LivCo Sol

Tips for Businesses

We want you to be prepared! One of the most challenging planning aspects is determining how many people may visit Livingston County for this event. The Finger Lakes Region is considered one of the premier locations to view the eclipse due to our proximity to major cities combined with our already robust tourism industry.

Grocery stores, gas stations, hotels, restaurants, transportation services, retail stores, and other establishments are expected to experience heavier than normal business. With the potential for a large influx of crowds, we encourage businesses to begin preparing accordingly. Please review the following to see how your business can prepare for the upcoming eclipse.

Start Planning Ahead:

Employee Preparedness: Encourage employees to have a full tank of gas; their own resources ready at home; daycare needs met, etc., by April 4, 2024. Gas stations may be very busy or waiting on resupply.

Cash & Financial Transactions: Be prepared for more cash transactions; consider having extra tills set up. You may have larger than normal deposits over the weekend. Check ahead of time if your bank will be open on April 8, 2024.

• How does your credit/debit card machine access the internet? If you use cell service for your transactions, be prepared with a backup plan. We anticipate a high demand for cellular service, especially on April 8, 2024.

Communications: Anticipate possible cellular service disruptions due to increased demand. Visitors may have urgent requests to use your landline business phone if cell service is limited; decide how you want to handle these requests and make sure employees know what to do.

Regularly Scheduled Deliveries & Product: Evaluate when you receive your regular deliveries; deliveries scheduled for April 8, 2024 may be delayed. Consider rescheduling for Tuesday or ordering extra the week prior.

Restrooms: Be aware that many visitors will be camping; expect customers who may be primarily interested in using business restrooms. Public restrooms will be in short supply and portable restrooms may be at capacity until serviced.

Weather: If conditions are foggy or cloudy, visitors with hotel reservations will most likely not change their plans, but "day trippers" may move to a location with better viewing conditions. There is no way to predict this, but monitoring the weather forecast up to 10 days prior will help.

Eye Safety: Determine if you will provide solar filters or glasses for employees and/or customers. If yes, order them as soon as possible to make sure you receive them in time. Livingston County Tourism is selling eclipse glasses ($2 each) at visitlivco.shop. If you would like a large quantity (more than 25 glasses), email info@visitlivco.com.

Experiencing the Eclipse: Consider a plan that allows employees to view the eclipse. This is a once-in-a-lifetime event that everyone will want to experience.