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ADA Compliance and Hearing Impairments: Everything Your Business Needs to Know

By | airports, Auction, Business, Casinos, Churches, Education, Government, Hearing Assistance, Hearing Loss, Stadiums, Theater, Tour Guides, Wireless Audio | No Comments

Every public business, organization, or venue should be thinking about how to improve accessibility at their establishment. Not only does it create a more welcoming environment for any and every-one that visits, but it can also be a legal requirement. 

Read on to learn more about how your business can (and must) improve accessibility through ADA compliance and other accessibility-friendly solutions.

What is ADA compliance?

The Americans with Disabilities Act was signed into law in 1990. It prohibits discrimination and seeks to improve accessibility at public government entities and privately-owned “places of public accommodation,” and requires employers with 15+ employees to provide reasonable accommodations for those with disabilities.

What are ADA guidelines for hearing impairments?

The ADA requirements for hearing impairments vary by platform, business type, or entity. For example, all airlines within and into the United States must accommodate hearing loss, according to the Air Carriers Access Act (ACAA), which is typically accomplished by adding captions to airport TVs
 
Other public venues must provide assistive listening devices (ALDs) in each assembly area where audible communication is integral to the use of the space. These venues include movie theaters, concert and lecture halls, schools, museums, hospitals, stadiums and arenas, courtrooms, conference rooms, convention centers, nursing homes, community centers, and the list goes on and on. 
 
If your venue provides fixed seating (e.g., theater or stadium) for 50 or more people, ADA compliant receivers must be available for a percentage of seating capacity. Originally it was 4% of capacity, but that figure was updated in 2010 to give larger venues a bit of a break with a scaled quantity. Additionally, at least 25% or a minimum of two receivers must be hearing-aid compatible.

What is an ADA-compliant device?

ADA compliant products for hard-of-hearing individuals include assistive listening systems (ALS) or assistive listening devices (ALDs). An assistive listening system is defined as an amplification system utilizing transmitters, receivers, and coupling devices to bypass the acoustical space between a sound source and a listener by means of induction loop, radio frequency, infrared, direct-wired equipment or wireless connection.

Who enforces ADA compliance?

Several agencies play a role in enforcing or investigating ADA compliance claims, including The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Communications Commission (FCC), U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Department of Education, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), U.S. Department of Labor, and the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board (ATBCB).

What are the consequences of not following the ADA guidelines?

Failing to comply with ADA guidelines can result in both financial and reputation repercussions
 
On a purely financial basis, your business or organization can be fined by the federal government up to $75,000 for the first violation and $150,000 for additional ADA violations, and state or local governments may tack on additional fines. Additionally, you open yourself up to lawsuits, personal injury claims, and legal or civil penalties from disabled individuals with legitimate complaints or ambulance-chasing entities looking to make an easy buck. 
 
From a reputation perspective, your brand name can also be dragged through the mud for non-compliance, which can also severely affect your business financially in both the short and long term.

What businesses or organizations are exempt from ADA compliance?

The ADA does not apply to places of worship, religious organizations/schools, private clubs, or any other venue historically excluded from federal civil rights laws. However, many of these organizations decide to provide some type of assistive listening option to create a more welcoming and inclusive environment for all of their members and patrons. 
 
Learn more about our assistive listening solutions for churches and houses of worship.

Does AudioFetch work with ADA-compliant receivers?

Yes, AudioFetch is compatible with ADA-compliant receivers. AudioFetch can be used to broadcast the audio source live, and then businesses can use a regulation ADA-compliant device to receive that audio. 
 
AudioFetch also integrates seamlessly with hearing aids; listeners connect the hearing aid to their smartphone via Bluetooth and are able to listen in real-time.

AudioFetch works with businesses and organizations of all sizes to help you create a more accessible and welcoming environment for your guests, customers, and employees. If you’re ready to get started, contact us or schedule an appointment to learn more and request a free demo. 

AudioFetch Blog Header - Easter Church Services

6 Articles to Help Your Church Get Ready For Easter This Year

By | Churches, Drive-in Audio, Hearing Assistance, Translation | No Comments

With Easter services just a couple of short months away, we wanted to share some of our most popular blogs about hearing assistance and translation services in churches. Check out the following articles to learn how to create a more inclusive environment for those with hearing impairments, how to welcome members that speak different languages, and how to create a safe space for congregants of all ages.

