100,000 jobs at risk hotel owner warns
Stirling hotelier and Scottish Licensed Trade Association stalwart Paul Waterson has painted a deeply pessimistic picture of the industry’s fortunes amid the ongoing coronoavirus crisis.
He spoke of a loss of 100,000 hospitality jobs across Scotland following last week’s shock announcement by hotel group Macdonald Hotels that it plans to shed up to 1,800 jobs.
Paul, who owns the Golden Lion in King Street, told the Observer this week: “Stirling is a microcosm of Scotland. It’s a good example of what’s happening across the country.
“There’s the combination of tourism and the steady local business which bars and restaurants rely on. It’s very serious. There is no sign of the foreign tourist business coming in for some time.
“There has been a bit of optimism about business from staycations, but I’m not convinced about that yet. We don’t know how the public are going to react when public areas open again.
“There are 280,000 people in the hospitality sector in Scotland. I’m not sure what the Stirling figure is, but I think we can say we will lose a significant amount of jobs.”
Pubs, hotels and restaurants in Scotland have been told to prepare for opening on July 15 by the Scottish Government – if the third phase of easing the lockdown gets the go-ahead.
Paul pointed out that reducing the current two-metre social distancing rules would go some way to assist hospitality businesses.
He said:“When pubs, bars and restaurants open again, they will be affected by the two-metre rule. There are many small licensed trade outlets in Stirling. There are not a lot of new builds or big establishments in
Stirling town centre.
“You have to ask if it will be worth their while opening with that two-metre rule.
“There is the opening up of outside areas, but for many places in the centre of Stirling that’s just not viable at all. At the Golden Lion we have six tables outside, with social distancing we could maybe have four if we’re lucky, but that’s not really an option. I think if we stay to a distance of two metres we’re talking about significant job cuts.
“If a pub in Stirling has a capacity of 50 and you lose 80 per cent of that, you are down to 10 to 15 people. You’re opening for the sake of opening. There are not enough people in there to be meaningful.
“A reduction to one metre would be good, but one and a half metres would help too.”
The Golden Lion is currently getting ready to open on July 15 with plans to move the restaurant and bar into the upstairs function room where there is more space for customers.
With no meetings of any substance likely like weddings, functions or big dinners, Paul said the future remains bleak.
He added:“We get a lot of business from foreign tourists at the Golden Lion and we will not get that business back for some time. I would think we’re talking about next year, but we are not budgeting to get momentum going again until 2022.”