June 2020 update blog

17^th of June and we have been now been closed for 12 weeks!  The governments’ lockdown is still in place and we are looking for that ray of sunshine to shine on the entertainment industry once again.

Pubs are looking like they will be o

pening on the 4^th July (My birthday) and that should be the start of things picking up again and hopefully the bookings will start coming in fast for the rest of the year.

Hard Times!

Since the start of the lockdown, the website hits dropped from a massive 160 a day down to 10, enquiries pretty much stopped, and our landline phone has rung but only once and the mobile no more than 20 times in twelve weeks.  This has been soul destroying.  I have built up starlight party from a little mobile disco to a full-sized event business in the last 8 years and am proud of what it has achieved. To see it pulled away genuinely is heart-breaking.

Good Times!

Onwards and upwards though.  Its not all doom and gloom.

In the last twelve weeks I have secured 6 wedding bookings for next year, parties have been rescheduled for later in the year and some parties booked for November and December.

So, if you are wanting to book a party for later this year or next year, I would genuinely advise doing it sooner rather than later.  I am anticipating once lockdown is over, we will be swamped.  Deposits taken on all new bookings are fully refundable if affected by covid-19

The Website and Payments!

I have redesigned the website, so it is a lot faster and looks great on mobile devices.  There is a lot of social media interaction with the website.  We now have a slicker more user-friendly booking form.  Deposits and balance payments can now be made via the man website.  We are accepting credit and debit cards, PayPal and bank transfers too.  I am looking at getting a handheld payment terminal so I can take cashless payments at parties. 

Live Stream – In Your Hoooose Disco

Every week for the last 10 weeks we have been having themed parties live streamed from our house to yours.  There has only been myself DJ’ing and my wife Sarah dancing present at these streams.  The streams have been popular on Facebook, twitch, and YouTube.  The streams have attracted over 300 people watching live and over 1000 people watching the recorded stream afterwards.  We have had some great interaction from people joining us from all over the country, using the chat facility.  So please while we are on lockdown join us for our live streams over at our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/starlightparty on a Saturday night from 7.30/8 til 10.30/11.00

Covid Precautions!

We like every other business are looking into what precautions we can take when we are taking bookings again.  As a DJ and Children’s entertainer I am with a lot of people at the weekends so need to protect myself from catching it and spreading it.  Here are some of the things we will have in place.

• Nightclub style rope barriers will be placed in front of the booth, to ensure that the public are two meters away from me.
• I will not be accepting requests by people coming up to the booth and asking for them directly. People will be ushered away if they approach the booth.
• We wont taking requests written on bits of paper or beer mats.
• Requests can be made by using our ask.the.dj/starlightparty webpage. This is the latest in request technology and sends the request directly to me on my laptop.  This does not mean we will automatically play all requests.  Same rules apply, we will play them if they are suitable, we have them and meets the type of party.  Requests can also be made via text.
• We have decided that we will not be taking Karaoke bookings for 2020 and only in 2021 if social distancing rules are removed.
• The use of the microphone will available to one or two people only. The microphone will be sanitised, and a brand-new microphone cover will be used and only used by the person using the microphone.  The DJ’s microphone will only be used by the DJ.
• There will be a banner present at all bookings explaining our rules and how to make requests.
• Loading and unloading will be a major issue, especially when it comes to evening events as the end of the night loading can be problematic when it comes to guest blocking doorways and exits. Unfortunately, I will not be able to load or unload if access and social distancing can not be met.  This will incur a waiting charge of £20 per additional 30 minutes I have to wait for guests to clear exits.  Venues will also be ensuring guests are cleared quick.  So, if you are wanting taxis or lifts pre-book them.  I will be advising this through-out the evening.
• Children’s parties are obviously going to be hard to keep social distancing and all we can do is try our best to ensure that the health and safety requirements are met. This may include the DJ wearing a comedy face mask, ensuring there is hand sanitising gels available for everyone to use.  Disinfecting the equipment every time it is used prior to setup.  So, this might mean we will need an additional 15-minute setup.  The games we will play might have to change a little and the magic might have to change so we are not all bunched up close.

In summary:

• Social Distancing will be met around the DJ Booth
• Song requests can only be made via our app or text
• No Karaoke and Microphone use will be limited to one person
• Hand Sanitising stations will be available
• All our equipment will be sanitised before and after every booking
• DJ/Entertainer will wear a facemask when working with children
• Children’s parties will still be fun!
• Exits to load and unload must be kept free and social distancing rules will be in place, if I cannot load or unload penalties will be imposed on the client