Help Your Congregation Hear Easter Services

Easter services bring in a larger crowd than usual each year. And while this year’s services will be anything but usual, houses of worship can still expect to see more community members visiting the church for the holiday. Whether your organization is planning to have indoor or outdoor services, there are ways you can help your larger-than-usual congregation hear better this Easter. Continue reading…

How to Make Your Worship Services More Accessible

Creating a welcoming and inclusive environment is a key goal for every type of religious organization. Church members and guests should be provided with resources and tools that allow them to take part in weekly services and other events to the fullest extent possible, despite any hearing impairments or language barriers. 

Yet, because houses of worship are exempt from the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and/or because many believe that addressing these requirements is too complicated and expensive, they neglect to take steps to create this welcoming community. Fortunately, we’re proud to offer a solution that is both simple and inexpensive to install. Our audio over WiFi solutions are designed to make it simple and affordable for any type of religious organization to make their services more accessible and welcoming to all types of audiences. Learn how AudioFetch helps those with hearing impairments and language barriers. Continue reading… 

How to Broadcast Your Church Services to Cars in Parking Lots

Many churches and houses of worship are continuing to modify how they deliver messages to congregations to practice social distancing for older or immunocompromised members. Online tools, virtual hangouts, social media, and drive-in church services in parking lots are all still in effect.  

We’ve worked with thousands of churches since the start of this global pandemic to help them create drive-in services. We are able to offer drive-in audio streaming through our products in two ways: Using AudioFetch to broadcast to smartphones or using an FM transmitter to broadcast to the car radio. Continue reading to learn more about these options

Is Audio Streaming Right for Your House of Worship?

A house of worship should be a place that brings people from all walks of life together for fellowship. With young and old, bilingual speakers and various disabilities all coming together in one space, a house of worship needs solutions to help meet its congregation’s audio needs. It used to be that adding assistive listening devices for churches wasn’t worth the trouble; programming changes and ongoing upkeep made it an expensive and burdensome addition. But modern solutions are able to eliminate all of that and leverage existing technology that works for everyone.

Here are a few of the reasons why a hearing assistive system could be a God-send for your house of worship. Continue reading…

Audio Solutions to Help Your House of Worship

Baby boomers represent about one-quarter of the American population and as they age, they may begin to experience hearing loss.  Along with that, approximately 5% of the total population experiences some type of hearing disability.  This makes it important for any religious organization to consider and anticipate their needs and give consideration to the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), even if houses of worship are exempt from ADA requirements. Many houses of worship are looking for ways to leverage technology to make assistive listening and accessibility simpler, more effective, and less costly.  

For decades, houses of worship have used inductive loop systems to assist the hearing impaired, but these systems are cumbersome, expensive, and still require the use of a hearing aid which many people find embarrassing. Recent developments in hearing assistive technology, however, can be a great solution both for houses of worship with tight budgets to assist parishioners experiencing hearing loss.  Some devices use BlueTooth technology, which allows the pairing of cell phones and hearing aids to assist the congregation in hearing the service directly without having to use a headset.  

Audio streaming solutions that use built-in WiFi technology work similarly to BlueTooth. These assisted listening solutions for churches allow listeners to hear the service via an app on their own device (phone or tablet) using their own earbuds or headset which can be great for those who do not want to wear a hearing aid but still need the audio boosted. Continue reading…

How to Promote AudioFetch at Your Business or Organization

Installing AudioFetch at your business is a breeze. Getting customers to use it shouldn’t be difficult either! We offer several ideas for announcing the addition of AudioFetch wireless audio streaming at your church and getting more members to use it. Continue reading…

If you’re looking for an effective and cost-efficient audio solution for your house of worship for Easter, AudioFetch is it! Contact us by calling 844-HI-FETCH or scheduling an appointment to discuss your needs and get a free quote.

AudioFetch Blog Header - Holiday Hearing Solutions

Holiday Hearing Solutions: 4 Ways AudioFetch Can Help People Hear More Together

By | Churches, Drive-in Audio, Hearing Assistance, Theater, Translation, Wireless Audio | No Comments

One holiday down, on to the next one! Now that Thanksgiving is past, businesses and organizations are gearing up for all the fun and festive Christmas events. 

