Ideas to reopen the leisure & tourism sectors if social distancing is to continue

[Llanigraham]

Do it really doesn't. No govt can be expected to bankroll every individual and every business owner. Anyone expecting the Govt to pay a business all it's lost income is deluded. The business rates grant was intended to cover fixed costs of the premises (rent, power, utilities, security, insurance, etc). Furlough was meant to support employees. SEISS and loans and ultmately UC was meant to support the owner's lost profits. Without that support, millions of people would be unemployed, risk losing their homes, businesses shut for good, etc. Because of the support, "most" people and businesses will be able to come through this dark period. Inevitably, there'll be some collapsed businesses - many will have been in trouble before covid, with low profits or losses, no reserves, etc. We have a country pub/restaurant near us that's just called in the receivers - everyone is blaming covid, but when you look at their published accounts on Companies House, they've been losing money for years - the 2019 year end showed a loss of £150k - it was a dead duck anyway.

I suggest you have a look at some of the comments on various Small Business Forums to see how the governments "promises" of support have not worked. For example, grants for self employed people depended on their accounts for the last financial year, so if you only set the business up this year you got nothing, or if last year was your first year of trading, so that profits were low, you got nothing.

 

[underbank]

I suggest you have a look at some of the comments on various Small Business Forums to see how the governments "promises" of support have not worked. For example, grants for self employed people depended on their accounts for the last financial year, so if you only set the business up this year you got nothing, or if last year was your first year of trading, so that profits were low, you got nothing.

Yes, but you can't bring in rules to cover every eventuality can you? They had to be brought in at a moment's notice as things were happening so fast. Usually, changes to taxes and benefits takes months going through various consultations, committee stages, and finally the HOC itself - there simply wasn't time for that, so yes, unfortunately, a minority of people fell through the cracks, hence the loan schemes etc. I'm an accountant, and I've been dealing with HMRC and other Govt bodies for over 35 years. I usually don't have a good word for HMRC nor The Treasury, but the fact they managed to set up the furlough system so quickly and then quickly followed by the SEISS support scheme is pretty miraculous, and remarkably easy to navigate and use. Local councils were really quick to pay out the £10k-£50k business rate grants. It's allowed tens/hundreds of thousands of small businesses to survive so far and kept millions of people off the unemployment register. Yes, I've got clients who've fallen through the cracks, some I've known for many years, some decades, and it's awful, but you really can't save everyone when you're hit by a pandemic! I'd certainly rather they saved 95% of businesses by the package they've provided rather than lose, say, 50% without the support.

 

[greyman42]

I quite liked the way the Amsterdam Heineken experience manages it. They give you three tokens on a wristband when you do in. You exchange a token for each bottle of Heineken. Once you've had your 3, you're not getting any more. UK pubs could easily do the same. Of course, you'll have some people who'll give a spare token to a friend, but I think it's a good starting point to control the amount drunk by most drinkers and to avoid drunkenness etc.

That might work in Holland but the British won't put up with it and rightly so.

 

[Huntergreed]

That might work in Holland but the British won't put up with it and rightly so.

I agree, the culture over here simply wouldn't allow for this type of measure to be imposed, and if it was then people would simply drink before going to the pub.

 

[Ianno87]

The Audley End miniature railway is set to open:

Audley End miniature railway to reopen soon

The miniature railway will be reopening with new social distancing measures for the summer

www.cambridge-news.co.uk

138226953422

Audley End miniature railway to reopen soon with new restrictions in place

The miniature railway will be reopening with new social distancing measures for the summer

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The Audley End miniature train steams through the woodland (Image: Audley End Miniature Railway)

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If after more than 90 days in lockdown you're looking for something fun to do with the family outside the house you're not alone.

Thankfully the Audley End Miniature Railway is one thing that is opening for a limited time over the summer.

The miniature railway, which will open every day from July 4 through September 7, has made a few changes to keep guests and staff safe.

Though can't say £12.50 to see faries in PPE visors is floating my boat.

 

[Ploughman]

FRom the BBC today the NYMR has raised £350K.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-engla...t_and_arts&link_location=live-reporting-story

[/URL]

 

[Worf]

FRom the BBC today the NYMR has raised £350K.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-engla...t_and_arts&link_location=live-reporting-story

[/URL]

Planning to reopen a shortish ride at each end from Yorkshire Day

Reopening!

NYMR has announced its plans to fire up the engines and invite passengers aboard from Yorkshire Day (1st August).

www.nymr.co.uk

 

[CaptainHaddock]

Their beers may not be amongst my favourites but hats off to Ralph Findlay, chief executive of Marston’s pub chain, for the most sensible approach to reopening the pubs I've seen so far. He appears to be one of the few people in the industry who's realised that the government's proposed safety measures are guidelines and not laws.

