LAS VEGAS, Sept. 29, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — MGM Resorts International (NYSE: MGM) today announced a comprehensive plan designed to facilitate the safe return of meetings and conventions at the company’s properties in Las Vegasand throughout the United States, subject to local regulations and restrictions. MGM Resorts’ “Convene with Confidence” plan is the result of months of work with experts and builds on the company’s Seven-Point Safety Plan to provide a comprehensive approach to health and safety. This includes the option for a multi-layered health screening process using CLEAR’s Health Pass and utilizing on-site rapid, molecular COVID-19 testing that can deliver results within approximately 20 minutes.
“The health and safety of all who pass through our doors is our highest priority. Convene with Confidence represents the culmination of everything we’ve learned, cutting-edge technology and months of consultation with experts,” said MGM Resorts CEO and President Bill Hornbuckle. “With this program, we are taking another step forward in safely providing a level of entertainment, amenities and service not seen since before the pandemic began.”
“We are thrilled to partner with MGM Resorts in implementing Health Pass to help create safer environments and a seamless experience across their venues and locations,” said CLEAR CEO Caryn Seidman-Becker. “Health Pass is helping thousands of people safely return to work and helping make it possible to gather with confidence and peace of mind.”
“We are excited to provide our healthcare services to this groundbreaking initiative,” said Impact Health CEO J. Michael McNamara. “Our mission is to help people return to their lives, and Convene with Confidence will serve as a model for opening businesses and entertainment venues in a convenient and safe manner.”
The full Convene with Confidence plan can be viewed HERE.
Convene With Confidence Overview
Convene with Confidence consists of detailed protocols supported by highly trained employees to incorporate health and safety into every aspect of the convention and meeting process. Standard elements of Convene with Confidence include:
Planning: Virtual site inspections and careful pre-planning of event, meal and break times to safely optimize guest movement throughout meeting spaces. Various types of events offered include virtual, hybrid or in-person.
Arrival: Pre-registration provided in advance and digitally. Where registration desks and queuing are required, scheduling and physical distancing are implemented and clearly indicated.
Cleaning and disinfecting: High touch points cleaned and disinfected regularly; single-use amenities disposed of daily; hand sanitizer available in high traffic areas. Mandalay Bay received accreditation by the Global Biorisk Advisory Council (GBAC), a validation of its cleaning protocols.
Physical distancing: Facilities and floor plans adjusted to meet physical distancing requirements and evolve as needed.
Dining and Break Refresh: Various styles of meal service offered, with an extended menu of pre-packaged options, distributed by servers and attendants.
OPTIONAL: Health Pass services utilizing rapid on-site testing: MGM Resorts is partnering with biometric secure identity company CLEAR to leverage its new Health Pass technology. Health Pass is a touchless product that links verified identity with COVID-19 health insights – including a real-time health questionnaire, COVID-related test results and temperature checks – via integrated kiosks. This process was utilized in the National Hockey League’s successful return to play at the Stanley Cup Playoffs in Toronto and Edmonton.
Additionally, MGM Resorts is deploying a rapid, portable, molecular, point-of-care COVID-19 test in conjunction with Impact Health, a leading provider of healthcare services for high-profile and high-volume events. Through these partnerships, MGM Resorts is offering an optional COVID-19 testing protocol that delivers results within approximately 20 minutes and allows event organizers to create a perimeter for their events and exhibitions.
Attendees at events utilizing this optional service take part in the following protocol:
CLEAR Health Pass Protocol
- Step One: Prior to the event, attendees are asked to download the CLEAR mobile app and set up their account. Their identity is verified by uploading an identifying document and snapping a quick selfie.
- Step Two: Before entering the venue, attendees open the app, verify their identity with a selfie and answer a series of health survey questions.
- Step Three: Upon arrival at the meeting or event, attendees are met by an Impact Health professional for on-site, rapid testing, with results expected within approximately 20 minutes. Users can access these results by securely linking their testing account to their Health Pass through the app.
- Step Four: Attendees approach a kiosk, where they receive a temperature check and scan their QR code to share their health insights. Depending on their COVID-related health information and their recent test results, users are issued a red or green Health Pass on their app.