To bring communities together in safer ways and help make these events more enjoyable for guests, businesses and organizations are using AudioFetch wireless audio streaming solutions. 

Discover four ways that AudioFetch is being used to help people hear more together this holiday season: 

Holiday Drive-Through Events

Last year, many organizations from community centers and city planning groups to zoos and botanic gardens held drive-through events for the holidays. These events were required to adhere to social distancing guidelines and indoor restrictions, but they ended up being extremely popular and requested again this year. 

If you are planning to host a drive-through or drive-in event for the holidays, we can help with your audio sound system. Our wireless audio streaming solutions allow you to broadcast audio to smartphones or tablets. Listeners simply download the AudioFetch App, and then they can hear in real-time from their cars using a smartphone or Bluetooth speaker.

Christmas Church Services 

The Christmas season always brings in larger crowds at churches for holiday-themed sermons and midnight masses. The messages during this time are special, and it is especially important that they are heard plainly by everyone. But that can be difficult with the background din of shuffling, kneeling, echoing and children, especially for those with hearing impairments or language barriers. 

Our assisted listening devices for churches can help 100% of people hear 100% of the services. With AudioFetch, you can broadcast the services to your congregation’s phones or other smart devices. Church members download the free AudioFetch app, and they can start listening immediately. 

AudioFetch is the simplest and most affordable assistive listening solution for churches. It’s cheaper and easier than installing a complex hearing loop system, and it entirely removes the concerns of using shared listening devices. Since congregants use their own personal smartphones, there is no risk of spreading viruses and germs and you don’t have to sanitize devices after every use. 

If your congregation has members that speak Spanish, French, Mandarin or any other language, AudioFetch is an invaluable solution here, too. A live translator can speak into a microphone attached to AudioFetch, which will broadcast the translated services to anyone listening via the app. Using AudioFetch as translation equipment for churches creates a welcoming environment for all church members and any new folks that only join during the Christmas season. 

Holiday Theater Performances and Concerts

The Nutcracker, A Christmas Carol, Elf, Bing Crosby Christmas Concerts, School Christmas Pageants. Traditional shows, new favorites and local events can be enjoyed at theaters and performing arts centers big and small around the world at this time of year.

AudioFetch is an ideal assistive listening device for theaters. Not only is it more affordable than the traditional hearing loop systems that theaters have used in the past, but it’s also simpler and more convenient than any other assistive listening solution out there. 

Plug AudioFetch in, connect to WiFi, and start broadcasting audio immediately. And there’s no need to keep track of clunky and unhygienic devices since listeners use their own smartphones and earbuds. It’s a simple and convenient solution for theater owners and theater-goers alike. 

Holiday Tour Groups

Tours often pick up during the holidays when friends and family look for unique ways to experience the season together. Whether it’s a holiday-themed exhibit at a museum or a walking tour to experience the seasonal sights and sounds of a city, tours can be a fun way to enjoy each other’s company outside the home.

To make that experience even more enjoyable and protect the health of both attendees and tour guides alike, businesses and organizations are using our wireless tour guide audio system. The tour guide simply speaks into a microphone attached to our AudioFetch Express, and the tour group members can listen via their smartphones and personal headphones. 

If you’re looking for an effective and cost-efficient audio solution for your business or organization this holiday season, AudioFetch is it! Contact us by calling 844-HI-FETCH or scheduling an appointment to discuss your needs and get a free quote.

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World Lutheran Deaf Outreach Ministry Provides Hearing Assistance with AudioFetch

By | AudioFetch News, Churches, Hearing Assistance | No Comments

We’re proud to work with businesses and organizations that help to bring communities together and raise awareness about hearing health around the world. We wanted to highlight a commendable organization that we’ve recently had the pleasure of working with to provide an assistive listening solution–World Lutheran Deaf Outreach Ministry.

Meet World Lutheran Deaf Outreach Ministry

World Lutheran Deaf Ministry Logo

World Lutheran Deaf Outreach Ministry (WLDO) seeks to connect with the 98% of deaf and hard of hearing individuals who do not attend church because of hearing concerns. Various factors–sentence structure, passive voice, inefficient hearing assistance devices–have historically made attending services a challenge, but WLDO is changing that! Through resources, training, worship, and small group study, WLDO is helping deaf and hard of hearing people come together where they previously couldn’t. 

