What Lockdown Easing Means For The Hospitality Sector in Scotland

As of today (May 28th) Scotland should be entering into the first phase of its lockdown easing. The First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, announced a four phase approach to guiding the country safely out of the coronavirus crisis. But what does this mean for the hospitality sector?

Bars, restaurants and hotels have been arguably the most impacted by the global pandemic which forced venues and outlets to close across the country back in March. It seems unlikely that normality will be resumed for these businesses any time soon with talk of restrictions on the number of customers, the number of staff and the way these venues operate being enforced until there is either a vaccine, or the virus is no longer a threat to public health. Both seem a long way off right now. 

So what does this four phase approach mean for our bars, restaurants and hotels? We look at each phase to assess the implications for the hospitality sector.

N.B. This article is accurate at the time of writing, based on the information publicly available to us. Further updates and developments may be announced by the Scottish Government In the days and weeks to come. The dates provided are based on an assumed three-week period for each phase.)

Phase One (May 28th – June 17th)

With summer looming, everyone will be keen to reopen as quickly as possible Unfortunately, the first phase of lockdown easing will require all hospitality outlets to remain closed.

Phase Two (June 18th – July 8th)

For outlets fortunate enough to have outdoor space, phase two of the lockdown roadmap suggests that they will be able to reopen to accommodate their customers ‘al-fresco’.  It isn’t clear whether customers will be able to use indoor toilets and the Government are yet to outline the other conditions which the venue will need to meet in order to reopen. Come hail or shine, it looks like the entire population will be spending the latter half of June in a beer garden!

Phase Three (July 9th – July 30th)

We feel the dates for this phase may be a tad optimistic but we like to have a ‘glass half full’ outlook on things after the doom and gloom of the last few months. In the third phase of the Scottish Government’s plan for reopening the economy, it looks like hotels, bars and restaurants will be able to reopen.

Unfortunately, it won’t all be rosy. Social distancing will likely still be enforced alongside a range of other restrictions which may include contactless payments, digital tips and disposable cutlery and crockery. At the very least, we are hoping the hospitality sector can get back on its feet in time for the summer letting businesses benefit from the inevitable surge in demand for staycations and domestic holidays.

Phase Four (August & Beyond)

At this point COVID-19 is deemed no longer a threat to public health and businesses will be permitted to operate as they were pre-pandemic. However, in the roadmap published three weeks ago, it states that it may be many months, if not years, before we are in a position to enter this phase. Again, we like to take an optimistic view on things and we are hopeful that come the October break things will be back to normal. Although, that ‘normal’ may be a far cry from what we are used to.