Hospitality in the news

Quick read

Your latest instalment of articles and opinions from across the hospitality sector.

Thinking differently

As we write, pubs and restaurants are on the cusp of fully re-opening in the UK; we will be able to hug friends, family and even strangers again. Apart from a few ongoing restrictions for nightclubs, the UK is on the verge of pretty much "going back to life as normal”. We feel giddy at the prospect and privileged as we look around the world.

But is life really going back to "normal"? The common narrative seems to be that COVID has only accelerated underlying changes and trends which were already happening. However, is that the full picture?

The way we see the world as a result of COVID has totally changed - it is our BC/AD moment - Before COVID and After COVID. The UK's Office for National Statistics reported this week that 1 in 5 UK adults - and 1 in 3 under 30 - have experienced some form of depression in 2021. The number of hospitality businesses closed and jobs lost is terrible. According to the FT, there are £6 billion of rent arrears in the UK (and UKHospitality estimates that £2 billion of this is owed by hospitality businesses).

Whilst some pre-COVID trends, such as digitisation of the Hospitality sector, have been supercharged by the pandemic, everyone's awareness of cleanliness, space, the benefits of wellness, fresh air and the environment and our willingness to endure the daily commute to the office crammed into a tube or train or stuck in a traffic, have all been transformed. The hospitality sector has to embrace this and adapt. The changes will be profound.

Over the next few weeks we will be looking at change in the hospitality sector.

Did you know?

Maison Christian Dior is honouring the iconic Hotel Du Cap-Eden-Roc with a fragrance reflecting the hotels "scent"… hopefully the bottle will be modelled on the hotel too…