CEO UKHospitality - passionate about my sector and its people. Co-chair London Tourism Board, Chair ACC Liverpool & Govt Disability Ambassador. Northerner
Earlier this week, in an interview with
@AdeleRoberts
@BTS_twt
talked about their love of London - the art, the culture, the food - want to see what they saw? Never a better time to visit
#LetsDoLondon
BREAKING NEWS: Supreme Court have just ruled that the six big insurers DO have to pay out due to COVID for those with relevant business interruption cover. Critical payment made without delay
Everyone will be able to take a free rapid coronavirus test twice a week from the 9th April.
Reclaiming our lost freedoms & getting back to normal hinges on us all getting tested regularly.
Sorry but leaving social distancing in place in pubs, restaurants, hotels and attractions means that June 21 is not freedom date at all - it means that those businesses continue to operate at a loss and threatens the long term viability of businesses, jobs and the recovery
How can it be ok to reopen theatres, sports grounds and cinemas and let them sell alcohol without table meals - but I cannot sit outside a pub or restaurant and have a drink with my sister
Let's be absolutely clear - pubs and restaurants open outdoors only is not economically feasible and delaying opening until May without significant additional compensation will see large numbers of business failures and job losses
Quite a remarkable exchange - no modelling of less severe scenarios because they don’t require a policy decision. I wonder how many people, like me, didn’t realise this
@GrahamMedley
@doug_no1
@TAH_Sci
@juji_gatami
Thanks, this helps me understand. So you exclusively model bad outcomes that require restrictions and omit just-as-likely outcomes that would not require restrictions?
Hugely disappointing to hear PM say the govt will legislate for vaccine passports for large events and nightclubs from September - just last week he said it was voluntary and govt would work with the industry to determine how best may be used. No discussion but policy changes
Very pleased to hear PM announce we can safely remove all legal restrictions on hospitality businesses, reopen nightclubs and lift capacity limits on entertainment & events from 19th July. First time our businesses can break even and look to viable future. Right decision
The question I am being asked the most and which I'm struggling to answer: how can you end a 4 week lockdown where hospitality was fully closed in a worse place in terms of restrictions than before it?
UK wholesale gas price just surged in half hour from 651p to over 720p per therm - this time last year it was 44p. Those energy bills and impact on hospitality cost price inflation are only going one way at the moment
Two years ago today the PM advised people not to go to pubs, bars and restaurants. Two years of restrictions have seen £160bn revenue lost and 10% of businesses close with recovery only starting this month. With the sector still fragile increasing VaT now would be hugely damaging
Exclusive: Nightlife sector ‘may open doors’ on 21 June regardless of rules - it needs to as it is the most vulnerable having been closed with no revenue for 16 months via
@cityam
I am so proud to represent the hospitality industry - even with zero income, heavy losses and bearing the brunt of restrictions in the first lockdown they have housed he homeless, fed NHS workers, offered community shops and meals on wheels and now they are feeding schoolchildren
I wonder what reopened and was immediately busy and crowded in London from 2 Dec that might have caused that increase in cases? Because it wasn’t hospitality - just 1 in 5 opened
Wishing all the very best to those in our hospitality family who are getting ready to open tomorrow - two thirds cannot and have 5 weeks to wait. But for all it will be an anxious time until we reach 21 June as none will trade profitably until all restrictions lift.
Hospitality reopened in July with toughest Covid protocols in the world - risk assessed with controls on capacity, managed social distancing, hygiene and ventilation. It kept people safe, 60m visits a week no increase in cases & less than 1% of staff caught Covid - its the model
Asked about a firebreak lockdown in the Autumn and 2 week half term at October, Vaccine Minister Nadhim Zahawi doesn’t rule it out but says he has seen no plans - Govt need to work out quickly whether they want our taxes or restrictions to protect the NHS, they cannot have both
If pubs, bars and restaurants are not able to open until May then they will have actually been closed for 7 months. With 1 in 5 running out of cash by March even with Govt support that is simply unsustainable via
@MailOnline
Officials propose a number of additional ‘light touch controls’. Limiting household mixing, 8pm curfews and social distancing - let’s be clear, none of these are light touch for hospitality -
Good news that vaccine passports ruled out for pubs, restaurants and hotels - for now - and we do not believe that they would be necessary to require them for lifting restrictions 21 June. We urge the PM to stick to the roadmap and allow hospitality to trade without restrictions
All the very best of luck to our resilient, dynamic, innovative hospitality family opening their doors from tomorrow - over 50,000 additional venues opening and 800,000 team members brought back from furlough. Inspirational!