WLDO has deaf ministries in locations around the country, including Emmanuel Lutheran Church of the Deaf in Milwaukee, WI, Our Savior Deaf Lutheran Church in Madison, WI, Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Delavan, WI, Life in Christ Church in Peoria, AZ, Trinity Lutheran Church in Litchfield Park, AZ, Holy-Three-In-One Lutheran Deaf Church in Houston, TX, and St. Paul Lutheran Church in Jackson, MS. 

How WLDO Discovered AudioFetch for Assistive Listening

We were introduced to WLDO through a customer that had previously purchased our home audio streaming solution, AudioFetch Home. “My hearing is significantly impaired (60% loss) and I really can’t understand TV programs,” says Galen Stanely, who purchased AudioFetch Home in November 2020. “With AudioFetch Home streaming to my Bluetooth hearing aids via my iPhone, the audio is crystal clear. I use it every day.” 

After having such a positive experience with Home, Galen recommended AudioFetch to his pastor. “Our WLDO pastor ministers full time to hearing impaired and deaf people in our area and all across the US,” Galen added. “He uses the highly mobile AudioFetch Express for both worship and small group study while visiting many churches and congregations.”

The Most Affordable Assistive Listening Solution for Churches

Houses of worship around the world use AudioFetch Express as simple, affordable, and flexible assistive listening devices for churches, as well as to provide real-time translation services. AudioFetch eliminates the need for maintenance-intensive and unhygienic assistive listening devices or expensive and complex hearing loop systems. It’s simple to install and easy for listeners to use via the free AudioFetch app on their smartphone or tablet. 

If you’re looking for an effective and cost-efficient way to provide accessibility for your hearing-impaired members, AudioFetch is the ideal solution! Contact us by calling 844-HI-FETCH or scheduling an appointment to discuss your house of worship application and free get a quote. 

AudioFetch Blog Header - Church Easter Services

Help Your Congregation Hear Easter Services

By | Churches | No Comments

Easter services bring in a larger crowd than usual each year. And while this year’s services will be anything but usual, houses of worship can still expect to see more community members visiting the church for the holiday. 

Whether your organization is planning to have indoor or outdoor services, there are ways you can help your larger-than-usual congregation hear better this Easter. 

Holding Easter Services Indoors

Echoes from tall ceilings, shuffling from kneelers, sounds from children. All of these noises can make it difficult for non-hearing-impaired members to hear the sermon. Add in a hearing impairment, and it’s likely they’re missing at least 20% of what’s being said.

Our assisted listening devices for churches can help everyone hear 100% of the services. With AudioFetch, you can broadcast the services to your congregation via the AudioFetch app. Church members simply download the free AudioFetch app, and they can start listening immediately. 

It’s a simple and affordable replacement for hearing loop systems, and can help address any safety concerns about using shared devices–since members use their own smartphone or tablet and their own headphones, there’s no sharing of hearing devices (and no ongoing maintenance or cleaning required).

If your congregation has members that speak another language, AudioFetch can help here, too. A live translator can speak into a microphone attached to AudioFetch, which will broadcast the translated services to anyone listening via the app. Using AudioFetch as translation equipment for churches creates a welcoming environment for all community members and fresh faces that will join you for Easter Services.

Holding Easter Services Outdoors

Churches that aren’t permitted or aren’t comfortable holding indoor services are continuing drive-in services in their parking lots. With our AudioFetch church drive-in audio solution or FM Transmitter offered by our partner company Broadcastvision Entertainment, your congregation can hear every work of the Easter services from the safety and comfort of their vehicles. 

Even if your church is hosting indoor services, this is still a great option for your members that are more at-risk and cautious. You can broadcast the same services indoors and outdoors so everyone can feel connected and safe. 

We’re also offering special bundled packages for churches to allow you to connect via your own WiFi or with a router, or to get both the AudioFetch Express and the FM Transmitter at once. These bundled packages can be found at our Broadcastvision website

Make your religious gathering welcoming to all, and be confident that you are engaging all those who chose to attend Easter Services by contacting us today, before the holiday rush.

