Hoteliers across England have spoken out about the need for hospitality to reopen by Easter. With March being touted for a possible lifting of restrictions, Easter, which this year falls relatively early, on the first weekend of April, will be more key than ever for businesses hoping to recover some of the catastrophic losses they have suffered.
Dan Brod, who owns the Beckford Group, which operates four pubs with rooms in the south-west (The Beckford Arms, The Talbot Inn, The Bath Arms at Longleat and The Lord Poulett Arms), said: “It is not just a wish but simply an absolute necessity that Government reopens hospitality (that is able to offer some social distancing) by Easter.
He went on to point out the huge amounts businesses such as his had to cover in order to make their premises Covid-secure last year, only for many to be forced to close again once the tier system was in place if an area went into Tier 3 (or later, 4), under which only takeaway was allowed. Furthermore, in the month leading up to the second national lockdown in November, hospitality (bars, cafés, pubs and restaurants) accounted for less than three per cent of outbreaks, according to figures from Public Health England.
“During the [first] lockdown we put in every possible measure, including building ventilated custom-made marquees costing tens of thousands of pounds. Grants have not gone anywhere near the real costs to our business and Government never really appreciated the cost of shutting down and starting up again. [Data has shown that Covid did not spread significantly] in hospitality, as we put many mitigating measures in place.
“We must be put in a position where not only can we survive, but we can put back into the economy what we have been helped with by Government,” he said.
