Some are offering a full refund.

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In general, say those interviewed by API, cancellations are relatively uncommon, and disgruntled customers demanding refunds are rare. Still, with the COVID-19 crisis throwing a wrench into the cancellation works, as it has in other industries, park operators have become more accommodating of these requests. They are prioritizing long-term customer relations over strict enforcement of stated cancellation policies.

That takes commitment. Many states are mandating limits on customer numbers in the early phases of reopening. “A last-minute cancellation would be even more detrimental with such limited capacity,” says Marissa Doyle of Tree to Tree Adventure Park in Oregon.

Still, anything is better than being fully shut down.

THE PRICE OF PR What airlines, major hotel chains, and other hospitality businesses have determined is that a key to surviving the pandemic is maintaining good customer relations and loyalty that will fortify business when the crisis is over.

Relaxing strict cancellation policies has been a good place to start.

That’s not entirely new to the aerial adventure world. “Softness,” as Sara Bell, co-owner of The Gorge zip line and Green River Adventures in North Carolina puts it, in applying cancellation policies has long been a common practice in the adventure park industry.

That’s largely due to the fact that most parks are independent entities, unlike an airline or hotel chain with global reach. With no corporate hegemony to dictate unyielding cancellation rules, modifying or relaxing policies on the fly is relatively easy.

But any softness in relaxing cancellation terms doesn’t mean that a well-defined and generally adhered-to policy shouldn’t be in place. The operative concept: establish and clearly state a cancellation policy, but under certain circumstances be willing to make concessions.

within that two- to three-day window, all bets are off—customers forfeit their reservation fees.

GIVING CREDIT Outdoor Ventures, which operates seven parks in eastern locations, takes a slightly different approach. Payment in full is required upon making a reservation, with credit given for unused reservations right up to the scheduled time of arrival.

VP of operations Micah Salazar explains that Outdoor Ventures parks rely heavily on local business, much of it repeat business, with bookings often made close to the arrival date. Being liberal with a near-to-arrival-date credit policy, he says, is an important part of maintaining a good standing within local communities that produce frequent repeat customers. A park that leans more heavily toward destination-travel business, where typically one-time visitors book well ahead of arrival, might not be so willing to abide last-minute changes.

FLEXING THE POLICY

VARIATIONS ON A THEME

But back to the business of flexibility.

“We allow managers complete discretion on a case by case basis” to bend policy terms, says Salazar.

If there is a typical policy applied throughout the adventure park industry, interviews conducted by API suggest something like this: full payment upon making a reservation, with full refunds, either in cash or in the form of future credit, available for cancellation up to 48 or 72 hours prior to arrival. Once

Variations on that general approach are applied by other park operators. A big reason for being flexible is simply to keep as many customers as possible happy.

Given the weight that online reviews carry in consumer decision-making, avoiding a bad review is “financially more valuable than sticking to a policy,” says Bell.

Avoiding refunds. A few flexibility principles do apply, and chief among them is “try to stay away from refunds, if possible,” as Ruthie Lile of Granite Insurance puts it. Picture Paul Dooley as a used-car dealer in the great cycling film, Breaking Away, repeating the word, “refund,” with deranged incredulity after a nervous breakdown. Reaching into the till for refunds can drive the owner of any business crazy—it means relinquishing revenue that is already in the bank.

If anything of value needs to be returned to compensate a customer for a cancellation or an unused reservation, the preferred tactic is to steer a customer toward a voucher or credit. And even

A big reason for being flexible is simply to keep as many customers as possible happy. that is something to proffer frugally.

Korey Hampton, co-owner of French Broad Adventures in North Carolina, offers vouchers if a cancellation is made within 72 hours, and is willing to be flexible with refunds “on a case by case basis.” But the time of the year factors in. If two people in April cancel late in the game, she says, they might be extended a refund if requested. But 40 people on the Fourth of July? “No way in hell,” says Hampton.

especially when final group numbers might not be determined until shortly before an event date.

GROUP THINKING

A typical group policy might require a 50-percent deposit upon booking, with the balance paid after the final group number is known closer to the arrival date. Nick Thompson, owner of CLIMB Works, which operates parks in Hawaii and Tennessee, says his policy is to require any group of 15 or more to make a non-refundable deposit of 50 percent at the time of booking, with the balance due 48 hours prior to arrival.

Most parks apply slight variations on their basic policies for larger groups,

Part of the challenge with groups, of course, is that the final group number

35 Summer 2020

Dylan Burt, manager of Quarry Park Adventures in California, agrees. “We want [customers] to come back to the park and have a positive experience,” he says, and being punitive in enforcing a cancellation policy defeats that purpose. That’s especially true at a place like Quarry Park, which relies heavily on local, repeat customers.

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often isn’t known until shortly before arrival. Plus, with weight limits on certain activities, parks oftentimes need to nix some participants on arrival when they tip the scales above or below the weight requirement.

Be clear in stating your policy, be firm in applying it, but be willing, in the interest of maintaining good customer relations, to make exceptions.

That’s one reason why Green River Adventures and The Gorge are willing to “customize payment plans for groups we’re familiar with, especially summer camps,” says Bell. For some organizations that might return frequently, she says, she’ll bill at the end of the month, after final numbers have been tabulated.

at least he was able to recoup a portion of that lost revenue ($30,000) through an event-cancellation clause in his insurance coverage.

WHEN THE PARK CANCELS

COMMUNICATING THE POLICY

Of course, it is a whole different issue when a park is forced to cancel reservations, as many have because of pandemic-related closures, rather than a guest cancelling. Thompson reports that pandemic-related cancellations have necessitated refunds in the neighborhood of $100,000 at each of CLIMB Works’ two locations. He says he was forced to cancel one large corporate group of roughly 1,000 participants, but

According to Burt, a cancellation policy needs to be articulated in at least three places: on a park’s website; by the booking agent when taking a reservation; and in a confirmation email delivered after booking.

That can become complicated, however, if a reservation is made through a partner of a park, e.g., a lodging establishment, that might have a slightly dif-

ferent cancellation policy. CLIMB Works, for example, partners with other area attractions, such as a Polynesian cultural center in Hawaii, and a rafting company in Tennessee. Thompson’s solution to any variance between cancellation policies is simple: go by the policy stated by whichever company made the booking.

Balancing act. So the guidance on cancellation policies, from park operators interviewed by API, is three-pronged: Be clear in stating your policy; be firm in applying it; but be willing, in the interest of maintaining good customer relations, to make exceptions. The idea is to find an ideal balance between finality and flexibility.

HOW TO SANITIZE YOUR GEAR

BY MORGAN TILTON

An array of solutions exist to help keep gear clean and COVID-free,

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though there is no silver bullet.

Operators in the aerial adventure industry are grappling with the reality of COVID-19 and the sanitation measures needed to stem transmission of the virus. Countless touchpoints and shared equipment—such as harnesses and helmets—made of materials that can’t just be cleaned with any ol’ chemical puts sanitizing and disinfecting at the top of the list of challenges to overcome as restrictions ease and doors gradually reopen.

Many park owners must consider a spectrum of guidelines including city, county, state, or national mandates—some more strict than others. Some jurisdictions choose to carry absolutely no coronavirus safety requirements at all.

There is one unified conclusion among experts, though, regarding park sanitization: there is no blanket solution that will work for every single park, piece of equipment, and installation.

THE SIMPLEST SOLUTION? Soap and water have long been the recommended cleaning agent for aerial operations, and that hasn’t changed with COVID-19. A gentle wash with lukewarm water and soap can clean harnesses and a variety of surfaces and remove the threat of coronavirus.

International Safety Components (ISC), for example, which designs and manufacturers work-at-height safety equipment for a variety of industries, recommends

cleaning its products with soap or mild detergent and water that is 104ºF. Then, most sources agree, the gear should be rinsed with cold water and airdried in a well-ventilated area. It should be put back into use only after it is thoroughly dry. That can take several hours or a day, of course, which has its limitations.

But even if washing is doable, there’s no hard conclusion on the quantity and type of soap or duration of washing, says Edelrid distributor and Tree-mendous CEO Gerhard Komenda.

Another option may be to simply let the gear dry if it’s damp from sweat or rain, and thus allow any coronavirus to die.

Unfortunately, there’s little agreement

IT’S COMPLICATED So, while the means to sanitize and disinfect gear exists, it isn’t always practical. “There isn’t a simple solution.

