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CLH Digital
Issue 28
Festive Ordering
Christmas is Coming - It’s All in the Planning “Christmas is the Season for Kindling the Fire of Hospitality” change) state that people in England can meet in groups of no more than six, but pubs, cafes and restaurants will be allowed to stay open, so long as these groups do not mingle with other groups at each venue. Table bookings of more than six will not be allowed, and hospitality businesses are now legally required to take customers' contact details so they can be traced if a potential outbreak is linked to the venue. These new rules do, of course, create significant challenges, but one thing the recent Eat Out to Help Out initiative proved is that the country has not lost its appetite and desire to dine out whenever possible. So despite all the current uncertainty it is vital to prepare for the sectors busiest time of the year - Christmas! Christmas 2019 saw pub and restaurant operators enjoy positive sales growth over the festive season, with pubs enjoying the biggest uplift with collective like-for-likes ahead 5.1% against a 2.4% increase for restaurants. Christmas 2019 was fairly tumultuous as well - we had seen months of Brexit unrest and a general election. However, the British public shrugged that doom and gloom off and gave the hospitality and on trade sector the perfect boost. Analysing last year’s Christmas figures Karl Chessell, director of hospitality business insight consultancy CGA said: “This was all in stark contrast to the gloom hanging over retail, which according to the British Retail Consortium suffered its worst Christmas for a decade with zero sales growth,”. While it is “the season to be jolly”, Christmas 2020 for the hospitality sector in the wake of the Covid pandemic will be like no other Christmas since World War II. The government’s current rules (which may of course be subject to
“What these Tracker figures suggest is that consumers were more selective about where they spend their money, and were looking for memorable experiences – like going out for a meal or drink with family or
friends over Christmas – rather than just buying ‘things’,” added Chessell. Mark Sheehan, managing director of Coffer Corporate Leisure added : “The fact is the eating and drinking-out sectors had an excellent trading period in their busiest time of the year. Consumers escaped the political turmoil and headed for pubs and restaurants to escape the tedium. Pre booked sales in particular were strong and the months ahead are going to be tough but at this crucial time trading was robust.” And there is nothing to say that the public won’t embrace Christmas 2020 the same way. At the moment the government have issued new lockdown laws, but the festive period is still 11 weeks away and a lot can happen in 11 weeks. The government’s “Eat Out to Help Out” (EOTHO) was, as we know. a runaway success. with well over 100 million meals sold and while the government had set £500 million aside to cover the costs it raised half of that in taxes. Health Secretary Matt Hancock appeared to be optimistic on removing the restrictions for the festive period, speaking on Radio 4 he said "I really hope we can turn this round before Christmas. I think that, in a pandemic, Christmas is a long way off." "Three months is a long time in a pandemic and I very much hope this strong rule, together with the local action we've taken in places like Bolton, can work to turn things around by Christmas." So, it certainly not “crackers” to be thinking about planning for the festive season! December always has been a key part of the UK hospitality and on trade sector calendar, and if Health Secretary’s optimism comes to fruition then we could see a very busy Christmas period.