THE EXPERT VIEW

Robin Hutson, CEO of The Pig Hotels

THERE are two conflicting influences for customers making the decision whether to ‘staycation’ or not.

On the one hand, there is pent-up demand to stay in the UK now that getting on a budget airline to a crowded Mediterranean resort looks less appealing. When we reopened reservations last week, we took 800 room bookings on the first day.

On the other, there is a natural caution from guests regarding safety. So it’s our job as operators to build a trust that reassures them that we will be doing everything in our power to keep staff and guests safe.

‘We really don’t need a civil servant rule book. We get it. We are used to keeping everyone safe, we do it every day with environmental health, food safety, fire safety, licensing laws, security. I think the Government should concentrate on keeping the streets safe and let the hospitality professionals look after our guests.’