The UK hospitality trade rode a wave of World Cup fever in November, when sales were above a still somewhat Covid-dampened environment at the end of 2021. However, with inflation biting hard and more disruption on the way over Christmas 2023, operators could be set for a challenging end-of-year run.
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The staffing crisis is very much still underway heading into Christmas, data from CGA has revealed, with one in nine jobs in hospitality still vacant despite improvements in recruitment.
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Staff shortages in the hospitality industry are reaching critical levels and causing nearly half (45%) of operators to cut trading hours or capacity in order to cope, a new survey has said.
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Today’s Budget announcement included a year-long cut to business rates for the leisure and retail industry, meaning pubs, restaurants and bars will pay 50% less for 12 months.
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The UK’s regions are enjoying a burst of attention with staycationers going in search of the British sun. It’s a shame venues can’t get the staff, says Jo Gilbert.
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Pandemic restrictions may have been lifted, but for hospitality businesses desperate to welcome punters back, a new challenge is thwarting their ambitions. Lisa Riley reports
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CGA’s latest Hospitality at Home Tracker shows that takeaway and delivered sales from restaurant and pub groups in GB were 273% higher in May this year versus May 2019, despite the return of eating indoors in the second half of the month.
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The chance to nominate your choices for the best in the business of indie drinks retailing remains open until midnight on Friday 14 May.
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Just under a quarter of England’s licensed premises have opened for trade in hospitality’s first week back for outdoor-only service, with pubs in particular capitalising on wider access to beer gardens, patios and other outdoor areas.
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With reopening now in sight, Andrew Catchpole joined leading operators to discover what learnings from the past 12 months could help the recovery of their businesses.
The whole of the on-trade has been gravely impacted by the closures associated with Covid. However, the night-time economy, which looks set to fully reopen in July – two months after other indoor hospitality venues – continues to suffer the worst of the impact, with operators calling for more clarity on their future.
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Mounting debt for operators who’ve had no choice but to take on huge government-backed loans to stay afloat is creating an untenable pressure cooker situation for the trade, hospitality owners have said.
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The new edition of Harpers, out today, will reach readers hot on the heels of a parliamentary debate on the need for the creation of a minister for hospitality role in UK government. Resulting from the success of the Seat at the Table petition launched by hotelier Robin Hutson, of The Pig group and (formerly) Hotel du Vin fame, the proposal gained “an overwhelmingly positive response from all corners”, as reported by Harpers.
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A new survey has revealed a rise in optimism among hospitality operators for the future of their business over the next 12 months, albeit from a very low threshhold – but representing a substantial increase from the third quarter of the year.
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On-trade operators should “step away from emotion”, challenging themselves to think back to when they started their businesses and consider it a relaunch, not a reopening, when they once again open their doors.
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Sales of rum in the UK on-trade rose 7% year-on-year in 2019, according to the latest data from food-and-drink research analysts CGA.
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The tired, middle of the road, mid-market section of the on-trade is falling away to make way for new, more innovative concepts, suppliers have told Harpers.
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