Chancellor Rishi Sunak has just announced that the current reduced VAT rate for hospitality and tourism is being extended to the end of March next year. The measure is aimed in supporting over 150,000 businesses and protecting as many as 2 million jobs in jeopardy. In his statement the Chancellor compared that in the spring the problem was that businesses were closed. In … [Read more...]
Archives for September 2020
Leicester restaurant closed for significantly and repeatedly flouting Covid-19 regulations
A restaurant in Oadby, a small town in Leicestershire, has been ordered to close for not following Covid-19 regulations. The Tipu Sultan restaurant hosted a wedding party for circa 200 people the weekend before last, where social-distancing was not adhered to. Leicestershire County Council licencing authorities were called to the scene when local residents reported that the … [Read more...]
Can you market to track and trace customers?
As soon as it was announced that hospitality businesses should collect contact details when reopening, the topic of marketing to track and trace customers was a major point of contention. It’s uncharted territory for everyone and not something that was factored in when GDPR was created. Many specialists have issued warnings about using track and trace contact details to market … [Read more...]
Covid crisis could see hot meal service dropped at schools
Schools in England have faced a difficult return. With school leaders grappling with the challenge of ensuring pupil and staff safety and wellbeing, there are fears that hot and nutritious school meals could be the latest victim of Covid-19 and uncertain Government policy. Food for Life, a Soil Association programme, believes good food should be easily available for everyone, … [Read more...]
Hospitality trade bodies unite in call on government to avert catastrophe
Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak will tomorrow make an announcement about what he is planning to follow the furlough scheme ending next month. Earlier today on twitter he said: "I will update the House of Commons on our plans to continue protecting jobs throughout the winter." The move comes as pressure is mounting on the government to follow the measures … [Read more...]
Hospitality people still smiling and sharing smiles with colleagues
We recently launched a competition to win a set of cloth face masks by encouraging ‘poets’ across hospitality to send a smile to the industry. We asked mask wearers to encourage their peers to do the same, protecting colleagues and customers from the further spread of Covid-19 by creating a poem. We are delighted with the response to date and thought we would share a few … [Read more...]
Sally Beck named Preferred Hotels Hotelier of the Year
Preferred Hotels & Resorts, the world’s largest independent hotel brand, has announced an array of winners from around the world of hospitality at its annual Preferred Awards of Excellence and GIFTTS Pineapple Award initiatives. Headlining the awards for the UK being named as Hotelier of the Year is Sally Beck, General Manager of the Royal Lancaster London. Beck leads … [Read more...]
Bartlett Mitchell maintain action on sustainability and environmental protection
Bartlett Mitchell has reduced its emissions by 22.3 tCO2 in its second year of carbon footprint reporting with The Planet Mark - demonstrating its commitment to sustainability and environmental protection. The Planet Mark is a sustainability certification which recognises outstanding achievements, encourages action, and builds an empowered community of like-minded … [Read more...]
Prime Minister addresses the country headlining curfew on hospitality
The agenda had already been set on Monday by the government’s health and science leaders when Professor Chris Whitty and Sir Patrick Vallance addressed the nation with a diagnosis of where we are with Covid-19. Last night Boris Johnson spoke to the nation with his prescriptive measures to combat the spread of Covid-19. The main headlines for the hospitality industry in … [Read more...]
Tripadvisor data shows living close to HMP Brixton has distinct culinary advantages
The Clink Restaurant at HMP Brixton has been regularly judged by feedback from diners to make it the number 1 restaurant in London on Tripadvisor. Which given there are circa 20,000 London restaurants is quite some accolade. Like all restaurants in 2020 Covid-19 has taken its toll and as a consequence The Clink Restaurant at HMP Brixton is closed. The good news, at least for … [Read more...]
Sweden, a Covid enigma enjoying mythical acclaim, is it justified?
Sweden is being hailed by many as a success story in combating Covid-19, a claim that I felt was worth investigating. Much of the hailing that I have heard is from radio discussion programming including the BBC and LBC, both being regular travel companions. People calling into programmes frequently cite Sweden’s Covid-19 strategy as an example of what the UK should have … [Read more...]
Whitbread reduce workforce by 18% to combat decline in trade
Hospitality giant Whitbread is reducing its workforce seeing circa 6,000 jobs go across the hotel and restaurant chain. Whitbread operates a number of hospitality brands including the Premier Inns hotel chain suffered a steep decline in trade since the emergence of Covid-19, and fears that demand will at least in the short term remain weak. Revenues in the first … [Read more...]
Stonegate announces further support to lease and tenanted business
Stonegate Pub Company has announced further business support within its lease and tenanted business, Ei Publican Partnerships, creating an overall support package, which has been implemented in response to the Covid-19 lockdown, in excess of £36.5 million. The additional support includes rent reductions of 30% in October and a reduction of 20% in November for tied … [Read more...]
Safe Hospitality Face
The speed at which most businesses adopted wearing face masks led to disposable masks being procured as the 'perceived' lowest cost solution. The safe disposal of disposable masks however was largely not factored into the cost equation. The Government provides stringent guidelines for safe disposal of disposable face masks with specific processes and procedures that … [Read more...]
Safe Hospitality Hands
The government continues to advise on maintaining good safety basics for hospitality, with particular emphasis on regular hand washing for 20 seconds, using soap and water or hand sanitiser. It’s simple and effective in combating Covid-19, and all too easy to forget. So, remind customers and colleagues frequently while at the same time advertising you are a safe … [Read more...]