Huge congratulations to Sir Tim Martin on receiving a knighthood in the New Years Honours list - a tireless advocate for the pub, a fair tax regime for the sector and for the people - team and guests - who make it the heart of the community
A delay in move to Step 4 means 1 in 4 hospitality businesses cannot open. Those which are open cannot break even and every day of restrictions makes their losses mount. At the same time, their costs increase with business rates bills and furlough costs increasing. Unsustainable
This would be catastrophic for hospitality - with no furlough, grant or other support a combination of working from home and wider use of vaccine passports would see many businesses struggling to survive
“Covid passes may have to be introduced in hospitality… maybe we will have to do more working from home”
First Minister of Wales Mark Drakeford tells
#BBCBreakfast
what specific Covid restrictions could return to curb rising infections ⤵️
Catching up on today’s news - huge developments with the green light given to the Judicial Review to overturn the 10pm curfew as Government didn’t provide any scientific evidence to back it up ahead of deadline
“At the first sign of trouble, the calls for lockdowns, restrictions and vaccine passports rise to a clamour” - but businesses, jobs and livelihoods that will be lost if we return to restrictions & vital we take account of that
I’m sorry but it is appalling that people are finding out about huge changes to their lives & livelihoods from reading journalists’ twitter. No detail for any of us to advise & support those facing job losses and business failures. I hope at the press conference that is the focus
This is the impact of an effective vaccine programme - better outcomes than predicted from existing unlocking first 3 steps, despite multiple new variants
Today marks a year since the PM told people they should avoid going to pubs and restaurants. It followed a 6 week slide in footfall & for city centre venues - down 70% at this point. By the time we exit lockdown, we will have been closed by law with no revenue 10 mnths out of 14
If this is the case it is absolutely imperative that support for badly affected businesses is announced at the same time - a delay of 4 weeks costs hospitality £3bn, places 800 sites and 180,000 jobs on full furlough at risk
NEW: Final decision Monday, but Sun can reveal chances of freedom day on June 21 now next to zero.. plan to announce delay to July 19 - with break clause on July 5 if hospitalisations remain low. But it's not looking good..
There is simply no evidence to justify this - our reopening protocols meant all risks were fully mitigated and hospitality opened in July and served 60m customers a week with no increase in infections. We can open swiftly, safely and sustainably again
As Covid Inquiry starts work in England - Scotland to follow - this is an astonishing response. Welsh hospitality businesses were hardest hit with longest restrictions and will take years to recover - for them and their staff the world has not moved on
5 months since we first warned govt of the impact of Covid on hospitality, 4 months of non stop campaigning, 3 months of lockdown and tomorrow we all start the hard work of recovery, revival and renewal. To all those reopening tomorrow, from my
@UKHofficial
team, we salute you
The situation is dire and worsening on a daily basis as sales slump, losses mount and bills start to have to be paid on minimal revenue. There is a need for urgency, pace and scale to reset the current mismatch between health policy, consumer confidence and economic reality
Wow parts of Twitter deeply unpleasant today - for the avoidance of doubt supporting people being given the choice to be vaccinated does not give you the right to wish harm to me & sending pictures of gold stars, concentration camps and SS officers is deeply offensive
I feel a repeat of last week coming on - we reopened last July with the toughest Covid protocols in the world which mitigated all risks - 60m visits a week & no increase in cases, less than 1% staff test +ve. We are safe, we know how to manage this
I have heard this too — few weeks’ delay is not a big deal, right? Wrong! 25% of hospitality hasn’t been able to open and those who have are trading at a loss because of restrictions. That’s not sustainable. A couple of extra weeks is difference between going under and surviving
Hi
@UKHospKate
Thoughts on these Journalists casually saying a months delay to June 21st is no biggie ?
Am I right or am I wrong, that Hospitality as a whole, simply cannot turn a profit until all restrictions are lifted..
