66
The pandemic has taken us outside our comfort zone and made us all be more creative
Dealing with staffing requirements
The companies we spoke to appeared to be maintaining the staff levels they need, despite some people choosing not to return after lockdown and the post-Brexit exodus of many workers from the sector.
Waterside said it had weathered the effects of Brexit quite well. “There are areas, like skilled kitchen staff, that are always difficult to fill,” said Main. “Thankfully, we have recruited in all key areas. For us now, it’s about looking after staff.”
The impact of Covid-19 and Brexit is only now beginning to be felt by the Goodwood Estate. “We have a lot of valuable staff who have returned but some who were furloughed are no longer available, just when we are getting busier,” said Coggings. “Our main focus is on retaining and looking after people by not over-working them. We have tweaked restaurant opening hours despite current demand, so staff have enough time off.”
Price agreed about the double whammy of Brexit and Covid-19, as well as the difficulty in finding kitchen staff, but his venues have managed to retain staff. “Throughout the pandemic, we kept all our staff on furlough and, as a result, managed to bring most of them back to work when we could reopen. I believe it would have been a very different story had we not taken that decision,” he observed.
Innovating out of lockdown
Different thinking and innovative ideas across the sector are helping businesses to transform in response to the ‘new normal’.
WestBeach opened a large outdoor bar and restaurant on the beach in response to restrictions on indoor dining. “This has been the principal engine of the business since June last year,” said Price.
Naturetrek switched from overseas to UK holidays as lockdown eased and the ‘rule of six’ was introduced. Although it is a lower-value revenue stream it plans to continue with them. Staff also spent the lockdown period working on projects that they didn’t find time to do before, including a new website and back-office reservation system.
Similarly, Waterside used the downtime from usual business activities to explore how new technology can enable a smarter business. “We took the plunge with a food and beverages app for deliveries to our holiday homes,” said Main. “The service has been very well received. We also invested in a new electric vehicle for home deliveries.”
As well as opening a large new warehouse facility in Fareham just before the first lockdown, CSS gained re- accreditation for ISO90001 and also obtained a licence to store personal protective equipment during the pandemic.
One “light in the darkness” for the Goodwood Estate was the unexpected success of its organic farm shop. “After we had to stop supplying our wholesale accounts we flipped to the retail farm shop and saw a significant increase in turnover as people wanted to shop locally where social distancing is possible,” said Coggings.
Optimistic outlook as the UK reopens
It will take time for the impact of the pandemic to fully play out in the sector, so one thing businesses have learned is to be flexible.
46
Naturetrek holiday
hospitality & leisure
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51