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New Technology for a New Normal

By | Churches, Education, Fitness Centers, Hearing Assistance, Restaurants, Sports Bars, Tour Guides, Translation | No Comments

We’re all eager to return to some semblance of normalcy in our daily and public lives. Yet, with new more contagious and more deadly variants of COVID-19 spreading across the globe, that possibility keeps getting further and further away. And even when the world does get a handle on this pandemic, and public businesses and events can resume at full capacity, it won’t be what we all consider “normal” for a long time

In this new normal, people will be extremely cautious when it comes to patronizing businesses or attending public events. We’ve gotten used to the regulations. They not only provide safety from a physical standpoint–wearing masks and standing farther apart makes it more difficult for disease-carrying saliva droplets to land on others–they also provide emotional safety by making us feel safer and protected from the things we can’t fully control. Once the pandemic is controlled, the physical aspects go away quickly, but the emotional ones will stick around for a long while.

Even if businesses do open back up at full capacity and all regulations are lifted this year, it’s wise to continue providing safety measures for your customers and guests, allowing them to feel more comfortable and confident at your establishment. 

Our audio over WiFi streaming solutions can help your business provide these safety measures now, and in a post-pandemic world. Following are three ways our technology can help in the new normal. 

Continued Social Distancing 

Our wireless tour guide system lets tour guides broadcast their voice to anyone within 300 feet in any direction. This allows for ample distance between tour group attendees, and provides your business with a responsible and marketable advantage. 

At restaurants and sports bars, AudioFetch allows you to broadcast audio from muted TVs to your customers’ smartphones and tablets. No need to gather around a single TV to hear the audio, or even have tables grouped nearby. Customers can hear the TV audio anywhere in the building or patio seating by using the free AudioFetch app. This allows everyone to maintain a safe, comfortable distance from others, while enjoying the entertainment, the food and drinks, and the community experience. 

Less Shared Equipment

Even pre-pandemic, hearing assistive devices and transmitters were always a pain to keep clean. Post-pandemic, customers and guests will be less willing to use a shared device. At best, this creates a less enjoyable experience; at worst, they’ll look for another venue that is more welcoming and accommodating. 

AudioFetch solves this problem. Since listeners use their own smartphone and headphones to hear the audio, you don’t need to provide (or maintain!) any additional devices. AudioFetch is ideal as an assistive listening system for churches, theaters, and schools and educational facilities, or as a translation streaming solution. Tour groups also benefit from replacing their shared hearing devices with their attendees’ smartphones and the AudioFetch app.

Fewer Surfaces to Touch

For fitness centers and gyms, instead of using entertainment screens attached to cardio machines or allowing anyone to control shared TVs or sound systems, members use their own smartphones to listen to TV audio or music throughout the club. This reduces the number of surfaces that members come into contact with at the club. It also limits the amount of equipment that must be disinfected by your staff throughout the day. 

In addition to tour groups, sports bars, churches, theaters, schools and fitness centers, AudioFetch can benefit numerous other types of businesses and organizations that want to help their guests hear better and feel safer. Call us today at 1-844-443-3824 or schedule a meeting to discuss how your business can use new technology for a new normal. 

AudioFetch Blog Header - How to Make Your Church More Accessible

How to Make Your Worship Services More Accessible

By | Churches, Hearing Assistance, Translation | No Comments

Creating a welcoming and inclusive environment is a key goal for every type of religious organization. Church members and guests should be provided with resources and tools that allow them to take part in weekly services and other events to the fullest extent possible, despite any hearing impairments or language barriers. 

Yet, because houses of worship are exempt from the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and/or because many believe that addressing these requirements is too complicated and expensive, they neglect to take steps to create this welcoming community. Fortunately, we’re proud to offer a solution that is both simple and inexpensive to install. 

Our audio over WiFi solutions are designed to make it simple and affordable for any type of religious organization to make their services more accessible and welcoming to all types of audiences. Learn how AudioFetch helps those with hearing impairments and language barriers. 

Welcoming a Person Who is Hard of Hearing

According to That All May Worship, the leading educational publication that provides tips and information on how houses of worship can better welcome people with disabilities, hearing impairments are an imperative. “Each congregation includes people, young and old, who are hard of hearing or deaf. They may read lips so well that they appear less deaf than they truly are. Indeed, they may understand only 80% of what is spoken, chanted or sung, but may be reluctant to complain.” 

