Are you concerned about your business survival in the next year? Vote on this and our other polls now!
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Would you prefer to open with a vaccine passport scheme if it meant no social distancing? Vote now…
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Tags: COVID-19, licensees, Lockdown, poll, SCOTLAND, Scottish hospitality, social-distancing, vaccine passports, voteDevastating effect of 2-metre social distancing requirement on Scottish hospitality
Research by the Scottish Tourism Alliance, (STA) shows how devastating it would be to the Scottish hospitality industry if restaurants and hotels were required to open with 2-metre distancing – 85% of restaurants would not be viable and 83% of hotels reported the same outcome if no additional support from Government was forthcoming beyond the next two months and that could lead to them all closing.
Its research comes on the back of a poll by the Scottish Beer and Pub Association earlier in the month which highlighted the fact that 87.2% of publicans also believed it was not financially viable to open at 2-metres. In contrast, 82% of publicans believed it was viable to open at 1-metre.
Marc Crothall, Chief Executive of the Scottish Tourism Alliance said; “The survey confirms that around 85% of businesses within the hotel and restaurant sectors in Scotland will stop trading if the 2-metre physical distancing rule remains in place for the next two months should no further financial support be forthcoming. The figures reflect the many conversations we have been having with businesses across all sectors in the tourism industry for months and underline just how crucial the current review of the 2-metre physical distancing rule is within the context of the health and economic crises.”
He continued, “Marc Crothall concluded, “Many businesses do not plan to open again with the 2-metre rule in place as it’s simply not economically viable for them to do so. Coupled with the expected slow recovery forecasted, we expect a steady stream of job losses across the whole of Scotland over the coming weeks. Also, as we all know, visitors will choose where to stay based on the tourism product available in that area and are unlikely to travel to destinations that have a limited product in the form restaurants, visitor attractions and pubs. This will have a direct knock-on effect on the current limited demand for accommodation in our destinations and the impact on our local economies and supply chain is likely to be severe.”Highlights from the survey:
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69% of hotels surveyed said that they were planning to reopen in July. 11%, however, said they had no plans to open. 5% are already open to key workers and those who require accommodation due to work.
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Almost a third of hotels surveyed confirmed they were not planning on reopening from 15th July and said that this was down to the 2m physical distancing restrictions which make it economically unsustainable for their business to operate.
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78% of hotels surveyed said they would lose more than 50% of turnover with 11% saying that they cannot afford to continue to stay open if physical distancing restrictions are not reduced to 1 metre.
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83% of hotels surveyed said that their business would be financially unsustainable if they were required to trade at 2 metres physical distancing without any additional support beyond the next 2 months. This could result in there being up to c25,000 job losses from those surveyed (if we look at the higher end of full/part-time employment figures submitted by those businesses).
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87% of restaurants surveyed said they would lose more than 50% of business with 23% saying that they cannot afford to continue if physical distancing restrictions are not reduced to 1 metre.
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85% of restaurants said that their business would be financially unsustainable if they were required to trade at 2 metres physical distancing without any additional support beyond the next 2 months. This could result in there being up to c8,900 job losses from those surveyed (if we look at the higher end of full/part-time employment figures submitted by those businesses).
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75% of self-catering, B&B and caravan and camping parks said they plan to be open in July. Despite these types of accommodation having fewer employees and being more self-contained, 11% are still saying that they have no plans to open with the current 2-metre physical distancing rule. http://www.scottishtourismalliance.co.uk
Tags: hotels, Marc Crothall, one-metre, poll, pubs, research, restaurants, Scottish Beer and Pub Association, STA, two-metre
Light at the end of the tunnel – Supplier’s Guide Poll
The future is looking bright according to our poll. With the decline in sales sliding to a halt, it seems that the trade is facing a far rosier future. We asked licensees the following questions as part of our annual survey. Here’s what they had to say.
Did your sales grow, stay the same or decline?
Two-thirds of licensees in Scotland have reported a growth in sales over the past 12 months and 22% think their sales stayed the same, according to our Supplier’s Guide poll. We asked licensees whether their sales went up, stayed the same or declined and an impressive 65% believed sales had improved while less than 10% reported a drop in sales for 2013.
The results of the Dram poll back up a report from earlier in the year from Zolfo Cooper which showed spending in Scottish pubs had risen in 2013 from the previous year.
How do you do your ordering?
Sales reps the country over can breathe a sigh of relief as the Dram survey shows 82% of licensees lean towards the more traditional methods of ordering from suppliers. Only 28% of those who took part in the poll said they ordered products online. The personal touch given by a rep or a telesales agent still seems to go a long way for some customers, Jackie Long, manager at Gunners in Dundee is one of those customers. Jackie said, “I like being able to discuss the product. The reps tend to be able to help with any offers. Online might be easier but I prefer the personal touch.”
Similarly, Joanne Mitchell, manager of Riverside in Inverness shuns online ordering, Joanne told Dram, “In a busy environment it’s easier to speak on the phone than to sit down and order online. There’s more of a guarantee that you’re getting the best deals and offers when you speak to someone rather than going through pages upon pages online.”
However, Alan Heirs of the Callandar Arms in Falkirk wasn’t in the norm. Alan is an advocate of online ordering, and deals with one of his suppliers solely online, speaking to Dram, Alan said, “Online ordering is easier. I can put the orders in when it suits me rather than waiting on sales calls at set times. I think I would do it for my other suppliers if it was possible.”
Do you use social media?
The pull of Facebook and Twitter is too much for licensees to resist with 90% of all respondents to the Dram poll using social media in some form to promote their business. Paul Connolly, manager of Candy Bar and Kitchen in Edinburgh, uses three major social networks – Facebook, Twitter and Instagram – to promote his business. Paul said, “We feel we are far more in control of our own marketing this way rather than using newspapers and magazines. We’re able to reach our demographic more effectively.”
Did you refurbish last year? Do you plan to do so this year?
Improvements and refurbishments were high on the agenda in 2013 too. 46% of licensees who responded to the Dram survey said their premises had undergone some form of refurbishment or maintenance in the past 12 months with a further 40% planning improvements this year, more than half of whom had also refurbished in some form the year previous. Only 14% of those asked had made no changes in 2013 and had nothing planned for the year ahead.
The news across the board is positive for the licensed trade in Scotland. With the majority reporting an increase in sales. Hopefully the trend will continue and licensees will be celebrating an even better 2014.