Boss of pub chain Marston's declares war on coronavirus red tape

The Wolverhampton-based group, which owns the Pitcher & Piano and Revere chains, said it would leave pens and paper for customers to fill out their details if they wanted to.

www.dailymail.co.uk

One of the country’s biggest pub chains has said it will not force drinkers to hand over their contact details – fearing the policy will put them off.

Ralph Findlay, chief executive of Marston’s, is also refusing to make staff wear masks, claiming pubs should not feel like hospitals. He said customers would be able to prop up the bar when pubs open next week – ignoring another safety guideline issued by the Government.

Marston’s will re-open 90 per cent of its 1,400 sites from July 4 – and others in Wales and Scotland will follow once local lockdown restrictions are eased.

The brewer will spend several hundred thousand pounds on personal protective equipment for employees who want to use it for ‘their own peace of mind’ but not as a matter of course. The Wolverhampton-based group, which owns the Pitcher & Piano and Revere chains, said it would leave pens and paper for customers to fill out their details if they wanted to.

Mr Findlay, 59, said issues such as PPE and contact details were ‘requests’ from the Government and not rules. He added there is a ‘degree of grey area and flexibility of guidance that is very helpful’, letting publicans make up their own minds about which bits they want to enforce.

He said it will also be crucial to make pubs enjoyable places to visit, adding: ‘It’s important to me for pubs to look like pubs and not like hospitals because if they do, people won’t want to come here.’

 

[Huntergreed]

He appears to be one of the few people in the industry who's realised that the government's proposed safety measures are guidelines and not laws.

Try telling that to the thousands of “Covid Restriction Compliance Teams“ around the country who I believe are able to take away the license of a pub if they are found not following these “guidelines”.

 

[scarby]

Planning to reopen a shortish ride at each end from Yorkshire Day

Reopening!

NYMR has announced its plans to fire up the engines and invite passengers aboard from Yorkshire Day (1st August).

www.nymr.co.uk

The raft of restrictions and regulations make that feel more like anticipating an arduous all-day employee workshop rather than a relaxing summer holiday day out on the Moors.

 

[YorksDMU]

It’s good to see the NYMR are doing a reopening, but I won’t go until distancing and masks etc., can be eliminated. That makes it next summer at the earliest. The lovely smell of steam engines will not be apparent with a mask on, amongst all the other issues.

 

[CaptainHaddock]

Try telling that to the thousands of “Covid Restriction Compliance Teams“ around the country who I believe are able to take away the license of a pub if they are found not following these “guidelines”.

I think calling them “Covid Restriction Action Patrol“ would give a more suitable acronym for the value of their work!

 

[MikeWM]

Current status of cinema chains:

Cineworld/Picturehouse have moved their reopening date back to July 31st. I guess that makes some sense given the big July films have been moved back to August, but it makes their big July 10th announcement a couple of weeks ago look a bit silly in retrospect.

Odeon are still claiming they are reopening from Saturday (different cinemas at different times over the next few weeks, but eg. Norwich is still down for Saturday, with showtimes available and tickets bookable). I guess we'll see.

Showcase same as Odeon - some sites down for Saturday opening.

Vue don't seem to have said anything yet, despite pushing for July 4th some weeks back.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Cineworld are not, in my experience, known for their competence, so this sort of flip-flop isn't surprising.

 

[CaptainHaddock]

Sheffield City council makes an absolute embarrassment of itself at s time when the local hospitality industry needs all the help it can get.

Sheffield Council apologises for coronavirus pub tweet

Sheffield City Council apologises for the "badly worded" tweet, which it has since deleted.

www.bbc.co.uk

Sheffield City Council said Covid-19 would be "happiest" about rule changes which come into force on Saturday.

A number of landlords responded angrily to the social media post, which has since been deleted.

The council said the post was "badly worded but was done with the best intentions".

On Thursday, the council tweeted: "The virus loves crowded places and thrives on close contact.

"It won't be queuing to get inside the pub - it will already be there waiting for you."

 

[Harpers Tate]

NYMR have announced they are resuming services to Whitby on a limited basis from 17 August.
Pre-booked only; two round trip services from Pickering daily ("non-stop"). It appears you HAVE to return on the same train you arrived on, with a +/- 3 hour layover in Whitby for each trip.

 

[HSTEd]

The more realistic option is to start an orderly liquidation of most of the tourism sector.

No point bleeding money hoping for the return of some halcyon period which is not coming back.

Given that the current measures will be retained functionally forever.... there is no market for most of these things any more.

We've now got to the point of tourism trade bodies demanding universal masks in public spaces so that people will be willing to take holidays to places that require them.

 

[Bletchleyite]

The more realistic option is to start an orderly liquidation of most of the tourism sector.

Airlines, yes, they should probably be closed down in an orderly manner. For everything else it's a case of "repurpose to survive" - for the next 2-3 years, even if we get a vaccine within months, the market will be wholly domestic and is there to be taken advantage of.

This is probably also true of nightclubs - they might as well all close and be liquidated, it will be impossible for them to reopen for the foreseeable future unless they can be repurposed in some way.