Not having an answer has become an answer in its own right,” says Iain Ridehalgh, senior sales manager at ISC. Ridehalgh is also a director of the Work at Height Safety Association (WAHSA), an association in the U.K. that sets standards for manufacturers and codes of practice for equipment use. Following the COVID-19 outbreak, Ridehalgh also became chairperson of an industry effort internally dubbed the “Vertex working group,” a collective of adventure park stakeholders who are analyzing ways park operations can mitigate the risks of coronavirus transmission.

“We’ve been collecting recommendations for operators for how to disinfect [protective equipment]. We’ve learned that it will not be possible to find a common thread, because there’s such a wide array of advice for different chemicals that don’t apply to all instances,” says Ridehalgh.

Follow manufacturer guidelines. Operators will need to reach out to manufacturers regarding how to disinfect each respective piece of protective equipment on site. The next step is to determine if those specific cleaning procedures are safe, repeatable, and realistic for their operation.

“Some of the guidance might be productive in killing the coronavirus, but it might not be practical in a working environment,” says Ridehalgh. He explains that operators need to do a thorough

cross-assessment of chemical usage.

For example, when bleach is used for general cleaning, controls need to be in place to protect employees, such as wearing gloves. If the cleaning product is aggressive, there needs to be ventilation, breathing protection, and masks.

Isopropyl Alcohol: Pros and Cons Clearly, as equipment is cleaned to stifle the spread of COVID-19, overall safety management is crucial. Isopropyl alcohol (or isopropanol) is an effective disinfectant that many manufacturers say is safe to use on harnesses (and many other materials and surfaces). Isopropanol works relatively quickly, too: it only takes about 30 seconds to defeat the coronavirus.

Edelrid is one company that recommends isopropyl alcohol to clean equipment, says Komenda. “Edelrid ran stress tests on harnesses with repeated treatment of isopropyl alcohol, and found there was no tangible weakening of the material,” he says. “You need to use a [mixture] that is 70 percent isopropanol.”

Pure 100 percent isopropanol evaporates too quickly to be effective, and “if you have less than 60 percent, [sanitizing] becomes pointless,” Komenda says.

He notes that 70-proof isopropanol can be purchased, or that distilled water can be manually mixed with pure isopropanol to achieve the 30/70 ratio.

For hard surface or non-porous gear— including plastic or metal items such as helmets, smart belays, and buckles—operators can use a spray bottle of the isopropanol mixture to coat and wipe down the gear, says Komenda. “You don’t want any droplets to become a film.”

No isopropanol on fiber ropes! Take note: isopropyl alcohol may weaken fiber ropes, according to research completed

by Teufelberger, a manufacturer of steel wire and fiber ropes and plastic strapping.

“Static ropes are either polyester or a mix of nylon and polyester. Slings are Dyneema,” a composite fabric, says Rob Manson, the segment manager for life safety and recreation ropes at Teufelberger. The company took ropes with each of those constructions and soaked

them in 30-percent distilled water and 70-percent isopropyl alcohol mixture, and then dried the ropes using standard wash guidelines.

“We saw a 2- to 4-percent strength loss with each type of rope,” says Manson, and adds, “Using antibacterial wipes along the length of the rope would be less impact, but not as effective [at extinguishing coronavirus] as a thorough soak. The caveat is: we don’t know what the long-term impact of these cleaning methods would be.”

Mason says Teufelberger plans to continue these tests when alcohol and disinfectant wipes become more available so the company can produce a definitive rope-cleaning guideline, “but the medical field needs these supplies more than we do right now,” he says.

STEAM CLEANING Commercial steaming units are another purifier to consider, according to Bahman Azarm, CEO at Outdoor Ventures, which operates seven aerial adventure parks, and Ropes Park Equipment, which manufactures and supplies a variety of products for aerial adventure operations.

“We purchased a commercial steaming unit, and we are a manufacturer of harnesses that we use at our own parks, so we were able to do testing on our own product,” says Azarm. “These steaming units are used for disinfecting hospitals, and cleaning services use them to clean grout.”

For harnesses, though, Azarm says, “We use the steaming unit at a very low pressure, at a very high temperature (220-230ºF). And we use a dry steam, so that we don’t get the material wet.”

Outdoor Ventures also produced a video for customers to learn about new health and safety protocols used in its parks.

“It is just as important to show your customers we are doing these things to protect them, so they feel good about wanting to come to the park,” he says.

Will New Solutions Emerge?

Other, creative solutions could be in the works. How soon they will be

39 Summer 2020

regarding how long the coronavirus can survive on various surfaces. During the Adventure Park Insider International Huddle in late May, Pit Bangerter of the Swiss Adventure Park Association noted (with mild surprise) that authorities there approved the group’s proposal for a 12-hour drying-out time between uses. However, as Steve Woods of Vertex Instructor Training, a European provider of training and consultancy for off-ground activities noted, studies show the virus can survive for up to 72 hours on some surfaces.

available—if at all—is uncertain. Here are two ideas percolating in the aerial adventure realm: Hydrogen peroxide fogger. Zip line builder Xtreem Ziplines is developing a machine that uses a hydrogen peroxide solution to safely disinfect gear in any work environment in just five minutes, according to company president Craig W. Dick.

Imagine a customized rack on wheels inside a portable room, Dick explains: “You load the racks with the configuration you purchased—it could be helmets, bags, and harnesses, for instance.

You open the front doors, push the rack in, sensors signify it’s in the right position, the doors lock, the machine runs through its cycle—it creates a dry fog—and then a dehumidifier runs.”

Then, you pull the rack out from the backside of the portable room and the gear is disinfected.

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The hydrogen peroxide solution is EPA-approved, non-corrosive, and kills 99.99 percent of all germs, including

coronavirus, according to Dick. Xtreem Ziplines is working on becoming a distributor of the solution, which is said to be clear-drying, and does not require a rinse or leave a residue, Dick adds.

Dick expects the first prototype to be complete by the end of July. If it proves effective, the final product, he believes, could be ready for the market soon thereafter.

Disinfecting “grenade.” In France, “a lot of [adventure] parks are waiting for Desinfectant One Shot Total to become available on the market again—it’s sold out. I think it’s the best option for adventure parks to clean equipment,” says Challenge Access owner, technical director, and designer Jean-Michel Sarrazin.

Sarrazin describes the product as “a canister that acts like a grenade. You diffuse it inside a closed room to quickly sanitize everything inside, and use a fan to evacuate all of the air afterwards.”

According to Sarrazin the process takes a mere 15 minutes, and is used in hospitals and ambulances.

While that sounds promising, it’s not likely to be available in the U.S. anytime soon. “The disinfectant doesn’t exist in the U.S., and would be very complicated to bring here, because it’s a chemical product,” Sarrazin says.

Do Your Research Finally, operators should check with their local jurisdictions to ensure their procedures meet any new requirements, says Association for Challenge Course Technology (ACCT) executive director Shawn Tierney. Operators will need to tailor their health and safety plans to fit their specific regulations, circumstances, and customers.

For direction, operators can visit the online resource map on the ACCT website, where they can access COVID-19 resources. In addition, Scott Andrews, policy director for ACCT, recommends that all operators review the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines, as well as the United States Department of Labor “Guidance on Preparing Workplaces for COVID-19.”

SOFTWARE SOLUTIONS

CONTACTLESS TRANSACTIONS By encouraging advance online reservations and

Singenuity platform

payment, the coronavirus is accelerating a welcome transition.

BY JENNIFER ROWAN

As adventure parks and challenge courses look ahead to reopening, the challenges of providing safe customer and employee journeys during the COVID-19 pandemic are daunting, to say the least. There are distancing dilemmas, sanitation hurdles, and risk management issues. But one situation is well in hand—contactless payments and waiver-signing.

We spoke to several operators and suppliers about the systems that allow for these sanitary transactions and whether their capabilities meet the current COVID-19 demands. What we found is that folks are rising to the challenge in some incredibly creative ways, including adding new features that address capacity and contact tracing.

PLANNING AHEAD IS THE NEW NORMAL

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If there is a silver lining to the health crisis, it’s that consumers are becoming accustomed to completing transactions in advance. From clothing to ice cream cones, retailers are requiring customers to manage much of their ordering, reserving, and purchasing using mobile

apps and online services to ensure that all transactions are conducted as safely as possible.

