Hospitality and catering businesses in the UK are already and will undoubtedly for some time continue to be at the forefront of the impact from COVID-19. At this time it is difficult to forecast with any precision how deep the impact will be and for what period of time.
While Prime Minister Johnson chairs an emergency Cobra meeting today to develop the government’s next moves, the fear of the disease spreads far faster than the disease itself.
The impact on hospitality and catering businesses will be similar to the impact of the disease, it will affect most those businesses already in ill health or in a high risk category. The demise of Flybe last week being the best example. An airline with many ills that one more was just too much for.
One good sign from the government is that it has recently stated it will act on science and fact, actions that many across the UK population have ignored. Fear is a primary human emotion caused by a perception of threat of danger, pain, or harm. And it is fear that is driving many if not most people’s reactions to the threat from COVID-19 to date.
The most recent data and reports from many across our industry is that hotel bookings are down significantly and restaurants similarly. Many people are simply too scared to go out anywhere that groups of people congregate.
As more people are diagnosed the fear will grow, and the situation worsen, so, we need government today after the Cobra meeting to communicate a clear plan of action to mitigate the situation and steer the country through these uncharted COVID-19 waters.
The best barometer of UK business PLC is the FTSE 100, which as we publish is down today almost 7% on the news of a worldwide collapse in the price of oil. People are not travelling, and oil is not needed to fuel that travel. Fuel is needed from the government to combat this crisis, and now.