 

[HSTEd]

For everything else it's a case of "repurpose to survive" - for the next 2-3 years, even if we get a vaccine within months, the market will be wholly domestic and is there to be taken advantage of.

It's probably also true of almost all restaurants without a michelin star.

There is no way they will be able to achieve sustainable seating densities and such.
Will have to convert some to takeaways and liquidate the rest.

 

[NorthOxonian]

It's probably also true of almost all restaurants without a michelin star.

There is no way they will be able to achieve sustainable seating densities and such.
Will have to convert some to takeaways and liquidate the rest.

What would you do after this is over, in a year or two? People are willing to accept restrictions now, but I don't think most people want to live in a spartan society for the rest of their lives.

 

[Bletchleyite]

It's probably also true of almost all restaurants without a michelin star.

There is no way they will be able to achieve sustainable seating densities and such.
Will have to convert some to takeaways and liquidate the rest.

There are plenty of restaurants which don't have enough tables to be profitable with eat-in only. Often these are Indian takeaways that happen to have sit-in capacity, but which mostly do takeaway business. One of the better ones near me is like that.

Restaurants will have to look at repurposing in that sort of way. And "foodservice" (the school-dinner-esque junk served at the likes of 'Spoons) is likely dead - nobody will get something they can cook in their own oven as a takeaway, the food quality and innovation will become all the more important. Gastropub or die, basically.

What would you do after this is over, in a year or two? People are willing to accept restrictions now, but I don't think most people want to live in a spartan society for the rest of their lives.

I *think* @HSTEd is taking the pessimistic/prepper view, namely that this won't be over in a year or two and this genuinely is the "new normal" forever, which while it feels unlikely at the moment (due to good vaccine progress) could be the case.

 

[DB]

There are plenty of restaurants which don't have enough tables to be profitable with eat-in only. Often these are Indian takeaways that happen to have sit-in capacity, but which mostly do takeaway business. One of the better ones near me is like that.

Restaurants will have to look at repurposing in that sort of way. And "foodservice" (the school-dinner-esque junk served at the likes of 'Spoons) is likely dead - nobody will get something they can cook in their own oven as a takeaway, the food quality and innovation will become all the more important. Gastropub or die, basically.

You seem keen to tell business owners what they need to do, and indeed tell the public what type of restaurants they are 'allowed' in the future!

 

[HSTEd]

What would you do after this is over, in a year or two? People are willing to accept restrictions now, but I don't think most people want to live in a spartan society for the rest of their lives.

If the restrictions are ever lifted, these industries can be rebuilt.

But right now the public purse is pouring money away trying to prop up industries that cannot exist in this environment.
And huge numbers of staff who could be doing something useful are sitting at home doing nothing, and are functionally unemployed in public health terms.

 

[yorksrob]

The more realistic option is to start an orderly liquidation of most of the tourism sector.

No point bleeding money hoping for the return of some halcyon period which is not coming back.

Given that the current measures will be retained functionally forever.... there is no market for most of these things any more.

We've now got to the point of tourism trade bodies demanding universal masks in public spaces so that people will be willing to take holidays to places that require them.

The current measures won't be retained forever.

 

[HSTEd]

The current measures won't be retained forever.

That does not appear to the Government's position in terms of things it has actually done, rather than feel good stuff spouted by Boris.
These measures are to be retained indefinitely.

 

[DB]

And huge numbers of staff who could be doing something useful are sitting at home doing nothing, and are functionally unemployed in public health terms.

Doing what useful? Hardly anybody is creating jobs at the moment, so most of them would just end up on the dole.

 

[DB]

That does not appear to the Government's position in terms of things it has actually done, rather than feel good stuff spouted by Boris.
These measures are to be retained indefinitely.

Sorry, but that's just nonsense. It won't happen.

 

[Bletchleyite]

You seem keen to tell business owners what they need to do, and indeed tell the public what type of restaurants they are 'allowed' in the future!

This thread is about coming up with ideas for those industries - so speculate away yourself if you wish!

 

[yorksrob]

That does not appear to the Government's position in terms of things it has actually done, rather than feel good stuff spouted by Boris.
These measures are to be retained indefinitely.

The public won't stand for it. They'll put up with it for a bit, but there will come a point when it will have to end.

 

[HSTEd]

Doing what useful? Hardly anybody is creating jobs at the moment, so most of them would just end up on the dole.

They are not creating jobs at the moment because they are still expecting this to be a short term shock that will be reversed.
Once the reality of the situation that the Government has signed us all up for becomes clear, some form of normality will reassert itself.

The public won't stand for it. They'll put up with it for a bit, but there will come a point when it will have to end.

This is the least pro lockdown online fora that I am a member of, and even here we have people saying that not obeying the masks and lockdown literally makes you a murderer.

All the government will have to do is claim that doing anything else will murder all the photogenic pensioners and they will be shouted down.
We do after all live in an out and out gerontocracy.