For adventure parks and challenge course operations, this has long been the brass ring for customer relationship management (CRM). Through CRM, operators can drive revenue, capture valuable data, improve the customer experience, and better manage expectations. Yet, even at those operations that have had mobile and online booking in place for years, consumers were slow to adopt the technology.

“Walk-in bookings have become popular in recent years,” says Michael Smith, president of AdventureSmith, Inc., and ArborTrek at Smugglers’ Notch, Vt. Now, that has to change. “Based upon the guidance we have received for numbers of customers that will be allowed in a retail facility per square foot, we would not be able to accept walk-ins,” Smith says.

Instead, the operation will encourage guests to use its online booking system—Resmark Systems—to complete their financial transactions and paperwork procedures well in advance.

Resmark not only offers a contactless solution, but its dashboard provides a wealth of information.

To enforce this, “We would have an information person in the parking lot advising customers who could then book on the phone, or present information to a staff member who can enter the information on a tablet,” Smith says. “Customers would need to show that they have paid and signed all waivers before leaving the parking lot and entering the property.”

TAKING WAIVERS TO THE NEXT LEVEL There’s no shortage of suppliers that offer great reservation and digital waiver products, and most adventure parks and challenge courses have availed themselves of these for years.

(If you haven’t, there’s a handy sidebar on p. 46 that lists many of the suppliers that specialize in booking systems for recreation providers.)

Under these unprecedented circumstances, these same suppliers are taking contactless transactions to the next level by removing even more touchpoints.

“Guests are reminded before they arrive to fill out their waivers on their own device so they don’t have to touch paper, pens, or a shared tablet,” says

Checkfront waivers can be sent via automated emails before arrival.

Adam Thompson, head of business development for Singenuity. “If guests do not fill out a waiver before they arrive, they can scan a QR code and pull up the waiver on their personal mobile device.”

While this technology was already in place, Singenuity now populates the QR code on its self-service kiosks, eliminating the need for customers to print the QR code or to have to use tablets.

Singenuity uses QR codes to place waivers in the hands of users via their cell phones.

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InTouch Technology offers two primary channels for reserving, payment processing, and waiver signing: online or on

A QUICK LOOK AT THE STATE OF FINTECH IN THE UNITED STATES While it may seem like only yesterday that credit card companies ditched the magnetic stripe in favor of chip technology, the United States is still woefully behind the rest of the world when it comes to contactless payment systems. That said, mobile tap-to-pay technology is fast gaining traction, and the current COVID-19 crisis may accelerate this transition.

The most popular examples of contactless payment systems include: • Apple Pay • Apple Cash • Apple Card • Google Pay • Google Card • Samsung Pay • Cash App (by Square) • Venmo (by Paypal)

At the heart of contactless payment systems is near-field communication (NFC), which turns a smartphone into an electronic wallet (e-wallet) using short-range radio waves. In order for this technology to work, customers need to have the appropriate app on their phone, and the business needs to have the necessary reader.

Customers who are savvy about tapto-pay technology often have several apps on their phone, which allows them to switch between payment methods depending upon which systems the business offers. It’s worth posting the payment methods you support on your website.

site. After customers make a reservation, they’re directed to an electronic waiver system in a subsequent email. If customers opt to use the electronic waiver system, they simply present the waiver

on their mobile device when they arrive (the operator also has a copy in its files).

“If the customer chooses not to do any transactions online, it moves to a tablet

At The Flybook, contactless waivers have long been in use. “Folks sign waivers ahead of their reservations, and that waiver is automatically associated with their reservation,” says The Flybook’s Megan Langer. “If for some reason they forgot, the operator can easily send them a text message with the waiver link, which they can sign from their phone.”

with cash or credit card payments on site. Since most customers have paid in advance for their visit, the transactions in question are those upselling opportunities, such as merchandise and photos.

Left: InTouch provides online waivers, among other actions. Right: The Flybook’s system can connect a credit card to a client record, which can be accessed via a QR code on a wristband.

Many of the suppliers that we spoke to say that EMV (chip technology developed by Europay, Mastercard, and Visa) terminals and token-based systems are going to completely eliminate the need for any contact while paying. EMV chip cards allow tap-to-pay transactions that don’t require pin numbers or signatures (see sidebar on opposite page).

token of which can be downloaded onto a wristband, phone, or RFID card to be used around the park.

CASH AND CARDS ARE DIRTY MONEY With waivers filled out, the next step in contactless transactions is doing away

Many of the suppliers we spoke to offer token-based systems that store a customer’s credit card information, a

“You can now associate a credit card to a client record, and then associate that client record to the wristband QR code,” says Langer. “To charge the wristband, an app or handheld scanner is used to process the purchase at the point of the upsell—at the giant swing or snack bar, for example.”

Singenuity offers the same capabilities,

45 Summer 2020

device [on site],” says Casey Parliament, president of InTouch. “They can use their finger or a stylus at this point to complete the transaction.”

which can be used around the park, including the purchase of photos. “Guests can scan a QR code that allows them to view or purchase their photos using their personal mobile device,” says Thompson. “And we’re adding the QR code to our self-service kiosk app so the client doesn’t need to print the code out.”

CONTACT TRACING AND CAPACITY CONTROL Going beyond contactless transactions,

InTouch is working on integrating contact tracing and capacity control to meet the new realities imposed by COVID-19.

According to InTouch’s Parliament, the goals of these applications are to: •P rovide a simple, but reliable, solution to support contact tracing.

•R ecord when guests and/or staff enter and exit a defined zone.

•E nsure that guest/staff have provided necessary contact details before accessing a zone.

•P rovide accurate reporting for contact tracing.

•P rovide an accurate count of guests in a given zone to restrict access, if necessary.

To accomplish these objectives, these applications rely on a combination of fixed, portable, and mobile readers to collect the information.

As we aim to provide personalized recreational opportunities while maintaining our distance, it’s good to know that technology can help us bridge the gap.

Rezgo is another service offering contactless solutions.

SOFTWARE SUPPLIER LIST Adventure Office www.adventureoffice.com Checkfront www.checkfront.com Fareharbor www.fareharbor.com The Flybook www.theflybook.com High Trek www.hightrekpos.com

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Intouch www.connectintouch.com Peek www.peek.com Resmark www.resmarksystems.com Rezgo.com www.rezgo.com Singenuity www.singenuity.com Wherewolf www.getwherewolf.com

GETTING BACK TO WORK Being on a high performing team can counteract the stress we are all enduring.

As the fog lifts and the skies brighten, leaders will naturally turn their attention from the processes and procedures necessary to run the business to the people who must now make it all happen. Furloughed, laid-off, and COVID-recovering employees are out there waiting. They have missed work, but have they missed working?

SOMETHING’S MISSING AT WORK

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The definition of normal has been shattered. As we try to put it back together, we realize a few pieces are missing.

There’s a persistent worry about the fragility of the human species. Our risk mitigation approaches—and customers’ perceptions of our approaches—are now connected to keeping humanity alive. The world will no longer be about “complying with regulations,” but rather will steer toward a shared responsibility for the well-being and safety of others.

Employees are not the same today as when they left. In fact, no one’s the same. Many had 2020 mapped out and were rather optimistic. However, when it all came screeching to a halt, fear and stress kicked in. Loss of income or job was made worse because there was no end in sight.

Prospective employees, too, have endured an extended period of chronic stress. This has very real physical impacts on people—it leads to increased cortisol levels, accelerated cellular death, decreased brain function in the prefrontal cortex (where memory resides), lower immune system responsiveness, and more.

Guests—who also experienced chronic stress—now have different expectations of every single living, working, or playing space they occupy. While they certainly miss playing outside, their outdoor experience expectations now include their need to feel safe and cared for by those who work at the outdoor businesses they visit. They will be looking through a refocused lens to see that the employees understand and take seriously the health needs of guests.

WHAT HASN’T CHANGED? But there’s one important thing that hasn’t changed: Employees need clarity and a connection to purpose.

And while the pandemic has given us chaos and uncertainty, businesses are purpose-built to provide employees with clarity, and business leaders are positioned to deliver it. Doing so is not just good business—it’s a generous, empathetic act of leadership that reduces chronic stress and its impacts.

