Plan for recovery or recovery will fail

Super Saturday came and went without the much-heralded trip to the pub, at least for me. Not because I am afraid to venture out, but because the prospect of going out for a meal to a venue that has been closed for 14 weeks did not fill me with confidence that I would experience a perfectly oiled operational machine. Those of us who run hotels and restaurants know that the first night of a new venture is rarely an unqualified success.

So, last weekend seemed like time enough to iron out any glitches and as Saturday night drew closer the anticipation grew. But what a disappointment…

The four of us chose a great dining pub that we have used before and of course it was fantastic to see our mates, but unfortunately it was a pretty bland dining experience. We were offered a reduced menu, which was understandable, but why no specials? Was there nothing left in the freezer from March and why wasn’t the chef desperate to showcase a new dish learnt during lockdown? We had to order by 8pm and leave by 10pm – why? It’s at 10pm when the proper drinking starts, and the tills get busy. There was no cheeseboard on the menu and not even a pepper mill available… just sad Macdonald’s style sachets.

The service team were very helpful but there was no banter or fun, just a sanitised and process driven experience. I understand that staff are nervous and unsure of the new procedures, but customers will not keep spending their money (particularly if they have had a 20% pay cut for the last three months) for something that is no better than eating at home.

My local hotels have also reopened to residents, but many have decided not to entertain external diners – surely 25% occupancy does not fill even a socially distanced restaurant? Why reopen with all the associated costs and operate with one arm tied behind your back with restricted access and hours?

It is also disappointing that the pandemic has allowed some service staff to default to their comfort zone of poor service using social distancing as an excuse to avoid looking after the customer.

A diluted version of what went before will not persuade customers to come back.

This should be the opportunity to come back with something new – offering new menus, takeaway options, even friendlier service and an enhanced outdoor experience. Hats off to a local restaurant that is using the pop-up separating screens to write the daily specials on – I’ll be getting some of those. 

The hospitality industry needs to make the new norm fun…

We must not allow a highly sociable industry to become very unsociable because of Covid-19 restrictions. Notwithstanding the risk aversion of many customers, those who are more confident will only return if the experience is going to be enjoyable and value for money.

And all the while we see sales at a fraction of pre-Covid levels, payroll in excess of turnover and hugely inflated costs due to new cleaning regimes. The Chancellor is right to wind down the Job Retention Scheme. It has been a life saver, but it is not good to get used to being paid to do nothing and the experience will have a serious impact on the work ethic when or if employees return to work.

The additional government financial support has been very welcome, particularly the reduction in VAT, but what is missing is, in the overused Americanism, a roadmap, a plan to get back to some degree of normality. What does success look like? When I wrote my last blog two weeks ago the infection rate was one in 1,700, it is now estimated to be one in 4,000. When will the government say that it is safe to go out – one in 100,000? 

The government needs to set out when they think that the key revenue streams of conferences, events and functions will return to give customers the confidence to book and generate much needed cash for hotels. Enforce a fully refundable deposit as a condition if necessary but we need some indication of the direction of travel to get out of the current economic zombie state. We need dates in the diary when government estimates that larger events will be given the go ahead so that customers have the confidence to book, otherwise we will continue to plod along in a climate of suspended animation.

We have moved from a rule-based environment to one that is more flexible but there is still a demand for certainty where it doesn’t exist, and a lack of clarity encourages risk aversion. ‘Stay Home Save Lives’ was a massively successful message but where is the equally direct message to save our economy? Perhaps ‘Go Out Save Jobs’ should become the new mantra.

Hotels have had to make assumptions in their budgeting and cashflow about when business levels will return to some sort of normality. All hotels are running at a loss for the next two months and unless meetings can return from September and banqueting in December there will be a slew of business failures before the end of the year.

Government have a responsibility to not only support firms financially but to change the messaging to get customers to return. Our responsibility as operators is to ensure they have a great time.

Both these goals need to be delivered if we are going to survive into 2021.