COVID-19 has decimated the UK’s economy, and nowhere is this more noticeable than in the hospitality sector. According to official government statistics, the economic output generated in the hospitality sector had decreased by 90% in April 2020, compared to February of the same year. But how badly has this truly affected those who work in the industry?
To gain a deeper understanding of this, I spoke to someone who had experienced it first-hand – Nicos, one of the owners of Aquum, a local restaurant and bar. “[It’s decimated] the restaurant and club market” he says, an almost resigned tone seeping into his voice. “Few are lucky to survive it”. Aquum was, in fact, one of the lucky few, and has weathered the storm that COVID wrought on the economy. But our feet do not yet step on Terra Firma, and those in the hospitality industry still find themselves wracked with uncertainty –even those that survived the first lockdowns find themselves severely weakened. I inquire as to the magnitude of the impact a second lockdown would have. I am told “some of us will survive… but a lot of them will have to go under. People with no backing behind them. We were lucky we had rents coming in” Aquum is an established business, having enjoyed great success since its founding in 2008. This has allowed for it to bolster itself against the financial decimation of the hospitality sector, but others are not so lucky. However, unlike many, Nicos holds no resentment towards the government, telling me that “they handled it as best as they could – as well as any other country… but the landlords were not as good as the government”. Even those who did make allowances for their tenants could not afford infinite kindness, he tells me saying that “I gave a tenant four months’ rent free, but that four months’ rent free – it’s a lot of money for me, and the bank didn’t give me four months’ free… they still want their money”
The statistics can certainly contextualise the damage each sector has taken within the economic environment, but through this conversation I was able to attain a far clearer picture of the extent to which the livelihoods of those working in the hospitality sector had been damaged, and how effectively the damage was mitigated with the limited resources the government could provide. “It’s a balancing act” Nicos says. Whether the already fragile economy will keep up its perilous balance, or topple to the ground, remains to be seen.