Research shows that being on a high-performing team—where you experience a state of “flow”—actually counteracts the effects of chronic stress. A high-performing team is one that: a) produces work that meets or exceeds the needs of the team’s “client” (or whomever the team is working for); b) becomes increasingly capable over time; and c) creates individual growth and development for each member as a result of being on the team.

BY PAUL THALLNER CEO, High Peaks Group

though they may not be sure what to expect, they probably aren’t expecting things to be exactly the same. That’s both good and bad.

It’s good because leaders now have a “clean slate” opportunity to reset group and organizational norms. However, it’s also challenging, because employees will be sensitive to anything that feels threatening, unsafe, or risky.

Empathy will be critical in the months ahead to ensure workplaces are safe for people to express their worries without reprisal. Leaders will be encountering people who have truly suffered. In fact, they should assume prospective employees, returning furloughed or laid-off workers, and others have been personally touched by COVID-19.

One industry insider who recently had a COVID-19 scare wondered if our aerial adventure parks are truly ready to engage with employees and guests who’ve had (or may have) COVID.

POST-COVID INTERACTIONS

This person, who will remain anonymous, said: “We need to be able to set our businesses up to toggle between COVID threat levels and our responses to those as it becomes required. We need to continue developing a work culture of respect, compassion, and risk management, and continue to educate our staff and our clients. We need to collaborate more with competitors in our industry as well as align and get involved in making our community groups safer and more respectful of each other.

As people return to the workplace, they are expecting a new normal. Even

“We have all experienced a form of trauma during this pandemic, and

EXAMPLE Every time a person joins or leaves a team, it becomes a new team. So, maintaining stable team membership will remain a challenge as long as there’s economic and health uncertainty. Teams can overcome this and stay effective by regularly reminding themselves of the six conditions, or even by relaunching the team as needed.

CONDITION 2 - The team needs a purpose that is clear, compelling, and consequential.

A team purpose is specific to the work the team is commissioned to do. Don’t confuse team purpose with a more general “vision” statement or with the company’s overall mission.

CONDITION 3 - The right people have to be on the team. They can think in terms of the overall organization, have the ability to work collaboratively, and behave in generative (rather than derailing) ways.

A diverse group of team players with a range of experience, expertise, and points of view has the greatest potential to deliver innovative results. They require more clarity and coaching around the six conditions than homogenous teams.

CONDITION 4 - The team has a solid structure including the right size, doing meaningful team tasks, and shared norms of conduct.

Knowing the difference between a team and a group is important. Bosses often pull large groups together in an effort to be efficient and inclusive, but very large teams are rarely effective.

CONDITION 5 - The team operates within a supportive context, which means there are appropriate rewards, access to information and resources, and the right skills/education to do the job.

Appropriately resourced teams do better. This includes teams that have PPE, clear COVID guidelines, and support from their bosses.

CONDITION 6 - The team has access to expert team coaching from either an internal or external person who monitors and provides feedback on the way the team works.

Team coaching tends to have only a small effect on teams that are weak in the other five conditions. However, a welllaunched team can dramatically accelerate performance when a coach provides feedback on the way the team works.

now we have to focus on our personal healing and do our best to contribute to the healing of our communities and the aerial adventure industry.”

As leaders think about how to interact with their employees, there are a number of common behaviors to avoid. The following behaviors erode trust, create doubt in the minds of others, demonstrate a lack of empathy, and make your organization more likely to have higher voluntary turnover.

PITFALLS TO AVOID 1. Don’t make it all about the leader.

When employees finally come back, they will not want to hear how hard it was for their leader to work with a skeleton crew to keep things going while they were “getting paid to do nothing.”

That’s not only tone-deaf, it assumes that employees would rather not work.

2. Don’t avoid talking about the pandemic’s impact on people. Leaders will want to get down to business, and they should. However, leaders can’t stick their heads in the sand and pretend the pandemic didn’t happen. People will want to share their stories and process their experience as a way to confirm the

workplace is safe and humane. Set some limits, but don’t avoid it altogether.

3. Don’t make busy work for its own sake. There are a lot of reasons this is a bad idea, but post-pandemic, people will be hyper-focused on how their skills and talent are being used in the organization. They may be more susceptible to speculating about being fired. Giving them meaningless busy work will only fuel those thoughts.

4. Don’t underestimate employees’ range of skills. By now, every leader (hopefully) has seen people step up to go above and beyond in helping the business. There are thousands of “Apollo 13” stories out there where people with very limited resources made incredible things happen. Leaders who see beyond a person’s job role and provide opportunities to leverage a range of skills will likely have thriving, adaptive teams prepared for ongoing uncertainty.

5. Don’t forget, abandon, or fail to articulate the vision. Leaders who focus too closely on the day-to-day tasks can end up extending the feeling of stress and frustration by micro managing. Successful leaders specify the ends and leave the means up to their teams. Spend

time restating your vision, and let teams self-organize/self-govern to ensure the company heads in that direction.

STRUCTURES TO HELP WORK WORK In addition to exhibiting the self-discipline to avoid those five pitfalls, leaders will also need to ensure teams are set up for success when they return. Employees will need and want clarity and structure in order to feel fully engaged in their work. How can you do that quickly?

There are six structural elements research has shown increase the chances that teams will have great results and deliver outstanding performance. In fact, these six conditions predict up to 80 percent of a team’s performance effectiveness. Take a closer look at them in the chart, above.

As you plan to reopen, you will find and hire outstanding individuals, but that doesn’t guarantee team success and business results. Getting the six conditions established in all your teams is a valuable investment to ensure focused team performance, especially during our ongoing period of volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity.

49 Summer 2020

TEAM CONDITION CONDITION 1 - The team must be a real team that is bounded (meaning it’s clear who is/isn’t on the team), stable (meaning the membership stays intact over a period of time), and interdependent (meaning the members share accountability for the purpose).

Digital training isn’t new, but now it’s becoming a necessity.

TAKE YOUR

TRAINING

By Katie Brinton

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Traditional ways of doing business became immediately untenable when the coronavirus pandemic forced us out of our offices and into our homes. Across all sectors, the need for digital transformation took on new urgency.

The adventure park business model tends toward the tactile, but as operators look for ways to minimize person-to-person contact in the short term and develop long-term efficiencies, there are gains to be had by going digital in some areas of operation. Staff training is a good place to start, and the e-learning space is filled with tools to support the transition.

WHAT CAN BE DONE ONLINE? A wide range of training topics translate to digital platforms. “The sky’s the limit,” says Ingo Albrecht, head of business development for Be A Better Guide, an online training service for tour guides and operators.

“Things that you can and should be moving online are processes and procedures, product descriptions, soft skills coaching, and any company-specific stuff like brand training, company roles, FAQs, route maps, and tour scripts,” says Albrecht.

Certain topics transfer to digital more easily than others. When the National

Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) began developing e-learning programs back in 2010, it started with fields like wilderness medicine and risk services. “The classroom nature of these programs lends itself to online learning opportunities more readily,” says Sandy Chio, NOLS marketing and admissions director.

IAAPA has also begun translating its indoor intensives to online platforms.

“Since the global COVID-19 crisis, we have been working to provide even more opportunities by offering virtual editions of core IAAPA programs, such as the IAAPA Safety Institute and the IAAPA Institute for Attractions Managers,” says Reno Deschaine, VP of global education.

Training goes online post-COVID. Computer screen image courtesy of The Gorge

ONLINE Make it COVID specific. The shifting guidelines around COVID-19 best practices and policies are on every operator’s mind right now. Online FAQs and training are smart ways operators can equip staff to deal with common COVID questions guests may ask once business resumes.

Health and safety guidelines “are topics

where the knowledge can be delivered in an online course and in practice we keep each other accountable, letting people know, ‘Oh, your mask has slipped,’ or ‘you touched that high touch point,’” says Alexis Webb-Bechtold, a 24year veteran of the adventure industry and founder of X37 Adventures.

Digital training as primer. Boyd finds e-learning useful for initial training of hands-on scenarios, like how to hook a guest up to a zip line. “In these scenarios, we use the digital training as a primer for the hands-on training,” he says.

This is called the flipped classroom model, says Dr. Trey Bechtold, director of online course development for MBTS,

a higher education institution. “The theory behind the flipped model is that [in-person] classroom time is better spent with the students practicing with the information they’ve already received instead of listening to a lecture.”

