The UK hospitality industry is demonstrating signs of recovery as it recorded a 267% increase in venue booking requests from April to July according to data from event booking platform, VenueScanner.
The data, based on a sample of 2,221 venue booking requests, reveals that London is driving the recovery with 31% of bookings coming from the greater London area.
The recovery is also driven by an increased demand for private events as 89% of all 2,221 enquiries came from consumers directly, with just 11% coming from businesses. This is in stark contrast to data from the same period in 2019 where 47% of bookings came from private events, while 53% were from businesses.
Rebecca Kelly, CEO and founder of VenueScanner said, “There’s no doubt that hospitality has been one of, if not the hardest, hit industries across the UK so it is really encouraging to see these early signs of recovery as consumer confidence starts to pick up again. We need to ensure that appetite for corporate event space catches up with consumer demand to really drive this recovery.”
Kelly added, “Venues across the UK are working incredibly hard to ensure their premises are safe and at VenueScanner, we are doing everything we can to support them by driving demand for their space.
“As we have read a lot over this crisis, the hospitality industry is absolutely fundamental to the UK economy. While it has been encouraging to see the government introduce initiatives such as the ‘Eat Out to Help Out’ scheme to support the sector’s recovery, the industry is crying out for more clarity on what types and what sizes of events can take place, and when. Consumers and employers need consistent messaging, guidelines and timelines if these early signs of recovery are to continue.”
Reacting to the increase, Paul Evans, regional director for London at Lloyds Bank, added: “It’s encouraging to see Londoners supporting the hospitality sector’s fledgling recovery. At Lloyds Bank, we’ve worked with firms across the capital, providing the support needed to help them weather the initial wave of this crisis and prepare for the rest of 2020 and beyond.
“Our monthly Business Barometer, which measures confidence across London’s business community, reported the city’s outlook improving slightly in July, and the reopening of the hospitality industry will certainly have contributed towards that uptick. We hope this continues in the months ahead as, pending no second wave of coronavirus, more businesses reopen and consumer confidence keeps growing.”
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