Cold comfort for Bristol Hoteliers

Budget offers cold

comfort for Bristol hoteliers

As the dust settles in the wake of Rishi Sunak’s third budget, hoteliers in Bristol say the Chancellor has given them nothing but cold comfort for the winter.

Like many businesses in the hospitality sector, members of the Bristol Hoteliers Association (BHA) had hoped for an extension to the current reduced VAT rate.

But while Mr Sunak did announce a one-year 50% business rates discount for hospitality sectors, there was no mention at all of the VAT rate, which is due to return to its normal rate on April 1 next year.

Raphael Herzog, Chair of the BHA, said: “We had hoped for a little more support from the Chancellor in his budget at the end of October; not only was the VAT rate not mentioned, but there was very little mention of the hospitality sector in general, despite being one of the biggest UK tax contributors and also one of the sectors that has suffered most during the pandemic lockdowns. “We fully supported the #VATsEnough campaign, which called for the current 12.5% VAT rate to be made permanent for our sector. “As it is, many businesses still face a very uncertain future and also we have challenges to overcome such as the staff shortage which is posing a considerable challenge to post-pandemic recovery prospects. “For some hotels, the cost of utilities might go up by as much as 300%. There are increasing costs of food and beverages, increases in costs for our suppliers and there is also the increase in the rate of the living wage going to £9.50 per hour. “In simple terms, this means it is going to cost more for guests to stay and eat in hotels, which is going to make it very challenging for some hospitality businesses to balance their books. 42 “Added to that is the continuing staff shortage. We hear every day that, all around the UK, some hotels, restaurants and bars are not opening fully because they simply don’t have the staff they need. Some are operating at only 75% capacity, or even less. “The Government has introduced temporary visas to help with the shortage of lorry drivers. We had hoped the Chancellor would announce something similar for the skilled workers we are struggling to find, including chefs.

“Hotels are also having difficulty struggling to find the waiters and housekeeping staff that they need in order to provide the standards of service that our customers expect. “Even where wages have increased by 20 percent or more, hotels are just not getting the applications they need for these roles. Another challenge facing hotels is that they are still not yet seeing the return of conferences to anything like pre-pandemic levels of 2019.

Mr Herzog said: “Many people are still working from home, which means corporate travellers are not using hotels, and added to that challenge is the fact that the leisure business is now slowing down again compared to the summer boom. “Usually at this time of the year, we are planning for Christmas but this is also very slow this year, as many companies don’t want to engage in large social events because of ongoing Covid fears, which is very understandable, of course, but which is one more challenge which does not help the hospitality industry.”

Elim Housing Association has elected its first female chair of the board since it was established in 1963. Sally Mason first joined in 2020 and has now taken over from Andy Lunt, who spent 5 years on the board. Sally brings over 25 years' experience in HR and Organisational Development in both private and not-for-profit sectors, ranging from hospitality to social housing. To celebrate her new role, we spoke to Sally about her ambitions, Elim’s strengths and the importance of having women represented on the board:

Why did you decide to join the Elim board?

I have been working in the housing sector since 2015, in an executive role, and prior to that I was working in the private and public sector. What I really like about the housing sector is you can see the value and impact that you can make for people. I felt aligned to the values of the housing industry, and Elim’s CARES values.

So, when there came an opportunity to use my HR skills, knowledge and expertise across those sectors in Elim, it seemed like an ideal opportunity. I knew Elim a little bit because I worked alongside members of the team in various groups across Bristol, and always had a very positive impression of how committed the organisation is. It felt like a match made in heaven!

What do you hope to achieve as Chair of the board?

I think one of the primary roles as the Chair is ensuring that the organisation achieves its vision in meeting housing need and delivering homes that change people’s lives, alongside the strategic priorities that deliver that vision. It’s a collaboration with the Chief Executive, the board members, the senior leadership team and all the colleagues across the organisation. I think the Chair’s role is ensuring the board operates as effectively as it can and making sure we have the right set of skills, knowledge and experience across the board to help us. A board is there to provide strategic perspective, oversight, governance and challenging decisions to make sure there is independent thought. If you ask me personally what I would like to achieve, it’s customer involvement. Whether that’s having a customer as a board member, or there are several other ways we could achieve that. But it’s about making sure that we’re listening to our customers and considering what they say and what they want. It’s also important to ensure we have diversity of thought coming into the board, so we have real lived experience as well as technical or professional skills.

How do you feel about being the first female Chair for Elim?

I’m not surprised, sadly, that I’m the first! I certainly hope I’m not going to be the last. I feel really proud and I’m hoping to inspire other people to step out of their comfort zone. I’ve been inspired by lots of different role models – male and female – but it’s certainly been helpful for me to see women in positions of responsibility. I think it’s a really positive move for Elim.

Why is it important to have women in the boardroom at an organisation?

There is a lot of research that shows boards perform better when they have diverse membership. It’s not just about gender, but specific research into boards with female members shows that they are more successful by any business metric – whether it’s delivering more sales, growth, or challenging decision-making and looking at aspects like risk in different ways. It’s also about widening the talent pool – if you’re not looking at women candidates, you’re cutting out half the population! It gives you that new perspective and new ideas, and helps to avoid ‘groupthink’ which I think is a danger that many boards will face.

I think it’s important not just to have women on the board, but to listen to and include them. The worst thing you could have is token people on a board. It’s important to have diverse role models across the organisation, not just in terms of gender.

What are Elim’s strengths and what are some of the challenges?

The strength of Elim is the range of services that we can provide. We have experience developing niche opportunities, so people view us as an organisation which is willing to take on areas which others wouldn’t. If you listen to what our stakeholders said in a recent survey, they are very positive about the contribution that we make and our collaborative working. They see us as quite nimble – we can respond quickly to issues as a small organisation. Another strength is the team as a whole. If you look at how everyone pulled together over the last 18 months, it’s clear Elim is very resilient organisation. Another strength is Lime Property Ventures, which is an example of our diverse services. Yet some of our strengths are also our weaknesses. As a small organisation, we don’t have a lot of resources, whether that’s people or cash flow. So, we need to be particularly aware of maintaining a strong and sustainable organisation. We face the same challenges as many other housing associations: meeting net carbon zero targets, an uncertain economic climate, and balancing keeping existing homes safe with developing new homes to extend our reach. But I think we’re in a very good place to face those challenges, with a strong board and a strong team.

Outside of work, what hobbies do you enjoy?

I’m a bit of a film buff! We have a community cinema where I live which I help to run. I also enjoy the theatre and volunteer as a steward at St George’s in Bristol, which is a great music venue. Alongside that we have a smallholding with hens and pigs…I don’t have many spare hours in the day!

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