Stroud MP Visits Gloucestershire Hotel to Explore Ways to Support the Hospitality Industry Amid Cost-of-living Crisis

Stroud MP, Siobhan Baillie , has met with a Gloucestershire hotel to discuss the positioning of local businesses amid the ongoing cost-of-living crisis – with talking points ranging from Government suppor t to sustainability and Brexit

Baillie , who has ser ved as a Member of Parliament since 2019, was recently welcomed to Stonehouse Cour t located in the hear t of the Cotswolds to hear and reflect on the challenges currently engulfing the hospitality industr y as a result of spiralling economic uncer tainty

Last year, UK Hospitality released a sur vey revealing that prices across the sector had increased by 11% On top of this, fur ther increases in energ y (41%), labour (19%), food (17%), drink (14%) and insurance costs left many of the businesses it represents in debt and running out of available finances, the organisation said

Amongst the most pressing areas of discussion were the rising costs of energ y and the sustainability practices available to counteract such costs, as well as current labour challenges and the impact of Brexit

Commenting on the discussion, Maz Jurko, General Manager at Stonehouse Cour t, said:

“Throughout our community and across the countr y, businesses are feeling the full effect of the cost-of-living crisis and the precarious financial landscape it creates as a result Meeting with Siobhan was a perfect oppor tunity to cast a spotlight on the current situation and discuss viable solutions to ensure no local businesses are at risk of going under or seeing their long-term future in question, with conversations about how the Government can suppor t the industr y as a whole

“We also spoke in-depth about the success of Stonehouse Cour t championing sustainability-focussed initiatives to help create viableproven solutions to reducing energ y costs We feel it’s impor tant to not only become greener but also to help the countr y by taking some pressures off the national grid Here at Stonehouse Cour t, we re determined to become an ever more environmentallyfocussed community and the conversation with Siobhan reinforces our determination to do so ”

Siobhan added: “I thoroughly enjoyed my visit to Stonehouse Cour t and was impressed by the hotel’s vision to champion conservation so that future generations can enjoy all the natural beauty that Stroud has to offer Managing, innovating and limiting our carbon footprint is a fundamental t of the vision to leave the environment in a better state than we inherited it so it was share and champion this vision ”

LED lighting throughout the building motion light sensors in corridors and has implemented efficient recycling and waste minimisation schemes, as well as a flagship on-site bottling system for its water needs