“This philosophy is a perfect correlation for us,” says Webb-Bechtold, who, together with husband Trey, is looking at developing a digital training consulting service aimed at adventure industry operators.

“Being able to deliver the information that isn’t experiential online allows us to maximize in-person time to focus on the stuff that is experiential,” she says.

Get creative. When considering what must be experiential and what can

51 Summer 2020

Processes and procedures. NH-FUN, which owns and operates Whale’s Tale Waterpark and Alpine Adventures in New Hampshire, started developing its digital training years ago with topics like orientation, bloodborne pathogens, and lockout/tagout. “These topics lend themselves to video/digital training,” says COO Matt Boyd.

be coached online, creativity is key.

Byron Bell, general manager of The Forge: Lemont Quarries, a large-scale adventure park scheduled to open outside of Chicago this summer, says that “because of COVID, I’ve been really fortunate to be involved in a lot of really creative digital trainings. We are trying to see how far we can go with what we can digitize in our own training.”

Hands-on at home. “One thing we are struggling to map onto a digital space is the actual manipulation of the equipment,” says Bell. He may ship retired rope to staff so they can utilize it during a virtual training session.

Teamwork in isolation. Bell is also developing digital teambuilding. He was inspired by the Cotopaxi Questival, in which Bell and other members of his leadership team participated in an online scavenger hunt using an app.

“Our process was really collaborative and indicative of the way we work as a team, even though we were all working from our own homes,” he says. “And we thought we could take this idea and do it with our employees to create substantive teambuilding activities without them having to be in the same physical space.”

DIGITAL LIMITATIONS

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There are some aspects of training that will likely never move entirely online.

“Anything life-critical would be inappropriate for an online format and needs to be taught and confirmed in person,” says Rachel Robinson, director of training at Signature Research, Inc. Deb Kulcsar, an adjunct at Red Rocks Community College who teaches outdoor education, discovered digital’s limitations firsthand when she had to move a challenge course facilitator intensive online due to COVID-19. “The actual experience of leading a real group was hard to translate,” she says, including the practical application of facilitation skills, how to perform an emotional rescue, and how to make decisions on your feet.

Speed the curve. But online training isn’t there to completely replace in-person training. The idea is to speed that learning curve. “Online training is more of an opportunity to set foundational concepts

Be prepared to pivot when some ideas don’t work or fail to translate. and knowledge, that then enhances and supports the hands-on training time,” says Robinson.

TRAINING GAINS There are significant benefits to moving elements of your staff training online.

Consistency. Digital training means that all trainees get the same exact message.

Boyd says this clear digital messaging adds to on-site consistency as well: “It keeps our trainers accountable to training toward the same standard.”

Blend the best. On-site training often relies on trainers with varying levels of experience and expertise. “An online program can take the best of all your trainers,” notes Albrecht.

Flexibility. Pre-recorded digital training can be conducted on demand. “You don’t have to wait until all your staff are on site. You can onboard them as soon as they are hired,” says Albrecht. In some cases it allows staff to engage with learning when and how they would like to.

This flexibility has been important to IAAPA. “Technology and virtual learning provide ways to offer education across time zones and continents,” says Deschaine.

Documentation. Digital training platforms provide automatic record keeping, too.

When NH-FUN developed online training, “our insurance companies were excited,” says Boyd. “You get consistency and lots of documentation. It’s an easier way to guarantee the training has been done.”

Check for understanding. What about the common claim that trainees “check out” when e-learning? It may sometimes happen, but, says Dr. Bechtold, “not all online learning is the same. And online learning done right requires students to engage, because the student can’t possibly complete the module without doing something with that information.”

Many digital platforms make it easy to track progress and check for understanding. An operator or trainer is able to see that someone has gone through the whole program and understood it. That same level of control isn’t always there in a hands-on setting.

Cover more content. Kulcsar says moving her course online “allowed for a lot more in-depth discussion and for us to cover more content than when we do things hands-on.”

Learning styles. One of the major critiques of digital training is that it doesn’t cater to the hands-on learner. But, says Boyd, “in terms of the learning styles piece, if our primary employee wasn’t a Gen Zer, I’d have more concerns about that. The age bracket that we generally hire, they are accustomed to that type of learning.”

And, because this technology is so ubiquitous, particularly in the midst of the pandemic, Robinson sees digital training as a way of “meeting people where they are at right now.”

Company culture. There’s no mandate that e-learning must be boring. Well formatted digital training can showcase company culture, says Albrecht, noting that a well put together video “can pump you up, make you feel part of a community, and get you invested.”

Preparedness. “Our world is more aware of the possibilities of what can be done digitally. I do think there are opportunities,” says Robinson. “But we also can’t throw the baby out with the bathwater.

There are still really crucial reasons to continue in-person training.”

Bell’s theory, though, for employees undergoing digital training, is that, “regardless of COVID, they are going to be so much better prepared than a group that shows up with no primer on the day.”

There are countless platforms for online learning, from top-of-the-line learning management systems (LMS) to free conferencing services like Zoom. “Pick a platform that allows you to do what you do well. Keep it simple. Make it fun,” advises Kulcsar.

Initial investment. Digital training can be cost-effective in the long run, but getting started with digital can be costly. While many operators may have elements of their training curriculum in digital formats already, organizing and digitizing content costs time and money.

“It’s an initial investment because you have to build it out,” says Albrecht. If you opt to bring in an expert or license a platform, there are costs there as well.

That said, “you don’t need an expensive e-learning platform or a videographer,” says Boyd. “We are trying to keep things VERY simple.”

In the cloud. “One of the first steps is just selecting a cloud-based program you can use for all your documents.

There are tons of places that you can host these files. We use a lot of Google Docs because it allows us to edit and share live,” says Albrecht.

Want oversight? “Video hosting gets a little more complicated depending on your needs,” says Albrecht. “If you just want to host video files anyone can access with a link, you can do that on YouTube or Dropbox. But if you want to track progress or protect files, you might need an LMS.” Purpose-built. Tod Schimelpfenig, NOLS curriculum director, likes using an LMS because it is purpose-built for e-learning. “We use one called Canvas,” says Schimelpfenig. “It helps me set up the content and provides options for formatting the content. It also gives the students some options on whether they want to utilize more audio, video, or text. And I can monitor the project.”

Get gamified. Bell is using 1Huddle, a platform designed for onboarding and upskilling employees that uses prizes, notifications, and scoreboards to incentivize trainees. “Gamification is something I’ve

done in my in-person training for a long time. That kind of methodology has been really effective for me in the past, and taking that same approach to our policies, SOPs, and manuals is a no brainer.”

newsletters, as well as podcasts, video meetings, and blogging for continued education and engagement with our staff and students,” says Gates Richards, special programs manager.

Budget friendly. Boyd says NH-FUN aims to build its training inexpensively and keep things low-tech. “We simply use existing training outlines and/or checklists to write a script and determine what photos/video clips we need to gather,” he says. “From there, we shoot everything on our phone and produce video segments with simple editing software— like iMovie. And we have adapted the use of Formsite to present the training and checks for understanding.”

COVID PRESENTS CHALLENGE AND CHANGE

Live or pre-recorded? A key thing to figure out is whether you want to go live or pre-recorded with your digital training.

Kulcsar used WebEx to teach Red Rocks courses in real-time. “We used synchronous classrooms to create a community where people were there live, talking to each other,” she says.

Live learning seems to be popular for people looking for connectivity amid social distancing measures. Webinars, for example, are becoming more popular.

Deschaine notes that, since COVID, IAAPA is hosting “more webinars than ever.”

Teaching live on Zoom or WebEx is what Dr. Bechtold calls “remote learning.” On the other hand, “online learning” is asynchronous, meaning it can be accessed anywhere at any time. He endorses the latter, saying, “The retention rates of basic knowledge and information for lecture-based learning are low compared to other modalities. And, in my experience, anything that can be delivered in a web-lecture can be delivered through an asynchronous modality.”

Continued outreach.

Whether you build out a full digital training program or not, there are several other online tools for operators looking to expand digital outreach to staff. NOLS uses “digital Video training appeals to Gen Zers. Photo courtesy of The Gorge

While digital training was already widely used pre-COVID, the pandemic is forcing hands when it comes to making the leap online. One can look at the transition as an obstacle or an opportunity.

“A lot of businesses feel paralyzed. They are just waiting. They haven’t taken next steps. And you just can’t do that,” says Albrecht. He advises businesses to use this down time to move what they can online so when it’s time to reopen, they can hit the ground running.

