The Re-opening Case at the Dialoghaus

Last summer brought some hope for the pandemic to reduce its intensity in Europe and Asia. The decreasing cases led us to a positive bias and many business restarted operations. Among those, the Dialoghaus – our Dialogue Matrix in Hamburg.

Photo of the entrance of the Dialoghaus in Hamburg decorated with rainbow colored banners that announce the re-opening on October, 1st.

The Dialoghaus is the oldest sister among the Dialogue in the Dark franchises. That is why its re-opening meant an optimistic signal for the Dialogue international family.

I spoke with the Dialoghaus team and they shared hopeful details. The long-awaited re-opening occurred on October the first. The initial intention was to open from Friday to Sunday. However, due to the numerous requests they decided to open from Thursday on. The response from visitors was surprisingly good.

The initial plan was to schedule tours under the corona groups format, which means that only visitors who come together can be part of the group. But the operational cost was too high, furthermore, the requests from visitors were plentiful. The decision was to discard the corona groups as they were not officially required as part of a governmental rule.

The utilization during the reopening was 84%. An average of 126 visitors daily (approx. 6 visitors per tour). Visitors included more families and adults, some groups, and few schools. The Dinner in the Dark – which number of places were reduced – was fully book until December.

The blind guides played a very important role on keeping hygiene in the dark. After several disinfection methods and ideas, the decision was that every guide cleans and disinfect the parts of the exhibition that visitors will explore. Guides and visitors wear masks. But all in all visitors where relaxed and happy.

The Dialoghaus reopened for 16 days. As we all know, the second wave of the pandemic came to Europe. Therefore, new lockdowns were prescribed and the Dialoghaus is closed again.

However, its great attendance during the reopening and the desire of visitors to experience Dialogue in the Dark is a positive sign for the future of our in-person experiences.