Pleased that today my 84 year old mum received her second vaccine 💉 - with both heart and lung problems she has been shielding much of the year and I cant wait to see her after missing Christmas
Govt backed COVID loans will start to have to be repaid in just a couple of months - and for many businesses they will have been closed without revenue for some considerable time. Would be sensible to delay repayments for 12 mnths and extend term to avoid crippling debt repayment
A reminder that the current tier 3 restrictions mean 94% of hospitality businesses become unviable by March. In Tier 2 it is 75% and even at Tier 1 it is still 25% - if there is any strengthening it cannot be at the expense of hospitality.
I have had no one speak to me about ‘Plan C' and I hope Ministers will move swiftly to quash such unhelpful speculation - hospitality cannot be asked again to bear a disproportionate burden ‘just in case’ - when socialising at home poses greater risk
Spectator sports:
Tier 1: Up to 4,000 people will be able to attend outdoor sporting events.
Tier 2: Up to 2,000 spectators
Tier 3: Banned
Indoor venues up to 1,000 people in Tier 1 & 2.
Key messages to MPs today - we need early confirmation of reopening in December, advance notice of which parts of the country are in which tier, clear, transparent, evidence based restrictions which are targeted and effective, stability not weekly changing, a clear end date
Being reminded on early interviews today that this is about data not dates. If the roadmap is data driven then dates should be able to go forward as well as back if data improves esp as doc says the longer restrictions are in place the higher the risk of insolvency & failure
Really good business call with
@RishiSunak
@BorisJohnson
and
@AlokSharma_RDG
This is a really big package of support which will make a meaningful difference - I think they have saved over a million jobs in hospitality which were on the line tonight. 🙏
Hospitality matters - it is about more than just reopening community pubs and neighbourhood restaurants, it is getting 3m back to work, supporting SMEs across the supply chain, investing £10bn in our high streets, generating 1 in 6 new jobs, restarting a £130bn engine of growth
The hospitality sector is facing a daily deteriorating situation as bad as anything faced before in this pandemic. We need to see additional support: emergency cash grants to protect jobs; additional rate relief for Q1; extend 12.5% VAT to boost demand and secure investment
We will need to see the full statement today but if pubs and restaurants are not opening until May, hotels June and NTE even later, then the Chancellor needs urgently to set out additional support - extension of existing measures won't be enough to save businesses for that long
Boris Johnson was asked on
#MarrShow
what the scientific evidence was for 10pm pub closing
He said: “one of the things that has been put to us is that by curtailing the hours you can reduce the transmission"
We haven't been able to find any specific scientific advice about this.
Best wishes to all those opening today - it has been tough, exhausting, an emotional roller-coaster and I know that there are more challenges ahead to get fully open and viable, but today is the beginning of the end and bringing back our teams is first step towards recovery
Over 68 million customer visits to hospitality a week since we reopened and 92% of consumers were impressed and reassured with the steps taken to make the venue covid secure & ensure safe socialising. The proof we are safe? Only a small number of isolated cases among team members
Today’s tiers mean no hospitality business is out of lockdown and trading near normally. just 8% of hospitality businesses are in Tier 1 (-25% not viable); 70% are in tier 2 and 89% of them are unviable; and 22% are in tier 3 just 6% are viable. Support or lose businesses & jobs
This would cost the sector £3bn and without additional
@support
would be unsustainable. Businesses are loss making now but business rates kick back in and furlough costs increase from 30 June
Reopening in name only inflicts irreparable damage on hospitality as we saw Oct-Dec with restrictions with little meaningful impact on health or harm pushing revenues as low as 20-30%. Unsustainable for restaurants and pubs
This is key - Chief Medical Officer confirms support for ending restrictions next month as clear picture that vaccine breaks link between cases, hospitalisationa nd deaths
We need to be open without restrictions from 21 June otherwise hospitality businesses do not break even and are not viable - given that Govt support falls away from 1 July, this is essential
Have been using the Covid app - constantly tells me I may have been exposed when I’m in retail, town centre or transport but never once received an alert from hospitality venue - no pubs, bars, restaurants, hotels or coffee shops - and I’m out and about in more of them than most!