Gathering the resources to develop your own online training can seem overwhelming. Webb-Bechtold encourages operators to reach out to experts in online education, be they consultants or educators at local institutions. “We don’t need to make it up on our own in the adventure industry,” she says.

And Bell suggests that operators and trainers be prepared to pivot when some ideas don’t work or fail to translate. “There has to be a real ability to accept failures and learn from mistakes,” he says.

“Necessity is the mother of invention,” says Robinson. “I think as an industry, we’ve done it a certain way for a while.

I’m excited about possibilities and the chance to innovate, to think outside of the box in training.”

53 Summer 2020

PICKING A PLATFORM

PERSONAL PROTECTION PRODUCTS

BY BOB CURLEY

Sales of protective products—once defined as sunscreen, lip balm, and insect repellent—take on new meaning in the COVID-19 era.

The COVID-19 pandemic is upending the definition of “protective gear” for adventure parks, who may see new opportunities—and challenges—as they seek to keep both guests and staff members healthy.

Safety is baked into the culture of aerial adventure operations, of course.

That overarching culture isn’t limited to on-course safety, though. It’s also represented in retail offerings. Personal protective products have long found a place beside the souvenirs and energy drinks at park gift shops. Some of those existing products will now become more popular—and different products will be added to the inventory—as guests aim to protect themselves from more than just bugs and sun.

your store,” says Rebecca Bleecker of Adventure Suppliers, LLC, which supplies a broad range of protective products to adventure parks and other clients.

Location and climate play a role in what appears on store shelves. “Some are completely in the woods and sell no sunscreen, but do well with bug spray, for example,” says Bleecker.

Sonni Gibson, operations manager of High Gravity Adventures, says that while sunscreen has always been a best-seller at the Blowing Rock, N.C., park, Buffstyle neck warmers have also become popular impulse purchases among warm-weather visitors not used to the mountain chill at the park. “Those have proven to be good sellers in cold temperatures,” says Gibson.

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ALREADY POPULAR PRODUCTS Even before the coronavirus pandemic, parks did a reasonably brisk trade in products like sunglasses, sunscreen, lip balm, rain ponchos, and insect repellant to make the hours spent negotiating ropes courses or zip tours in typically rural and wooded environments as comfortable as possible.

“These are basics you should have in

Also in the mountains of North Carolina, Asheville Adventure Center reports similar success selling climbing and cold-weather gloves, as well as hand warmers, hoodies, and long-sleeved shirts. “Because we are so far south, our guests include a lot of people from Florida and further south of us,” says owner Jeff Grenier. “It’s not so much they forgot it, it’s just that they don’t have it.”

At some locations, inexpensive footwear flies off the shelves. First Flight Adventure Park on the Outer Banks of North Carolina, for example, does a brisk business selling closed-toe shoes, which are required on its aerial course.

“People are at the beach and the only thing they are wearing is flip-flops,” says Matt Marcus of gear supplier High Country Hardware, which sells a wide variety of gloves and face coverings, along with helmets, harnesses, carabiners, and belay systems.

TO LOAN OR TO SELL? The “new normal” of operating adventure parks in the midst of a pandemic, however, has raised health concerns that make sunburns and mosquito bites seem trivial by comparison. Parks will continue to sell the types of protective products they always have, of course, but suddenly items like masks, gloves, hand sanitizer, and shoes have moved up the priority list on purchase orders.

“We are getting more calls—people are not sure what post-COVID ops look like,” says Marcus.

Footwear. Like First Flight Adventure Park, most ropes courses require par-

“Every time we’ve put these leather gloves in shops, they’ve become the hottest seller in no time,” says Bleecker.

She suspects it’s because many people think sharing gloves is gross anyway.

As a result, some parks offer rental shoes, while others sell inexpensive footwear, such as lace-up water shoes, to avoid having to turn customers away.

“For $15, you’re not going to screw up your whole day,” says Bleecker. “You’re just going to buy them.”

Even if they weren’t popular before, that’s likely to change. “In the past, gloves have not been a huge seller, but now it might be a different time,” says Lee Kerfoot, owner of Kerfoot Canopy Tour and Brainerd Zipline Tour in Minnesota. “Guests can bring their own or they can buy a new pair.”

Gloves. With COVID-19, however, the practice of loaning guests shoes or gloves—the latter required on zip lines with hand braking—could come to an abrupt halt over concerns about the spread of germs. Bleecker says that parks could sell basic gloves for as little as $5, with leather gloves starting at around $15.

Adventure Suppliers is offering several different models of face masks, including cotton unisex masks that can be imprinted with a logo.

Kerfoot says gloves will be sold at “slightly above cost,” but he predicts that any spike in sales could be shortlived. “By the summer of 2021, people won’t care,” he says.

There’s also the option of giving gloves away, in a sense. “I don’t know if we will offer gloves for sale or include them with your zip,” says Jessica Brayman, guest services manager at Gunflint Lodge of Grand Marais, Minn., a destination resort with amenities that include a zip line as well as other outdoor activities. “We probably will opt to build that into the cost.”

Grenier, on the other hand, says Asheville Adventure Center will continue to loan gloves but require guests to use hand sanitizer before and after each use. However, he adds, “I expect we will have increased sales of glove liners.”

^

Personal protection comes in many forms. Left to right: BlackStrap specializes in branded neckwarmers and face coverings; Adventure Suppliers’ Dru Grypz gloves should continue to be a hot seller; BlackStrap added more face mask options in response to the pandemic.

SANITARY SITUATION Bleecker says that point-of-sale opportunities in a pandemic could also manifest in unexpected ways, such as selling sanitary table covers for socially distanced dining, perhaps on outdoor picnic tables at or near an aerial adventure operation. Hand sanitizer and masks, on the other hand, are among the items more likely to appear in retail outlets once parks reopen.

“We have hand sanitizer on site and will require guests to use it when they walk in, and if we can get our hands on it to sell, we will,” says Gibson of High Gravity Adventures. Brayman says that hand sanitizer has always been available at Gunflint’s zip line lodge, owing to the fact that it has no running water, adding, “I don’t know if we will sell it as much as provide it.”

FACE COVERING The face mask has become the most potent symbol of the coronavirus pandem-

55 Summer 2020

ticipants to wear closed-toe shoes, but it’s not uncommon for guests to arrive wearing inappropriate footwear. “No matter what you do, someone will walk in with sandals,” says Bleecker.

Asheville Adventure Center, for example, sells neck warmers alongside a wide range of logo items, including sunglasses and clothing. “We have logoed bandanas and Buffs, and I expect these sales will increase,” says Grenier.

Orders for such items are already rising, according to Jim Sanko, brand manager for BlackStrap, a company that manufactures and sells a variety of face gear, headwear, gloves, and base layers.

“We’ve had a huge rise in orders for tube-style and medical masks, including from ski areas that operate adventure parks,” says Sanko. “A number of them are places we do logo stuff for.”

Branded hand sanitizers from Adventure Suppliers can come in a variety of packaging for ease of use in different scenarios.

ic and, in many places, required in order to go out in public.

Staff and participant protection. “We will require everyone to wear masks— guests and guides,” says Gibson, who adds that guides will be provided with cotton masks while guests will get disposable medical-style masks, with the cost folded into ticket prices. Gunflint Lodge, likewise, will provide disposable masks for guests.

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Kerfoot is opting for transparent face shields for guides. “We think it’s important that guests can see the guides’ faces,” Kerfoot says. Asheville Adventure Center will equip guides with face

shields as well as face masks.

For parks and their suppliers, the transition to operating in a COVID environment is made somewhat easier by the fact that both face shields and masks are already in their supply chain.

“Face shields are really more of an arborist or rescue team product,” says Marcus. “We’ve had them, but never highlighted it.”

Retail potential. While it’s unlikely that parks had a supply of surgical masks on hand prior to the pandemic, many do sell other gear that can be used as masks, such as bandanas and neck gaiters.

BlackStrap sells its gaiter-style Daily Tube sun masks for $10 each wholesale, and Civil face masks for $8 each wholesale (with a 48-piece minimum order). Custom logos are free with the Daily Tubes, and $2 each for the Civil mask—an apropos branding opportunity nowadays. At press time, for every Civil mask purchased online, BlackStrap is donating one Civil mask to community entities and individuals in need.

