UK Hospitality Round table

Karan Khanna - IHG stresse that since Hospitality is based on socialising the industry will need disproportionate level of support. Thinks hotels could open before restaurants proven by success of opening small number of hotels to key-workers.

Need for two-fold reassurance to guests ie both safe to stay at hotels and safe to travel to hotels. Recovery of hospitality industry depends on a recovery of economy in the UK in general because international travel (outbound and inbound) will lag behind domestic travel.

Must be a tapering for furlough because of relatively low demand on reopening.

Kurt Janson -Tourism Alliance pointed out that 80% of Hospitality workers have been furloughed in contrast to 26% of UK workforce as a whole. Disproportionally affected. Tourism in rural areas worth more than agriculture and employ more residents.

He had a concern about furloughing not allowing for essential maintenance jobs to be carried out in order that places can reopen.

Pointed out that Tourism has both a vertical and horizontal supply chain (vertical being suppliers to the hotel and horizontal being the transport operators, attractions etc). All links must be opened together to ensure success for industry. Should consider effects-based approach to reopening so pubs with gardens in rural areas could open before inner-London bars.

There should be a standard in safety post-Covid, a kite-mark to reassure customers perhaps. In terms of reopening, if only allowed to reopen in September the income generated would not be sufficient to allow businesses to trade through winter so tapered furlough and other support necessary.

He suggested that legislation should be made more flexible for the short-term to aid recovery eg the package-travel rules be made more flexible so hotels could support other local businesses without penalty, weddings allowed in open spaces, outdoor dining allowed without planning, lower international air passenger duty, lower VAT to make UK competitive and fund destination management groups.Nick Brooks -Sykes, Marketing Manchester added that certain operators will find it not commercially viable to reopen even if allowed. Furlough support should allow temp, PT and flexible working for a period after reopening.

Question asked of everyone about how hard they think the industry should push to reopen. Answer was a concern about reputational risk if reopening added to second wave of infections. Concern about being asked to generate supply before demand is there leading to uneconomic business models.