COVID Changes and Updates at Wicked Event Management

It goes without saying that the past 12 to 18 months has been a challenging time for everyone. From stay-at-home orders to mandatory business shutdowns, life as we know it was completely turned on its head. 

As a business working in the travel and events sector, we certainly weren’t exempt from these hurdles. In fact, the statistics predicted our industry would be one of the hardest hit in every corner of the globe. While we couldn’t predict the future, we knew we could plan for it.

And that’s why our incredible team strapped on our thinking caps to devise a plan that would allow us to continue providing once in a lifetime experiences for our clients and keep our suppliers operating, while still adhering to any relevant COVID-19 policies. 

It meant a big change for our business, but it’s proved successful too. Over the last 18 months, we’ve completely revolutionised what we do, and we’ve come back stronger than ever before. We’ve now got 35 locations on our books across Australia and New Zealand, and more than 900 activity suppliers throughout these destinations. We also now have 7 sub-sections of our brand that offer event planning for a wider range of celebrations than ever before, including Wicked Bucks Parties, Wicked Hens Parties – Australia and New Zealand, Wicked Stag Parties, Wicked Nightlife, Team Trips… 

The beauty of this pro-active approach is not only that we’ve kept our services operating, but that we’ve had plenty of fun along the way too. Want to hear more about the change happening behind the scenes at Wicked Event Management? We’ve put together a list of five updates we’ve introduced throughout our business. 

 

COVID Changes and Updates at Wicked Event Management 

Local travel

Working across Australia and New Zealand much of our work involved overseas travel. We also worked with providers in United States, Bali and Fiji, to ensure our clients could celebrate their special moment in a truly memorable place. When the initial COVID-19 travel restrictions were introduced, many of these options were no longer possible. We knew the likelihood of a travel bubble between Australia and New Zealand was a likely possibility for the not-so-distant future, but getaways to the other side of the world were a little further in the future. 

Unsure when travel would return to normal, we didn’t want our clients to miss out. That’s why we shifted our focus from international travel to getaways in our own backyard. We’ve focused our efforts over the last little while to build on our list of Australian and New Zealand based suppliers. These extensive connections give us the ability to cater to the requests, dreams and visions of every single person that walks through our doors, regardless of where they’re located. 

 

Staying up to date with restrictions

In the face of so many changes, it’s never been more important to stay across the news and know exactly what’s happening in different parts of the world. While avoiding the fines and penalties that come with the laws is undoubtedly a huge motivator, it’s more important to us that we’re protecting our people. We make it our mission to understand the best-practice recommendations of health professionals and government agencies, before swiftly implementing any necessary measures. 

It’s also important for us to remember that restrictions vary across different parts of the country, and particularly between Australia and New Zealand. That’s why we work with local representatives in every location, to ensure we stay across the updates relevant for that specific place. 

 

A professional brand makeover

With so many changes happening within our business and across the world, we took the opportunity to give our entire brand a professional make over. The new-look for our business gives an overarching image for the different sectors of our offering and breaks down the different services with offer. 

This rebrand has been a great opportunity for Wicked Events Management to remind our clients why we are a leader in the industry, which creates a great incentive for them to engage with our brand. This resulting increase of client base ensures we can continue to provide a constant stream of work for our trusted suppliers, contractors and partners. 

 

Communication and Transparency with clients

The truth about COVID-19, is that changes and challenges are somewhat inevitable. Rather than crossing the bridge when it arrives, we prefer to be honest and upfront with our clients from the onset. It’s important to us that our customers know exactly what to expect from the get-go, and who to contact if they ever have any questions or concerns along the way. 

We’ve also made it our policy to discuss cancellation and postponement policies from the onset, as this ensures everyone is on the same page from day one. We find this communication and transparency provides a strong base for customer satisfaction and understanding. 

 

Collaboration with suppliers 

After facing so many challenges over the past 18 months, we’re doing everything we can to support our suppliers in the entertainment and travel industry. Many of these businesses have suffered from reduced tourism and are looking for opportunities to reconnect with travellers. 

Being on our supplier list gives these businesses a shortcut to directly reach customer and receive the benefits of our referrals. The beauty of this approach is that these brands can engage with new clientele, without having to fork out big budgets for advertising and marketing efforts. When you work with Wicked Event Management, you know you’re going to be looked after.