As Americans have learned to live with wearing masks in public, basic clinical-style masks are increasingly being replaced by customized items. Bleecker says that’s a trend that park operators should embrace. Adopt “the idea that people are proud that they came to your place.”

Left to right: New masks being sewn at BlackStrap; Trango Grypz Glove from Adventure Suppliers.

NAVIGATING INSURANCE AND OPERATIONS CHANGES in countless ways.

The impact of COVID-19 has been significant to the adventure and entertainment industries. As of May, the travel trade experts at Arival stated that the destination activities and attractions industry was down 85 percent in bookings in 2020 compared to 2019. It will take months, if not years, for business to return to pre-coronavirus levels. And operations will look much different for the foreseeable future.

As you reopen for business and volume grows, there are three key areas of focus for your insurance program and related operational changes. They are: • Survival and Cost Reduction • Reopening Your Facility • Insurance Post-COVID

For example, if you reduce revenues from $2 million to $1.5 million, that should reduce the premium by 25 percent. You may be able to apply the difference as a credit for upcoming premium payments.

2

As your business has been turned upside down over the past three months, you will want to put your insurance program in “survival mode” to reduce costs.

Here are our top five recommendations on where to adjust your program during COVID-19:

Reduce annual payroll projections for workers’ compensation. Just as your general liability is based on sales, your workers’ compensation insurance is based directly on payroll. You should look at your payroll levels on your workers’ compensation policy and revise them to more accurate projections. Subsequently, your workers’ compensation premium should shrink.

1

3

Reduce annual sales projections for general liability. Your general liability insurance is based on gross sales. This number should be revisited and revised.

The result will be a reduction to your general liability premiums accordingly.

Code for Payroll Protection Program (PPP) and workers’ compensation. Depending on your state, you most likely are going to be allowed to code PPP payroll (payroll for non-working employees) so that you are NOT charged work-

SURVIVAL AND COST REDUCTION

BY CAMERON ANNAS and RUTHIE LILE, Granite Insurance

ers’ comp premiums for that payroll.

This can add up to a significant amount.

Some of your class codes’ rates are in the 5 to 10 percent of payroll range. You should adjust this and track this payroll separately under class code 0122. This will notify your workers’ compensation carrier to exclude this payroll from premium calculations.

4 Change class codes for employees working at home. Some of your employees prior to COVID had a job function that may have been a higher risk (guides, amusement, etc.). However, these employees may be working from home right now. By changing their class code to clerical (8810) you will be able to change their workers’ comp rates from 5 to 10 percent of payroll, if in the amusement or guide class code, to 0.15 percent in the clerical class code. A huge difference!

5 Autos on lay-up. Most insurance companies are allowing you to put your vehicles on “lay-up,” which essentially removes the premium for those vehicles for a designated time period (30 to 90 days, say). The agreement is that these vehicles are stored and not operating,

57 Summer 2020

The impact of the pandemic will play out

FOCUS AREA

POSSIBLE ACTIONS Move to 100 percent electronic waivers, signed in advance, or QR codes to scan on site for completion of the waiver on participants’ smartphones.

WAIVERS

GATHERING SPOTS AT FACILITY

Should we insert COVID-19 language into our waivers? In our opinion, yes!* Virus language should be incorporated into your waiver. However, don’t make COVID-19 the only communicable disease the waiver addresses. The wording can cover all communicable disease.

Place free-standing hand sanitizer machines in specific “zones” for different groups as they wait/ gather.

Adopt policies and software that encourage guests to complete payments digitally, without contact. Question: Can we implement a

post-experience method for tipping instead of cash? Venmo, Apple Pay, and other peer-to-peer payment systems might be a solution.

PERSONAL PROTECTION EQUIPMENT

Cleaning methods will be critical for your PPE. Consult with your manufacturer. Communicate this information to your employees and guests

in formal procedures and signage. Your operation is only as clean as guests think it is.

MASKS

We recommend that all staff and participants be required to wear masks, unless social distancing can be practiced throughout your tour. The

only exception would be for a group of related individuals in which each person signs an optout form.

All guests and employees in vehicles should be required to wear masks, with no exceptions.

This practice should become as common as wearing seatbelts.

this can be difficult. It may limit vehicle capacity significantly. Post signs to communicate your rules and policies for ensuring social distancing. For example, “Only related guests are allowed to sit in the same row or in adjacent seats.”

CONTACTLESS PAYMENT SYSTEMS

VEHICLES & GROUP TRANSPORTATION

Hand sanitization stations should be placed outside the vehicles. Passengers (guests and employees both) should be required to use sanitizer each time they leave and/or enter the vehicle.

Practice social distancing as much as possible. Yes,

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*Note that there is an opposite opinion, that incorporating COVID-19 could be considered an “overreach,” making the waiver null and void. We caution that this is an opinion from one attorney, and there’s no precedent for it one way or the other. We strongly recommend that you consult your attorney on this and any other language and strategy, as Granite Insurance is not licensed to practice law.

and their battery has been disconnected. For operations that are very vehicle-dependent, this could save you $200 per vehicle per month.

REOPENING YOUR FACILITY One thing is certain: Guest interactions will change this year, even if temporarily. Many operational policies have

If a guest requests to be transported separately (especially for operators with short transportation rides, such as zip lines), your organization should have a plan for accommodating this, even for an extra fee as a “private tour.”

implications for insurance. That being said, the chart above isn’t meant to be exhaustive, but suggests areas of focus and questions that each operator may need to address, depending on local circumstances.

INSURANCE POST-COVID To begin with, 95 percent of all ad-

venture and entertainment operators’ general liability policies exclude “communicable diseases.” That means if a participant or guest claims to have contracted COVID at your facility, and names you in a lawsuit, your insurance company will deny the claim. The insurance companies have not charged premium to cover this, and did not intend to cover this exposure.

EMPLOYEE SAFETY

CAPACITY MANAGEMENT

COMMUNICATION!

POSSIBLE ACTIONS Consider separating your staff into teams—at a minimum, have an A Team and B Team. The teams should never come in contact with each other or share any equipment, space, etc., that hasn’t been cleaned first. This helps ensure business continuity in case a team member

contracts COVID-19. It reduces the risk of your entire workforce contracting COVID-19 or coming in contact with someone who has the coronavirus, which could render you unable to operate. Note: Each team should include experienced team members.

How do you manage capacity? If you are a ticketed/time-slotted tour, this is relatively easy to do (aside from absorbing the impact on profitability). Operations that are more of a “free flow” attraction should look at having

specific attendants control capacity in a “one in, one out” manner. In addition, some software suppliers offer RFID wristbands that only allow participants to advance into a specific section if there is capacity for them.

“Failure to warn” is a common legal argument from plaintiffs in the adventure and entertainment industries. COVID-19 and communicable diseases are certainly possible to contract in many of our tours. We should not hide from this reality. In fact, we should communicate this!

Post signs that affirm social distancing must be practiced wherever possible, but acknowledge this may not be possible in all scenarios. Among other possible warnings:

stations as frequently as possible.

• Sanitization is a key focus for our organization! Here is how we are keeping our facility clean: [Insert steps you are following for facilities and PPE] • If you are feeling the following symptoms, please DO NOT ENTER our facility: [Insert symptoms per current CDC guidelines]

• All employees AND GUESTS must wash hands upon arrival. No exceptions!

• Social distancing is encouraged and practiced, but not possible in all situations. Proceed and participate at your own risk.

• Sanitization is a key focus for our organization! Please utilize the hand sanitization

In our opinion, this type of claim will be very hard to pursue and validate. The burden of proof to evidence that the virus was contracted at your facility will be on the participant, and it will be a tall order. For example, how many of you have been sued for someone contracting the flu at your facility? We bet the answer is zero.

Make sure staff understand your employee plan AND participant/guest plan. This is essential.

Knowing the employee plan is vital to the team’s understanding of logistics and expectations.

Knowing the guest plan enables team members to communicate effectively when guests ask questions about COVID-19 response, new procedures, and other key policies.

(and exclude on top of exclusions); 2) gather data; 3) quantify the risk, once the crisis has passed; and 4) develop insurance products for the new risk.

A key question in the insurance industry is, “Will we be able to purchase coverage for communicable diseases in the future?” In our opinion, the answer is “Yes.” Here’s why.