For decades, houses of worship have used inductive loop systems to assist the hearing impaired, but these systems are cumbersome, expensive and still require the use of a hearing aid which many people find embarrassing. AudioFetch is a better solution to hearing loops

Our assisted listening devices for churches allow listeners to hear the service via an app on their own device (phone or tablet) using their own headphones. This is a great solution for those who are reluctant to complain or request a hearing device. It also eliminates the need for using shared devices, which require ongoing maintenance to ensure they’re properly working and, uber important in today’s climate, disinfected. 

By offering hearing assistance, you’re providing a safe and approachable environment for all members and their families. As noted in That All May Worship: “Many deaf [and hard of hearing] people prefer to worship in congregations which specifically serve people who are deaf [or hard of hearing]. This is particularly important for deaf parents who have hearing children and wish to worship as a family.”

Welcoming a Person Who Speaks Another Language

For many houses of worship, English isn’t the first language for some of their members. Members may attend your services to be with their English-speaking family members or because there are no other options in the area. But providing live language interpretation will allow all to feel welcome in your community, and may even bring in a whole new audience. 

With our AudioFetch translation equipment for churches, your members use their own smart phone and headset to listen in to translation via the AudioFetch app. If you’re already using AudioFetch for hearing assistance, you can use the same device. Simply dedicate another channel to broadcast a real-time stream of the translation. 

With Easter right around the corner, houses of worship can prepare now to create a more inclusive environment for all members. Call us today at 1-844-443-3824 or schedule a meeting to discuss hearing assistance and translation solutions for your church. 

AudioFetch Blog Header - Church Drive In Is Here to Stay

Drive-In Church is Here to Stay

By | Churches | No Comments

As many regions are relaxing stay-at-home guidelines, and businesses and organizations around the world are beginning to reopen, people are eager to resume their pre-quarantine activities. Yet, coronavirus cases are on the rise again, and many groups are wary of jumping in too quickly, putting the community at greater risk and extending the pandemic. 

We talk with numerous businesses and organizations around the world each day, and have found varying levels of confidence in reopening. But there’s one group that, across the board, we’ve found is more skeptical of going back to “normal”–houses of worship. There are several reasons for their apprehension.

No One Knows When It WIll Be Safe

While the CDC has provided specific considerations for faith-based organizations, they’re not crystal clear guidelines. These instructions are left to the discretion of local and state authorities, and quite frankly, it’s all over the place and frequently changing. 

Our only hope for certainty of safety is a vaccine. And while early trials have been positive, there’s no real fixed timeline. And again, reports are all over the place and frequently changing. 

With so many mixed reports and uncertainty, and with the health and safety of their community on the line, houses of worship are playing it safe and continuing to host drive-in services.

Safety and Community are Imperative 

A primary goal of any house of worship is to create a warm and caring fellowship for members. 

That’s where coming together, supporting each other and ensuring the health and safety of all members is so important. No church wants to be in the position that Lighthouse Pentecostal Church in Union County, Oregon found themselves in last month–responsible for 236 coronavirus cases, the state’s largest outbreak.  

Playing it safe and taking the right precautions to protect members is the right thing to do until we have a better handle on this pandemic. 

Even if a church decides to hold services indoors, there are still some members that should not be exposing themselves to such risks. Seniors, people with pre-existing medical conditions, immunosuppressed–these church members can feel left out or even shunned if they’re unable to attend services with their family and peers. For these individuals, offering an outdoor option along with indoor services can provide safer and more inclusive environments that are necessary in our current state. 

This tool allows you to calculate your risk of contracting coronavirus based on age and various medical conditions. And the results are alarming. Sure, a person under 40 with no medical conditions is at very low risk–less than 1% age-specific fatality and comorbidity rate. But start upping that age range, and tacking on pre-existing conditions, and the rates begin to soar. 

For all of these reasons, we believe that drive-in church services are here to stay for the foreseeable future. And why not?  Providing outdoor drive in services exclusively or concurrent with indoor services just makes sense to protect the most vulnerable of the flock.

If you are interested in hosting drive-in services at your house of worship, our drive-in audio technology can help you create a safer, more inclusive environment. Order our FM transmitter or contact us to discuss your options. 

