76% of operators want to reopen later with no restrictions, according to survey

29-Jan-2021 - Last updated on 29-Jan-2021 at 10:36 GMT

Survey says: the poll asked operators if they would prefer to open earlier with restrictions in place or later with no restrictions

Three quarters (76%) of business leaders would prefer to reopen their venues later in the year without any restrictions in place, a trade survey has found.

The remaining quarter (24%) stated they would prefer to open sooner with trade restrictions in place.

The Hospitality Leaders Poll, which is conducted by Lumina Intelligence on behalf of The Morning Advertiser, MCA, Big Hospitality and Restaurant, included 233 respondents from across the trade.

The poll also asked respondents if they expected their landlords to seek full rent payments once the moratorium stops at the end of March.

Payment options

Almost half (47%) said they did, three-in-10 (30%) did not while more than a fifth (23%) were unsure on what would happen.

Of the 109 who said they were predicting the rent would be sought, some 45% said they would be able to pay it but with great difficulty or a risk to their survival.

Almost a third (32%) would not be able to pay landlords the full amount, 12% were unsure and 11% would be able to pay without a problem.

The survey polled respondents on their opinions of a furlough extension. Some 44% labelled an extension of the scheme a ‘lifeline’ with a further 31% saying it would be ‘very helpful’.

Takeaway services

However, 10% didn’t think it would be helpful at all with 7% saying it would ‘fairly helpful’ and 8% said ‘slightly helpful’.

More than half (52%) of operators in the survey did not adapt to takeaway or delivery businesses amid the pandemic, with 42% pivoting their operation and 6% sating they already offered these services before the crisis hit.

Each week, the poll has asked operators about the levels of confidence they have in their business for the future.

In the latest edition, the percentage of operators asked who are not confident in the future trading of their business worsened from 38% to 42%.

Those who answered ‘quite confident’ also fell week on week from 46% to 37%. However, those who are ‘confident’ rose slightly from 13% to 15% as did those who answered ‘very confident’ – an increase from 3% to 5%.