This is the reality for many - absolutely frustrating to have the latest announcement with less than 12 hours notice. The costs to business of last minute changes - food, drink, staff - are significant and are not covered by closure grants. Hospitality facing collapse
Devon & Cornwall now in tier 3 as of...MIDNIGHT TONIGHT 😳 So every New Year’s Eve booking we’ve spent all week booking in, confirming rules to, ordered food & drink for, prepped for, etc etc etc, we must now cancel on less than 24 hours notice. WHAT A JOKE! 🤬🤬🤬
There will always be new variants but the key surely is the high level of vaccination, the low prevalence of hospitalisations and a broader assessment of economic and public health impacts of continued restrictions - otherwise how will we ever exit
People in Scotland will need proof they have been fully vaccinated before they can enter nightclubs and many large events from 1 October.
The vaccine passport plan was formally approved by Holyrood after the SNP and Greens voted in favour.
Today's dashboard - increased testing and cases being identified but hospital admissions flat and over half the population with a double vaccine dose - if it is a race to vaccinate to lift restrictions, are we perhaps winning?
Waking up to more sad news about redundancies in sector - being closed is not cost free and zero revenues are taking their toll. The best way to avoid more is to get businesses open as swiftly and as safely as possible and a 1m social distance will mean more can be re-employed
When first introduced, businesses subject to covid passes saw a 15-20% hit to revenue. Since Boxing Day, Welsh hospitality traded a third down compared to England - we have shared the data
6 weeks ago the PM set out the road map - most hospitality venues have 6 more weeks to get through before they can reopen. We need the PM today to reconfirm the removal of restrictions from 21 June
Well over the last 24 hrs my timeline has been filled with positive, happy messages and 💜 💜 💜! Suggestions so far to enhance London’s tourism offer include
#bts
waxworks at
@MadameTussauds
, a
#LondonWithTae
walking & photography tour and a
#kimnamjoon
Turner tour
#LetsDoLondon
Really hoping that in today's announcement we hear a positive message of support for the hospitality sector from the PM, an encouragement to the public to go back to their local and a confirmation that we are on track to remove all legal restrictions from 21 June
Key takeaway - hospitality is safe, confirmed by SAGE. Given last week's reports showing high immunity levels, very low prevalence levels and strong vaccine efficacy against transmission, Ministers should have the confidence to press ahead with reopening & remove restrictions
The High Court have ruled in favour of the Gov’t.
They stalled, delayed and refused to mediate.
The Judge agreed the clock had run down.
The Gov’t FAILED to disclose a SAGE report, confirming that during the whole pandemic, only 226 cases were associated to Hospitality.
With no parts of the country in tier 1 the best any open business can manage is just 15% of normal revenues. Over 95% hospitality closed. 80% by law and the remainder because it is t possible to trade. It means hospitality has only traded normally for 9 weeks in 2020
Good to see Ministers confirming the need to learn to live with this virus as we move to endemic phase and placing emphasis on personal choice and responsibility not legal restrictions
60m customer visits a week over the summer post hospitality reopening - no impact on cases and no evidence from PHE of any link between cases and hospitality. World beating Covid secure protocols kept staff and customers safe and good to have this confirmed by Treasury
"There is not a single documented Covid infection anywhere in the world from casual outdoor interactions, such as walking past someone on a street or eating at a nearby table”
What business needs to hear
* confirmation of reopening dates for April & May for planning
* lifting all social distancing restrictions in June -not conditional on passports in pubs & restaurants
* Covid certification linked to travel only
* support for tourist economy
First the Dutch announced this week that curfews and hospitality restrictions didn't help tackle COVID and now a new report states that opening hospitality ‘lowers Covid cases’, presumably because people socialise in a safe venitlated hygienic space
A lot of talk in media today about circuit breakers, lockdowns, Jan restrictions. Given we now have 50% triple jabbed and over 90% double vaccinated I struggle to understand why we are still using last years interventions - which we know delay at best & cause social/economic harm
📢 More than 50% of adults in the UK have had their
#COVID19
booster dose.
If you haven't had yours yet, book online or find a walk-in site to
#GetBoostedNow
.
▶️
If SAGE - and the Govt - want us to avoid sleepovers at each other’s houses the. Surely it would make sense to encourage people to stay at well regulated, socially distanced, sanitised and well ventilated hotels and hospitality