The Government needs to do more to support the hospitality industry to get it through the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic - that was the message from a roundtable of North West entrepreneurs.
BusinessLive and our national sponsor NatWest brought together a panel of hospitality experts to debate the impact of lockdown and social distancing restrictions on them.
In a debate that ranged from Lenin to Blackpool Pleasure Beach, hospitality leaders talked about how they had adapted to cope with the changes.
All panellists agreed that as the country reopens, the Government needs to promote the hospitality sector to give people the confidence they needed to start going out eating and drinking again. And they agreed that venues would also need to come together to promote a shared message that hospitality is open for business once again.
The debate took place before Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced England’s national lockdown. But the key points raised by participants will apply just as well in December when bars and restaurants are set to reopen.
One thing was clear- the venues brought together in this event have had to show great tenacity and skill to survive this unprecedented period.
One speaker even used a famous quote attributed to Lenin: “There are decades where nothing happens; and there are weeks where decades happen”.
Opening the debate, Robert Begbie, CEO of NatWest Markets, said there had been “a lot of optimism” as the country came out of lockdown in July and August but that the second wave had changed the mood.
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Speaking about NatWest’s work with his customers, he said: “We as a bank and certainly as an executive team are proud of the way we've tried to support customers as the pandemic has rolled out.
“We need to continue to listen and we need to continue to work through things because I think as we all are aware, it’s likely to be a difficult winter.”
Blackpool Pleasure Beach boss discusses lockdown
Jonathan Gray, group commercial director and financial director at Blackpool Pleasure Beach, said that his business had felt positive again as infection numbers fell in summer - but that the incoming second wave and lockdown was “terrifying”.
He said: “We're a seasonal business - we spend all our money during the winter in terms of refurbishment with the hope we can open up for Easter. And that's where we turn the taps back on. So the timing of the lockdown couldn't have been worse for us.”
The business got support from NatWest and was able to hold out until it was able to reopen under new social distancing rules from July 4 when people could be 1m rather than 2m apart.
The essential guide to Lockdown 2.0
Mr Gray said: “The most encouraging thing for us is when we did reopen on Fourth of July it was initially slow, but after about two weeks, it started to pick up and whilst we were not trading anywhere near what would be our normal patterns in terms of attendance, things were quite positive.
“We tried to minimize our costs as much as possible, we turned to a more dynamic pricing model, which had really taken hold with very little kickback from customers. So going into July, August was really good for us. We get through September and then we get into October, and then there start to be murmurings with regards to infections rising and potential lockdowns.
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“And I think if you asked me how things were going - a few weeks ago, I would say, really well. But since everything's happened, things have now changed.
“I think the doom and gloom and everything is surrounding it has really killed customer confidence.”
That, he said, meant a big drop off in pre-booking, especially for the crucial October half-term period.
Mowgli FD says consumer confidence has been hit
Matthew Peck, financial director at restaurant group Mowgli, said the lockdown in spring felt like “an absolute lifetime ago”.
That was, he said, followed by a “honeymoon period” in July and August as the world felt like it was getting back to normal.
When we spoke in October, the tiers system was just being introduced. While ten of Mowgli’s 11 restaurants were in tier two or three areas and so were already used to restrictions, the mood music in the country was changing rapidly.
Mr Peck said: “If you’d asked me three weeks ago, last week, three days ago, how it was going, I’d have said it was pretty good.
“But it’s consumer confidence - we’ve almost been scared again as a public.”
He added: It's difficult to see how we navigate this for another four or five months - just as an individual, let alone as a business.”
Menagerie owner: We need to tell people venues are safe
Karina Jadhav, owner and MD of Menagerie bar and restaurant in Manchester, said she had been frustrated by Government
She said that she and other hospitality businesses had worked hard to make sure venues were Covid-safe - but that they had been let down by inconsistent messaging from the Government over the safety of going out to eat and drink.
She said the number of confirmed Covid infections from hospitality venues was low but that bars and restaurants were getting lots of attention from Government and the media.
And she said: “Even if we are allowed to trade the confidence isn’t that strong because of the communication from the Government.
“People don’t see hospitality as a safe space.
“What we need is that message that it is actually safe to be in hospitality settings and it’s not something to be fearful of.
“We are in tier three, we're still allowed to trade and operate and serve drinks with substantial food, but that doesn't matter if the message that people receiving is that it's not safe to go to restaurants.
“I communicate that message to my customers. But when it's being contradicted almost by the powers that be, that's very, very difficult.”
And in a message that will resonate with hospitality businesses when they can open fully again, she said: “We're kind of stuck between a rock and a hard place. But I feel like as an industry, we do need to come together as much as possible to communicate a nice consistent message from all of us.”
William Lees-Jones, managing director of pub and brewing group JW Lees, said: “We actually had a record August and a very good September.” The company even took on 102 more staff.
But then the second wave hit JW Lees, as it hit the other businesses at the panel.
At the event which took place before the lockdown and Rishi Sunak’s new furlough announcement, Mr Lees-Jones said he was behind the battle by Metro Mayor Andy Burnham and nightlife tsar Sacha Lord to make sure that businesses forced to close by tier restrictions could access 80% furlough, not the two-thirds then being offered in Greater Manchester.
He said: “It's just not acceptable for the government to say that two thirds of the minimum wage is something that people can live on in winter when they’ve got heating bills and Christmas presents to buy for their kids.”
Mr Lees-Jones later said he worried that smaller businesses also faced huge pressures from their landlords and might find it difficult to survive if lockdowns and restrictions went on for too long.
He said: “Actually, it's the independents that create creativity and the difficulty is that when too many places get boarded up, you've got a big problem.”
