Aneesa McGladdery Continued from Page 43
LC: What gives me confidence is the resilience of those operating in the sector, their innovation and ability to adapt quickly.
We’ve all heard people saying how hard it is in hospitality, but I don’t hear that from the operators I talk to. They are talking about how they are going to get sales, how they can bend and shape their businesses, what they can tweak and what they are going to do next year. There are lots of innovative entrepreneurs out there.
SH: We carried out a survey recently as part of a huge brand project and more than 5,000 people responded. We learnt that the reason they keep coming back to Ribby Hall is because they know what they are getting.
It’s that security and confidence. People realise you don’t have to travel that far to have an amazing holiday. It’s a lot more hassle-free and that is a nice feeling. We also create an expectation amongst our customers of continual improvement.
AM: Businesses aren’t moping around about VAT and other issues. What they are trying to do is innovate and that takes real strength. In Pendle we have businesses opening that are leisure or hospitality based. It is positive story to see that drive and hunger to keep going and that is something I really applaud.
AS: With so many things coming to Lancashire, businesses are looking at how they can tap into that but also how they can give something back. It’s a question of, ‘They might be coming to my venue but what else can they come to? How can we make them stay here longer?’ In Blackpool that is where the conversation is really starting to happen. There is a lot more openness to share.
We are trying to drive a lot bigger shows to come to us, ones that haven’t necessarily been here before. Those bigger theatre names will hopefully bring in additional tourists.
The conference centre is really busy. We have an initiative called ‘Meet Blackpool’ and we also try to push all the other venues.
KH: We’re seeing an increase in take-up of our invitations to discuss skills across the sector. The range of skills needed is so broad that it requires a collaborative approach, bringing together businesses from across the sector.
Those wider conversations help us build bespoke solutions for individual businesses, and the more businesses involved, the more effective those solutions become.
Lindsay Campbell
We held an AI event earlier this year and I’d say about 14 per cent of the businesses that attended were in the hospitality, tourism and leisure sector. They were looking to gain support in areas such as marketing and menu creation. We had a really open conversation.
If you’re creative and innovative, the leisure sector is perfect for you. If you’re digitally minded, it’s also perfect for you. There are different strands within this sector for every career and it’s about getting that exposure and utilising our employee partners to offer placements to students so they can gain that insight before moving into it.
VH: We’ve so many incredible businesses that aren’t just great locally, they are great nationally as well. I’d implore other businesses that aren’t engaged to just look at some of those incredible and inspiring success stories.
We’ve restaurants with Michelin stars and national tourism award winners. The people
Vikki Harris
We know that when we send out an email, the three things that get the highest click through rate are a new venue, a new menu or an offer.
AS: It is hard to be innovative if you’re not in a positive place. If you’re looking at the negatives impacting your business, you are never going to innovate anything. If you can pause and look back at your USP and what you want to provide for people, that is a much better place to start innovating.
MR: Most people that set up in the hospitality and leisure sector do it because they’ve got a passion for something. They don’t necessarily understand what good business is. They can provide the best food or beer but if they don’t know how to communicate that or how to invest in the brand engagement they need, unfortunately the business won’t succeed. It is understanding that.
AM: We have so many micro-to-small businesses who have these incredible ideas,
People realise you don’t have to travel that far to have an amazing holiday. It’s a lot more hassle-free and that is a nice feeling
that run these businesses are open to helping others. They want to share their knowledge to help everyone else thrive.
MR: People want experience and they want value. They will keep coming back because they know they’ll get that value within an environment that they like visiting and enjoy. Delivering that consistently is the biggest challenge.
Just look at some of the recent examples of the innovative things businesses are doing. Thwaites launched scratch card competition for the World Cup. As a result, they will have at least 15,000 new email addresses – customers that they can contact for the next year or next couple of years, to engage with their brand.
Last week, I was in the kitchen at the Three Fishes restaurant, where Nigel Howarth had brought in Ken Hom – who anyone my age will remember from television in the 1980s – to cook for a few days.
Also look at the Seafood Pub Company. It is constantly changing menus, adapting to what is going on.
but they don’t have the business acumen to see them through. If they can recognise that and reach out for help, they could do really well. But it is recognising it from their side.
Where are the opportunities for the sector in terms of growth, investment and innovation?
KH: You can be the best chef in the world, but you still need a strong business around you to bring people through the restaurant doors.
For us, it all comes back to collaboration. It’s about having conversations with businesses, understanding what they need and creating the right support to help them grow.
When it comes to skills, apprenticeships are an important part of the picture, but they are not a one-size-fits-all solution. Recent government announcements have placed a real focus on getting more young people into work, with a range of incentives available to help SMEs take on apprentices. Businesses need to understand how those incentives can work for them.
Continued on Page 46 LANCASHIREBUSINES SV
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TOURISM AND LEISURE
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