AudioFetch Blog Header - Summer Listening

8 Summer Listening Ideas for Businesses Using Wireless Audio Streaming

By | Business, Churches, Dining, Fitness Centers, Music, Restaurants, Sports Bars, Tour Guides, Travel | No Comments

Summer is finally here! And while it may not be the one you were anticipating for your business, there are still plenty of ways to help your customers and guests enjoy the sun and the company of friends and family, and grow your business. 

Following are 8 ideas for providing summer listening entertainment for your customers:

1. Drive-In Movies

Drive-ins are making a come-back in a big way! Whether it’s your traditional drive-in movie theater with a gigantic stationary screen and set parking spaces or a mobile movie night in your parking lot or a nearby park, drive-ins are allowing the community to come together in a responsible way and allowing businesses to generate some revenue and some goodwill.

We’ve been working with all types of businesses to offer drive-in services over the past few months. Like Vanderwende Farm Creamery in Bridgeville, Delaware. Vanderwende is a family-owned and -operated dairy farm and creamery. They’ve started hosting drive-ins at their farm to create a fun and responsible event for the community, and to share their love of ice cream. We’re predicting movie + ice cream as the hot new trend this summer (or maybe just hoping!). 

2. Bar & Restaurant Patios

Who wants to eat indoors in the summer anyway?! Patio beers are really what summer is all about! 

Many bars and restaurants are beginning to reopen for dine-in services across the globe, and they’re getting creative with setting up outdoor spaces to promote safe social distances. 

With our audio over wifi streaming technology, you can provide entertainment options to patrons seated on the patio or anywhere throughout the restaurant. Another option is to install personal viewing TV monitors at each table for easier and safer entertainment options for individual parties. 

3. Outdoor Church Services

Churches were forced to adopt drive-in services over the past few months, but many are finding their members like being outdoors to enjoy the sun and warm weather. Even now that some services can resume indoors, it can be a fresh and fun option to continue hosting parking lot services or even a picnic service on a grassy expanse or nearby park. 

Our FM Transmitter makes broadcasting church services painless to anyone in their cars with a radio handy. For a more tech-savvy solution, AudioFetch allows you to broadcast those same services to your members’ smartphones or tablets, and is also ideal for assistive listening and translation services whether indoors or out! 

4. Music Festivals

Sadly, Lollapalooza and many other large music festivals have been cancelled this summer. Yet, some smaller and more localized festivals are still able to move forward. With a variety of safety precautions, of course.

A key safety precaution that music festivals can leverage is allowing attendees to stream the music through their smartphones. Attendees won’t have to squeeze in around the stage or even be in sight of the speakers to hear the music. They can maintain the appropriate distance from each other, and still get the music experience. 

6. Zoos

With acres and acres of outdoors spaces, zoos can be a safer option for an entertaining and educational outing this summer. To further reduce the amount of contact that guests have with staff, wireless audio streaming technology can be employed. 

Guests can listen in on their smartphones or tablets to hear from a zoo guide as they move through the facility together, or they can tune in at specific exhibits to learn more about the animal and plant life found in these areas. 

7. Tour Groups

As tours begin to resume across various destinations and activities, it’s imperative that tour groups are provided with safety precautions to ensure they’re maintaining social distancing while still being able to enjoy the tour experience. 

With a wireless tour guide system, all participants can maintain the appropriate six feet distance from each other and still hear every word the guide is saying. 

8. Outdoor Fitness Classes

Most gyms and fitness centers are still closed, yet it’s still possible to offer classes in parks or other outdoors spaces. Using our FetchExpress portable audio streaming device, instructors can guide and motivate attendees while running drills up a hill, doing squats in a safely-spaced group, or quietly meditating under trees.   

It won’t be the summer any of us expected, but it can still be a lot of fun! If you’d like to learn more about how you can create fun and safer events for your customers with wireless audio streaming, contact us today. 

AudioFetch Blog Header -Drive-in Audio

How Your Business or Organization Can Host Drive-In Events

By | Business, AudioFetch News, Churches, General, Sports Bars, streaming | No Comments

Many of our church customers are hosting parking lot church services, allowing their members to continue coming together while maintaining a safe physical distance. These “drive-in” style services let their members maintain a sense of community and connection, without risking the health of themselves and their families. These socially-distant gatherings have been so popular over the past couple weeks, we wanted to share some ideas for other types of events and businesses that can benefit.