Just as you cannot purchase homeowners insurance when your house is on fire, we don’t expect coverage to be readily available for the coronavirus in the next 4-6 months. However, insurance may be needed and desired for these types of risks in the future, and we expect the insurance industry to respond, possibly with a federal backstop (similar to terrorism coverage).

Any new risk follows a very common path in the insurance industry. The insurance companies: 1) exclude coverage

As insurers, our focus is to help you be successful even during difficult times.

This comes through a partnership,

not a transaction. Let your insurance company know how it can help you and your operation be successful, even if it’s just a review or analysis of your current insurance and risk management program. Let’s get reopened and focus on the future!

Ruthie Lile (rlile@graniteinsurance.com) is an adventure and entertainment risk consultant and previously worked in management for an adventure operator. Cameron Annas (cannas@graniteinsurance.com) is active in many industry associations, and a board member for the Association for Challenge Course Technology (ACCT). He is a Certified Insurance Counselor (CIC), Certified Risk Manager (CRM) & Certified Workers’ Compensation Advisor (CWCA).

59 Summer 2020

FOCUS AREA

A how-to guide for your business and community.

BY RACHEL MAESTRI-HAILEY Zoar Outdoor

Author, Rachel Maestri-Hailey is also a tour guide with Zoar Outdoor.

CREATING DIVERSITY IN THE OUTDOOR INDUSTRY

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The topic of diversity and inclusion filters down to communities and businesses around the globe, and the adventure park industry is no exception. Of course, the conversation around diversity can be a bit touchy and uncomfortable, especially in the tempestuous times of late. Often people don’t know how to discuss an issue that is so sensitive to so many, so they avoid it altogether. We’re no different.

Seeking shelter from the discomfort of a potentially confrontational conversation may be more common than meeting the challenge head on.

The good news is: Our industry, and our country as is evident by recent events, is hungry for a change. The bad news: We’ll need to get uncomfortable to get there. The better news: There is a road map to navigating the discomfort.

Now is a great time to choose a new conversation and create a higher level of awareness in our businesses, communi-

ties, industry, and nation. We as owners, operators, and community members can choose to meet the discomfort head on and create an industry that is inclusive, innovative, and connected.

A ROAD MAP THROUGH DISCOMFORT When it comes to understanding, a few small shifts with a focus on learning can go a long way.

A LEARNING CULTURE So how are businesses successfully broaching the topic of diversity, having the conversations, and ultimately creating a more inclusive industry, community, and world? By shifting the context from one of fear and discomfort to one of learning and compassion. By creating a “learning culture,” many businesses— be them aerial trekking, zip line tours, experiential learning programs, or building and installation operations—

are fostering conversations on diversity in a positive and impactful way.

What is a learning culture, exactly? It starts with the idea that it is perfectly OK to make mistakes, as they are all from a place of understanding, compassion, and discovery. This provides a context that says, “Even though we might step on some land mines, we’re all about learning and growing as a business, community, and industry.” A learning culture creates a safe space for people to step out and risk while talking about and exploring diversity and inclusion. If you introduce diversity as a “hard topic,” you can definitely add this into your meetings and quickly make the topic more approachable.

Creating a learning culture is easier than you might think. In fact, we do this in our business every day. At one point or another, we have all had a guest, participant, or new staff member who is nervous about the activity we are presenting.

Creating a learning culture to foster diversity in your business and community is no different. Discomfort is a good thing. It tells us we’re going in the right direction.

HOW TO CREATE A LEARNING CULTURE Step 1: Start with a willingness to make mistakes. By setting the context of, “It’s OK to make mistakes,” we acknowledge and embrace the possible discomfort before it becomes an issue. It is important to acknowledge that only through lots of mistakes can innovation and understanding happen. Even some of the best players in any game make mistakes. It’s the willingness to start again that is the source for innovation. You can use an initiative like “Jump In, Jump Out” (or another group learning initiative) and highlight compassion around making mistakes when debriefing the activity to illustrate this point.

Step 2: Leave judgments of self and others at the door. We all have different life experiences, cultural come-froms, and values. That is what makes us unique as human beings. The challenge is to step out of our self-defined belief structure about ourselves and others, and only work with what is happening in the present moment, while also keeping a focus on what it is we are intending to create moving forward.

Step 3: Set some ground rules. Create a space for exploration by outlining how the group will relate to each other. As a facilitator of the discussion, it is helpful to start with some rules or concepts already present that the group can align with, and then allow for additional ideas that the group feels are appropriate.

Some examples include: ensure confidentiality; wait to speak; no put downs/ judgments; and avoid generalizations.

Alignment to and creation of the ground rules not only creates a safe space for open communication and discovery, but also empowers the folks in your group to contribute to the process. By asking the

group as a whole for additional ground rules and ideas, you, as the facilitator, create an opportunity for people to feel valued and be heard.

Step 4: Brainstorm to uncover the blockers and enablers to diversity in your business and community. By exploring the blockers, your group can create a task list to address as a united front.

With enablers, your group can expand on what is already working. You should also create a list of reasons WHY diversity is important. Every great undertaking needs a vision to go back to when the going gets tough, and your “why list” will serve as the inspiration.

A ROAD MAP TO CHANGE Having started the conversation in your business and community, what’s next?

Step 5: Identify and create change agents—people in your business and community who are hungry, passionate, and committed to fostering and creating diversity. Within your business, they can be guides, operators, builders, facilitators, reservations specialists, cooks, you name it. There are no rules, except that they should be excited about fostering diversity, and ready to explore and create new possibilities.

Look also to community leaders, local officials, and other business owners within your community to take on the role of change agent. These folks will be the main advocates for diversity and will move the initiative forward.

Step 6: Take Action! This is, undoubtedly, the most important part of this process.

As seen through recent events in the world and the response throughout the industry, we have been experiencing a clarion call to action on many fronts. After you have identified your change agents and started the conversations, it’s time to act. Possible action steps to create diversity in your business and community can take many paths. Here are a few: • Start an outreach initiative within the community (i.e., welcoming and diversity coalition, town forum, etc.).

• Develop creative staff recruiting solutions for your business, such as sourcing

staff for your operation through exchange programs, guide housing, or in partnership with seasonal sponsor families. In addition, create development tracks for staff of varying backgrounds to excel in leadership roles within the business.

• Offer diversity, inclusion, and equality workshops and meetings in your business and community. You can do this by scheduling monthly meetings of your change agents, community diversity teams, and coalitions in your community, or by inviting guest speakers.

• Create collaborative expansion projects that allow entities to donate a portion of their proceeds to other organizations striving to foster diversity.

SHIFTING THE CONTEXT Creating diversity in our industry and community doesn’t have to be touchy, confrontational, or hard. Now, more than ever, our industry can be on the leading edge of creating change, unity, and connection in our nation and on our planet, in a new way. When we create a context of discovery, understanding, connection, unity, and community contribution, we are all able to move beyond preconceived boundaries and judgments, and allow the conversation on diversity to become much simpler.

The time for hesitancy and inaction has passed. 2020 has been the year of The Great Reveal. Over the last several months we have seen many things in our businesses and systems that are working very well, and others that are ripe for change. We, as an industry, have been amazing at innovating new ways to meet the challenges and taking the necessary action to get it all done.

Creating diversity in our industry is now more important than ever. As a result of the innovations in approaching diversity within our industry, and because of the willingness of owners, operators, staff, and passionate change agents within our communities, we can take on diversity and inclusion in a powerful way. We can learn to shift the context of diversity into an approachable conversation from which we can all benefit.

61 Summer 2020

Over time, they gain confidence through taking the initial risk at ground school or in a training program, and then create forward momentum and excitement as the course, activity, or job goes on.

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We take inspections & maintenance seriously.

Lives depend on it.

When it comes to the safety and reliability of your adventure park, you need a team you can trust. ESI has the knowledge and expertise you can count on.

Our inspectors stay up to date on the current safety standards. And with over 35 years of experience, we are a leader in the industry.

We provide quality inspections on zip lines, aerial adventure parks, challenge courses and climbing structures. Protect your participants and safeguard your investment by hiring one of our certified inspectors today.

Servicing all 50 States Annual Inspections Third Party Inspections Maintenance and Repairs Skills Verification and Staff Training NAARSO and ACCT Certified Inspectors 35 Plus Years Experience

Book your next inspection!

877-206-8967

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