Hotels boss used lockdown as an opportunity
Mustafa Al-Shawi is managing director at the Mere Golf Resort and Country Club in Cheshire. The venue includes a four-star hotel, banqueting facilities and a golf course.
He said that while his events business had been hit by social distancing restrictions, his hotel had performed solidly, with up to 90% occupancy in August and September.
And he said he had taken advantage of the situation to try to improve the way his business worked.
Mr Al-Shawi said: “The only business functions that have been affected severely are the big functions that we have. We have the biggest event function space in Cheshire, which holds hundreds, and that's gone down to 30 because of the Covid regulations.
“Now this is unprecedented. But we took it as an opportunity and in fact a lot of changes took place in house, mainly to focus on customers.
“We have our own existing customers and we managed to reach out to them and bring the confidence back, which is great.
“It also gives us the opportunity to look into our performance and productivity, to look into our costs and streamline, look into our stock and how we optimize that.”
Charles Graves is managing director at Lake District Hotels, a collection of six hotels in Cumbria.
His hotels are not in areas that were directly hit by the tier systems, but have started to be affected by the general lack of confidence in the economy.
And the group has had to absorb some costs. Speaking about March’s lockdown, he said: “We’ve got a lot of staff who actually live in with us and we have to look after them right through the whole of the lockdown period.”
'Christmas is cancelled'
Seb Heeley is managing director of Manchester Gin, which operates a restaurant, bar and gin school as well as its distillery and distribution businesses.
Like the other speakers, Mr Heeley was frustrated at the attention given to bars and restaurants when talking about lockdowns.
Speaking about media coverage of the tier regulations he said: “Every time they started talking about going to Tier three and talking about the way coronavirus is growing, they always show a picture of a bar, they always show a picture of a restaurant.
“And they’re not going to show a picture of the office or they don't show a picture of students walking on the street. It's constantly a picture of a bar and that is being ingrained into people's minds.”
The industry will suffer because of the loss of vital festive season trade.
Mr Heeley said: "So William and Kareena and Matthew will know that Christmas is cancelled this year.
"There's no office parties. You know, you can make 30%, 35% of your revenue in November/December. You can do 200/ 300 covers on a Saturday lunch on Sunday on a Friday lunch, but you're just not going to get that.”
Mr Heeley said he would in future lockdowns keep doing virtual events, as pioneered during the first shutdown, but that virtual events could not sustain his business.
He said: “We broke a world record in my kitchen over there for the largest gin tasting in the 海角视频. But it's not a moneymaker it's more about just keeping your brand relevant and helping people hear about your brand.”
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Mr Heeley said he and his team had worked hard to support their staff and that it was vital workers were happy and comfortable coming to their venues.
He said: “Unfortunately, it's the 18 to 28 year olds that are in the hospitality industry that are bearing the brunt of this
“We have a big thing on mental health. So we do weekly drop in centers that any of the staff can come to. But a lot of them are finding it hard for various different reasons. We have staff that were worried to come back because they'd been isolated - effectively they lived alone for three months.”
Marketing Manchester plans to help venues to recover
Nick Brooks-Sykes, director of tourism at Marketing Manchester, said his organisation will be joining with businesses to promote the leisure opportunities that are available, in order to make up some of the shortfall from events that have disappeared.
He said: “For example, Manchester Central being closed until March of next year, means that we've lost half a million conference convention delegates inside the city centre. And those delegates not only stay in hotels, but they spend in restaurants and bars. So the impact has been massive.
“We're setting in place measures to actually start to get confidence messages out, despite the current situation. That sounds counterintuitive, but I think there are still people out there. Some of these people are still looking for messages about what it's safe to do, what you're allowed to do.
“And it's our job to make sure that people get those messages and instead instill some confidence back in those consumers that do what to to get out and enjoy hospitality in what ultimately is a safe environment.”
'We need to win back public confidence'
As the debate ended, those attending again spoke about the impact of political statements on their businesses.
Ms Jadhav from Menagerie said: “When Boris Johnson made his last announcement regarding the 10pm curfew, we saw the biggest effect on trade.
“People suddenly started cancelling bookings because they felt like that was an indicator not to go out and eat.
“So what we do need is the support of these key politicians.”
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Mr Peck from Mowgli added: “We need a consistent message of socializing safely - follow the rules, follow social distancing, wear a mask. Socialize safely. because we've proven that we've got teams that can manage people in public spaces in a way that you can’t at the beach or around someone's house.
Mr Gray from Blackpool Pleasure Beach added: “It's difficult trying to win back the confidence of customers when you've got the constant messages going out of government, which are all geared around doom and gloom
And he warned that next year would also start slowly. He said: “The idea for us was always to survive this year to get reset and go again next year.
“Now it looks like part of not all of next year is going to be trading on the same kind of uncertainty and conditions that we've got now.”
NatWest optimistic about the future
Steve Sankson, regional director of corporate banking, closed the event with a note of optimism.
He said: “Just remember what happened when we came out of lockdown. Customers’ appetite to visit your businesses for the experience and the quality of proposition you gave was undiminished.
“We read in the first lockdown that people's behavior and appetite to get back out there would be really weakened and that wasn't the case.
“And that will happen again. We will get through this and people will want to come back to good quality propositions that you all have.
“You've shown creativity and flexibility to adapt your businesses through both lockdown and tiers.
“You've already shown remarkable flexibility and an ability to adapt.
“I don't want to finish with a cliche but you know this will pass, we will get through the next three, four or five months and better times will be ahead and businesses like yours will survive.
“Of course, the government needs to support this sector and that's why sessions like today are so valuable because we will be articulating the need for it in this really important sector as strongly as we possibly can.”