As you might expect from a hospitality industry professional (that’s me!) I’ve been keeping an eye out for events in the industry, footfall trackers, rail passenger numbers and new administrations. At the moment the data paints a gloomy picture with restaurants down circa 40% on a like for like basis and rail passenger numbers still down circa 75%. Footfall in shaping centres is slowly creeping up but not near,y fast enough. I am hoping that with people wearing masks there will be more confidence out there which will lead to greater footfall.
For the moment, I remain hopeful that we can avoid a meltdown in the industry but reports are suggesting that a third of hospitality staff who are currently furloughed will lose their jobs – this is a particularly grim statistic.
So are we over the worst of it? I don’t think so, not by a long way.
