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HOSPITALITY SECTOR CALLS FOR FURLOUGH SCHEME AT 80% TO LAST TILL OCTOBER

The British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA), British Institute of Innkeeping (BII) and UKHospitality (UKH) have called on the Chancellor to extend the Job Retention Scheme to October and increase its flexibility for the pub and hospitality sectors.

In a letter to Rishi Sunak, the trade bodies have urged the Chancellor to maintain the furlough salary for pub and hospitality staff at 80% until October, allowing the sector, which is two months behind reopening compared to the rest of the economy, to fully get back up and running whilst the furlough scheme remains in place to save jobs.

They have also asked the Chancellor to introduce flexibility into the furlough scheme earlier than the current scheduled date of the start of August, to help fit with the sector re-opening from currently expected from 4 July. Trade bodies revealed that thousands of furloughed pub jobs could be lost, unless pubs can safely re-open and be operationally and commercially viable businesses by July, so that they can afford to pay their staff.

The trade bodies are therefore also calling on the Government to adopt the advice and guidance of the World Health Organisation from July, which suggests using one metre for social distancing as opposed to two metres. This, they say, would help businesses to get back up and running to serve their communities again – significantly increasing the number of pubs that could safely re-open from one-third to

The 27,000 pubs with beer gardens across the UK should be among the first to re-open according to the British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA).

More than half of the UK’s pubs have beer gardens making them best placed to meet social distancing guidelines and re-open, according to the BBPA.

The British Beer & Pub Association, the leading trade body representing the UK’s brewers and pubs, has said that those pubs with beer gardens should be amongst the first to re-open after lockdown.

The BBPA has previously welcomed the news that pubs could re-open as part of phase three of the Government’s roadmap provisionally from 4 July but it has stated that more clarity is needed on the conditions pubs will need to re-open under in July and that Government must recognise that many pubs may not be able to meet the safety criteria and so be forced to stay closed beyond that date.

Emma McClarkin, Chief Executive of the British Beer & Pub Association, said: “We want to explore all opportunities for our nations pubs to reopen safely and viably as soon as is possible. We are working with Government to three-quarters in July and at levels that would be more commercially viable, saving thousands of businesses and jobs whilst also still ensuring customer safety.

Emma McClarkin, chief executive of the British Beer & Pub Association, said: “We very much welcome the Government’s extension to the furlough scheme, which has been a lifeline to pubs and pub jobs. However, unless social distancing restrictions are reduced to the WHO’s suggested one metre, two-thirds of pub jobs could be lost. It is vital that the Government allows pubs to re-open under those safe conditions in July, so that they can operate at a sustainable level and become pillars of the community once more. “Under two metre social distancing rules, pubs will have less space to operate with so will need less staff. Many pubs won’t even be able to re-open, yet they could be expected to cover part of their staff furlough costs from August without any money coming in. Such a situation would mean either pubs closing for good or jobs being lost. Kate Nicholls, CEO, UKHospitality said: “It is absolutely crucial that the furlough scheme is extended, in its full form, until the end of October. This is a central ask of our #Fair4Hospitality campaign and it is necessary for the survival of vast swathes of the hospitality

Prioritise reopening pubs with beer gardens says industry

sector and our employees’ livelihoods.” consider all the possible options for re-opening pubs as soon as we can in a safe and viable way whilst meeting the required social distancing restrictions.

“The 27,000 pubs in the UK with beer gardens will be amongst the best placed to re-open under social distancing conditions and so should be amongst the first to reopen. This would let people enjoy their local community pub’s beer garden in the summer sun.”

To help steer the reopening of Britain’s pubs, the trade association is to work in partnership with the Government through its pubs and restaurants taskforce. It will offer its expertise and insights to the taskforce, including through offering assistance with pilot schemes, to help ensure pubs re-open safely for staff and customers and under conditions that are operationally viable.

There has also been speculation that Government is considering introducing more flexibility for pubs, restaurants and bars to use other outside space including pavements and could also be given permission to sell food and drink from street stalls outside their premises in the coming weeks.

BRITONS READY TO RETURN TO PUBS AND PUB ACCOMMODATION

* 80% of public ‘pretty comfortable’ to return to pubs post-lockdown * 44% of over 65s completely comfortable with visiting a pub for a meal or drink post-lockdown * Appeal of pub accommodation remains firm, with 41% willing to stay overnight * Covid-19 safe accreditation fundamental to ensure public confidence

Pub accommodation promotion business Stay In A Pub has revealed almost half of its customers would be ‘completely comfortable’ staying overnight in pub accommodation after COVID-19 restrictions are eased Stay In A Pub commissioned a survey of its 12,000 registered customers to track sentiment on how confident they would be to visit and stay overnight in pub accommodation - and how they feel that the sector might be able to deal with re-opening pubs with rooms post-lockdown.

Asked on a scale of 0-10 how comfortable they would be to visit a pub for a meal or drink once lockdown had been eased and with appropriate public health and social distancing measures in place, 40% of respondents said that they would be ‘completely comfortable’ (a score of 10) and 79% ‘pretty comfortable’ (a score of more than 7). Just 8% scored 5 or less i.e. ‘uncomfortable’.

These figures varied somewhat with age: 44% of customers over 65 years of age were ‘completely comfortable’ whilst only 28% of those aged between 36-45 shared the same opinion.

When asked how comfortable they would feel about staying overnight in a pub, the confidence is higher at 41% ‘completely comfortable’ and 80% ‘pretty comfortable’, which is optimistic for pubs with rooms. This was particularly amongst older guests with 45% of those aged 65+ being ‘completely comfortable’ and 84% of 46-55-year olds ‘pretty comfortable’ if they felt that the public health and social distancing measures were adequate.

There are 7897 pubs with rooms in the UK and according to the most recent Pub Accommodation Report conducted by online future hospitality site openings database RPBi Openings. Some 13% of pubs added more rooms in 2019 as an additional source of revenue alongside food and drink leading to an overall 56% growth of revenue in the sector. The report, which also surveyed customers, discovered that 53% of people would prefer to stay in a pub rather than a branded hotel with business travellers choosing pubs for their relaxing and friendly atmosphere and leisure travellers to enjoy meeting locals and the traditional British experience.

Paul Nunny, founding director of Stay In A Pub, said: “Support for our pubs continues with 69% of respondents saying that they would be willing to book and pay now to secure future stays if these included totally flexible cancellations, date changes and refund policies. With the general feeling of uncertainty around when lock-down will ease and the likelihood of a ‘ultra-last minute’ demand this consumer confidence and commitment to future stays presents an opportunity for pubs to promote now through online booking offers and listings on accommodation sites."