Drive-In Movies at Restaurants

Hosting a drive-in movie night is one way to drive business for restaurants that are only able to serve take-out at this time. The materials needed are minimal–a projector, a big screen (which could just be a white sheet!), and technology to broadcast the audio to cars. Customers get a break from being stuck in their houses all day, and restaurants get a boost in sales of take-out from the event.

Drive-In Graduations for Universities and High Schools 

While daily classes have moved to the virtual world, there’s one final event on all seniors’ minds right now–graduation day. Rather than host this online or skip it altogether, universities and high schools could host the ceremony in the school parking lot. Grads and families can remain in their cars, and tune in to their radio to hear the commencement speech. Walking across the stage won’t be possible, of course, but the graduates can all honk when their names are called! Learn more about drive-in graduation ceremonies.

Drive-in Weddings

You’ve spent months, maybe even years, planning your big day, and the idea of postponing it is not only heartbreaking, it’s a logistical nightmare. You can still celebrate your love from a safe distance by hosting a drive-in wedding ceremony. Allow family and friends to listen to the vows while sitting in their cars (throwing birdseed in their cars is optional!). Learn more about drive-in wedding ceremonies.

Parking Lot Services at Funeral Homes

When a loved one passes, it’s important for everyone to have the opportunity to come together, celebrating and honoring their life. Those gatherings can still happen, just in a different way. Mourners can meet in the parking lot, seeing other family and friends and listening to the eulogy at a safe distance.

Drive-In Business Presentations

To maintain a semblance of community and connection for businesses forced to work from home, drive-in presentations may be a solution. A single speaker can present using a microphone, and employees can listen in via their smartphones or radio in their cars. 

Drive-In Bingo at Retirement Communities

Those living in close-knit retirement communities are accustomed to attending potlucks, bingo nights, dances and numerous other activities planned on a daily basis. These neighborhoods can maintain a sense of connection without risking the health of their residents by hosting drive-in bingo nights. The caller can use a microphone to announce the numbers, while players remain safely in their cars. 

Drive-In Dance Parties

Going out to a club is not permitted currently, but there are no restrictions on dancing in cars. Create a dance party in wheels by broadcasting music to attendees in their cars. 

Drive-In Support Groups

If there was ever a time we could all use a little extra support, it’s now. But those people that rely on support groups for their personal health and wellness may not be getting the support they need. With drive-up support groups hosted in parking lots of churches or community centers, attendees can listen in for the encouragement, comfort, and relief they need to get them through this tough time. 

Drive-In  Storytime for Kids

Every parent is looking for new and entertaining ways to keep their kids occupied. Libraries, theaters or other community centers can provide interesting and educational storytime for kids. One person can read a story, while families listen in from the safety and comfort of their vehicles. 

Drive-In Lectures or Educational Events

Museums, libraries, theaters and other community-oriented organizations have been forced to shut their doors, but their parking lots are sitting empty. Hosting a lecture or educational event in these deserted lots provides some much-needed entertainment and a feeling of connection for the community. 

How Can Any Business Offer These Drive-In Audio Events?

With our partner company Broadcastvision Entertainment, we’re able to broadcast audio from any audio source to smartphones.

Send Audio to Phones & Tablets for Drive-in Audio Services

Our drive-in audio solutions allow you to broadcast audio to smartphones or tablets. Listeners simply download and open the AudioFetch App from the app store, and then they can listen in real-time via their smartphone or any Bluetooth speaker. 

We’re currently offering three different drive-in audio packages based on the total number of listeners–100, 150 or 250 listeners. All of these packages include AudioFetch equipment, a wireless router, and ethernet and power cables. And they’re all on sale! Click the button below to learn more about these packages and place your order.

We also offer an FM Transmitter, which broadcasts a message to people listening to the radio while sitting in their cars (up to 300 feet in any direction). This has been a very popular item for drive-in audio.

If you have questions about our technology or hosting a drive-in style event in your parking lot, contact us today to discuss your event and which solution is right for you. We look forward to supporting other small businesses and organizations, helping to keep communities connected, and giving new life to beloved drive-in theaters!