- If the result is a green Health Pass, that information, combined with their event-specific ticket or credential, grants entrance into the event or conference.
- If the result is a red Health Pass, MGM Resorts’ best-in-class response protocols are activated immediately for further testing, referral to care for the guest and consultation with local health authorities.
Throughout the process, MGM Resorts receives confirmation a user has satisfied the requirements for access with the equivalent of a red light or green light signal.
Company Wide Health & Safety
The health and safety of employees and guests has been at the forefront of MGM Resorts’ planning since the onset of the COVID-19 crisis earlier this year. The company’s comprehensive Seven-Point Safety Plan is a multi-layered set of protocols and procedures designed in conjunction with medical and scientific experts to mitigate the spread of the virus, protect customers and employees and rapidly respond to potential new cases. The company continues to evaluate and evolve its safety protocols. Key initiatives include:
- Employee screening, temperature checks and COVID-19 specific training
- COVID-19 testing for employees as they return to work in partnership with the local medical community
- Requirement for employees and guests to wear masks. Complimentary masks are provided as needed
- Physical distancing policies, with floor guides serving as reminders
- Installation of plexiglass barriers and other measures to reduce risk in areas where physical distancing presents challenges
- Standalone handwashing stations designed by MGM Resorts conveniently located on casino floors
- Contactless Check-In through the MGM Resorts App, allowing hotel guests to go through the check-in process on their personal devices, minimizing interactions
- HVAC systems programmed to recycle up to 100 percent outside fresh air and up to 12 air cycles per hour
- Requirement of Guestroom Attendants to wear masks and gloves while cleaning each room and to change gloves between guestrooms
- In addition to increased and enhanced routine cleaning of guestrooms and public spaces based on CDC guidance, electrostatic sprayers are utilized in many large public spaces so that disinfectant is applied efficiently
- Digital menus available to view on personal mobile devices via QR codes in the company’s food and beverage outlets
- To minimize groups congregating while they wait, restaurant guests receive text message notification when their tables are ready
About MGM Resorts International
MGM Resorts International (NYSE: MGM) is an S&P 500® global entertainment company with national and international locations featuring best-in-class hotels and casinos, state-of-the-art meetings and conference spaces, incredible live and theatrical entertainment experiences, and an extensive array of restaurant, nightlife and retail offerings. MGM Resorts creates immersive, iconic experiences through its suite of Las Vegas-inspired brands. The MGM Resorts portfolio encompasses 29 unique hotel and destination gaming offerings in the United States and Macau, including some of the most recognizable resort brands in the industry such as Bellagio, MGM Grand, ARIA and Park MGM. The Company’s 50/50 venture, BetMGM, LLC, offers U.S. sports betting and online gaming through market-leading brands, including BetMGM and partypoker. The Company is currently pursuing targeted expansion in Asia through the integrated resort opportunity in Japan. Through its “Focused on What Matters: Embracing Humanity and Protecting the Planet” initiative, MGM Resorts commits to creating a more sustainable future, while striving to make a bigger difference in the lives of its employees, guests, and in the communities where it operates. The global employees of MGM Resorts are proud of their company for being recognized as one of FORTUNE® Magazine’s World’s Most Admired Companies®. For more information, please visit us at www.mgmresorts.com. Please also connect with us @MGMResortsIntl on Twitter as well as Facebook and Instagram.
Statements in this release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The Company has based these statements on management’s current expectations and assumptions and not on historical facts. Examples of these statements include, but are not limited to, the Company’s expectations regarding the steps it is taking to mitigate the spread of the virus.A number of important factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated in such forward-looking statements, including the continued impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Company’s business, effects of economic and market conditions in the markets in which the Company operates, competition with other destination travel locations throughout the United Statesand the world, the design, timing and costs of expansion projects, and risks relating to international operations, permits, licenses, financings, approvals and other contingencies in connection with growth in new or existing jurisdictions and additional risks and uncertainties described in the Company’s Form 10-K, Form 10-Q and Form 8-K reports (including all amendments to those reports) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. In providing forward-looking statements, the Company is not undertaking any duty or obligation to update these statements publicly as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.