On Wednesday 16th December, the hospitality industry in London was once again left on the tenterhooks as the government decided that the capital will be pushed into the toughest coronavirus restrictions to contain a surging number of Covid-19 infections. This announcement which is described as “another nail in the coffin” by the pubs trade body, will force at least 15,489 venues in the capital, as well as parts of Essex and Hertfordshire, to remain in tier 3 restrictions.
Hospitality bosses have warned that thousands of jobs are at risk because of the government’s “illogical” decision to close down pubs, bars and restaurants especially when there is no scientific evidence to indicate that the surge in infections can be attributed to these venues. Neal Khanna is the owner and director of the Clay Owen, bespoke banqueting, catering and wedding services established in 1983. He also owns the Denham Grove hotel in Uxbridge and the Farzi Café in Central London.
Speaking about the utter chaos and disruption that the sudden announcement has caused, he said, “For us, the biggest problem is that we literally opened just 12 days ago. To re-open and then close again in a matter of days is a huge impact on our resources in terms of setting up a restaurant, cleaning it, maintaining the stock besides following through on other logistics. We had started picking up bookings for the festive period. It is just very difficult for us to open up the business and close down so abruptly. We would have expected the government to have a bit more scientific knowledge and perhaps, planned it in a manner that would have given us more support and a notice period.
“Currently, it is bizarre dealing with cancellations and wasted stock. This week would have been the busiest week of the year for the hospitality industry. Although, it would have been nothing like last year considering the circumstances but still at half capacity we would have been the busiest. But by the time they allow us to re-open now festive season would be over we would have missed out on a chunk of business that could have alleviated some pressures after being in a state of lockdown almost the entire year.”
Schools are the virus hotspots, but restaurants bear the brunt
According to official data 35,742 restaurants are already effectively closed in areas such as Greater Manchester, Kent, the East Midlands and parts of Yorkshire. The new announcement will mean that more than 53% of English hospitality venues will be unable to offer anything except takeaway and delivery. These restaurants and pubs have remained in some form of lockdown throughout the year even as Kate Nicholls, the chief executive of the trade body UK Hospitality has frequently stated that there is no hard evidence to suggest that hospitality was a source of outbreaks, pointing to schools as a more significant vector of disease. More recently, she has also called for Manchester, Leeds and Birmingham to be moved back into tier 2.
Agreeing with her assessment, Neal continued, “Even when the second lockdown was announced, restrictions on the hospitality were non-sensical including the 10 pm curfew which resulted in over-crowded tubes at 10 even. There is little evidence to suggest that covid-19 infections were multiplying through hospitality venues alone. Now, it appears that schools are the major virus hotspots. Yet, the hospitality sector is bearing the brunt. So, I don’t know if closing down restaurants will help necessarily help in curbing the infection spread and it is not fair on us. We need more support to navigate through dynamically changing rules.”
Additional financial and logistical support for the industry
Hospitality bosses have consistently demanded that they need additional financial and logistical support to sustain through the lockdown phase. A few months ago, as many as 600 employees from the hospitality industry had staged a protest shaking their pots and pans in Parliament Square, as they called the Prime Minister to do a U-turn on the curfew and Tier system designed to curb the spread of the infection. There has also been an on-going petition whereby restaurateurs are urging for the appointment of a hospitality minister who can better understand the industry and liaise with the government in policy planning.
Responding to the demand for a hospitality minister, Mayor of Birmingham, Andy Street in an exclusive interview told Asian Voice, “There are lots of sectors though which are not being necessarily represented by an individual. In Birmingham, the biggest automotive sector does not have an automotive minister. I think it is about the representatives of the hospitality sector persuading the Treasury and the business department of their special needs. That is the most powerful way of getting the message across instead of having a hospitality minister.”
Now, the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry has also said that financial support for the capital’s hospitality sector from the government should be “sufficient and immediate”. Commenting on the renewed restrictions, Chief executive, Richard Burge, said, “This must include – as a minimum – instant cash support to enterprises in hospitality and leisure, and extension of the business rates holiday into the next financial year – which will help the whole of the high street to plan their outgoings and mitigate the impact of the loss of trade due to restrictions deterring those outside London from travelling in.”
But it is not just the restaurants and pubs that have been adversely impacted. The Asian wedding sector which forms a substantial part of the wider wedding industry, and is worth £14.7 billion to the UK economy while employing 400,000 people has also been brought to a practical standstill. Over 20,000 Asian weddings have been cancelled and hundreds of businesses were forced to close. As a result of which thousands of workers forced into unemployment yet, there is not much clarity for these businesses.
Discussing the adverse impact on the Asian wedding industry, Neal further added, “The government in Germany has indemnified the insurance policies for weddings which means that people are making their bookings. The same cannot be said in the UK because the government has taken no such measures and we are left in the dark. At the moment, we have a problem with future bookings because clients don’t want to commit as there is no wedding insurance and they stand to potentially loose some money. The government needs to have a roadmap for recovery, a plan that initiates consumer confidence.”
Consumer confidence in London is already at rock bottom. Corporates have said that Tier 3 measures would only further paralyse businesses which have already been crippled from the absence of tourists and the shift to working from home culture. They are now frustrated by the lack of understanding and support network from the government and the Treasury.
