Can you imagine a time when we can once again stand at the bar in a packed pub? I dream about such a day. According to the Propel Newsletter, the trade body, UKHospitality, has called for a return of drinking at the bar among key changes to the government’s re-opening roadmap, as it revealed the toll the covid-19 pandemic has wreaked on the sector.
A year on from the first national lockdown, the industry has experienced more than eight months of closure, costing more than 600,000 jobs, 12,000 business failures and lost sales of £86bn. The trade body said with only a minority of operators being able to trade outdoors from 12 April, closure for the vast majority is due to last another nine weeks until 17 May, when indoor hospitality is permitted to re-open.
With the expectation consumer confidence will take time to recover, trading is unlikely to return to anything like normal levels for at least six months, UKHospitality said. With the industry urging the government to follow the “data not dates” and loosen the restrictions that are in place at different stages of the roadmap, the trade body has urged the government to make some changes. It said hotels with self-contained rooms should be able to open alongside other self-contained accommodation on 12 April and for the earlier re-opening of children’s indoor play areas – set for 17 May.
It also called for people to be able to order via a hatch/outdoor until re-opening in April, order at the bar from indoor opening in May, and for customers to be allowed to consume drinks while standing outdoors. Meanwhile, covid-secure weddings and receptions should be allowed indoors from April, with an increase in guest numbers from 17 May in-line with sporting and other events.
“We also urge the government to look again at some areas of support it introduced in the Budget, in particular the business rates cap, which unfairly penalises a large proportion of hospitality businesses that will find themselves paying full rates just days after restrictions are fully lifted in June. That cannot be right, and we urge ministers to think again.”
UKHospitality Chief Executive Kate Nicholls
