The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
£10 voucher scheme on menu to kickstart hospitality businesses.
Scheme to help hospitality sector goes live – but it may not suit all businesses
An ambitious new scheme aimed at giving the hospitality sector a shot in the arm as it recovers from the coronavirus pandemic is due to go live today.
Restaurants, cafés and pubs across Tayside and Fife are among the thousands taking advantage of the UK Government’s Eat Out to Help Out scheme.
The initiative will offer diners major savings on their meals out while reimbursing the participating businesses.
Customers will be able to claim discounts of as much as 50% on their meals or non-alcoholic drinks at registered businesses from August 3 to 31.
The scheme will be active from Mondays to Wednesdays with a maximum discount of £10 per person. It can be used more than once.
The discount will be automatically available at participating businesses.
The UK-wide scheme was announced by Chancellor Rishi Sunak in early July.
It aims to boost footfall and support establishments within the hospitality sector by encouraging people to dine out with family and friends.
Participating businesses must register to take part in the scheme, and by midnight on July 26, HMRC reported that more than 50,000 had done so.
Webinars were organised to explain the scheme to businesses, including how to process the discount, which is part of an overall package of measures to support the hospitality industry, including a 15% drop in VAT from 20% to 5% until January 12.
However, with an absence of office workers and tourists in city centres, some business owners are questioning whether there will be enough footfall to justify opening Monday to Wednesday.
Martin Tippett, director at 172 at The Caird in Dundee, fears there is just not the volume of trade to make opening for indoor dining earlier in the week worthwhile at this point.
He said: “I’ve got to look at costs and ask is there enough footfall for me to open Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, which would mean putting staff on, using gas and electricity? If I take in £500 by opening, it might cost the same amount just to open the doors.
“I’ve spoken to other city centre owners and they say they’re ticking over with business during the week but, with the discount, unless they get that money from HMRC back into their bank account quickly then it’s going to be difficult. So there would need to be an increase in footfall.”
For Martin, though the scheme “looks good on paper”, he believes there are multiple factors affecting business that will not be fixed by a meal discount.
He said: “A lot of customers come in for lunch with a glass of prosecco, or cocktails with nibbles.
“This isn’t a place where people tend to have soft drinks so, although I understand why they didn’t include alcohol with the offer, it doesn’t really help us.
“To be honest, it’s very, very tough right now. It’s the offices not being back, there’s no one here.
“We’re being hit from all angles, because we can’t offer live music, no functions or weddings, so it’s not just a case of no one standing at the bar, that’s just a small percentage, it’s the tourists, the day trippers.
“All these bits add up. So the (Eat Out to Help Out) scheme sounds a good idea on paper but in practice, there’s more to it.
“The average age group coming in is 18 to 22-year-olds, which is good for new custom – the younger ones have no fear – but our older clientele are much more anxious and cautious and I think that’s hitting everyone, not just us.”
The hospitality industry will be understandably anxious this morning, as under-pressure businesses open their doors on the first day of the food voucher scheme.
Few sectors have been as hard hit as restaurants, cafés and pubs — forced to close at a moment’s notice and watching custom from a beautiful spring slip through their fingers.
Some have stayed afloat thanks to creative tweaks to their business models, such as home delivery services. Others will never open again.
The chancellor’s largesse in offering to cover discounted food and drink may be enough to save venues from collapse but as pointed out by the likes of Martin Tippett, director of 172 at the Caird in Dundee, it is not a silver bullet.
The scheme operates on what are traditionally the quietest days of the week — businesses will have to weigh up carefully whether it is worth participating and for some, the pre-lockdown customer base remains absent.
What must not be forgotten also, is those outlets unable to take advantage on Mr Sunak’s scheme.
Some venues do not meet the criteria for participation and must find other means to ensure income.
For all that the voucher scheme deserves praise and support, it must not be seen as a catch-all which will save the industry. The authorities must continue to serve up innovative ideas.