On Monday 6th July, Circle2success brought together members from one of the most affected sectors to have been hit by the economic impact of the covid-19 pandemic, for a workshop ‘C2S Members In Tourism, Hospitality, Sport And Events Catch-Up’.
Our aim was to hear from members in these areas to find out how they have been coping, what they have been doing during lockdown and since the restrictions have started to ease and finding ways to help one another.
The session was very kindly hosted by Jose Marques of Manor by the Lake, who began by telling us about the shift in behaviour of customers over the past 4 months. During lockdown they had a lot of interest with people changing the dates of their weddings and positively looking to the future, however with guidelines still so tight and so much uncertainty about when they will be lifted for weddings in particular, there is growing concern for the government to step up and support them.
Andrew Blair of 24 keys then gave us a low down of marketing for the hospitality industry. The larger operations such as Marriot hotels have the finance and backing to carry on through, so their real concern if for the smaller hotels which are really struggling to find a way through. Andrew has found that Social Media has played one of the largest roles and has become a more powerful marketing tool than ever before in keeping the industry afloat throughout lockdown, a view that many members reiterated throughout the session.
We heard from The Jockey Club on some of the exciting outdoor events they were planning and some of the innovative way that The Cheltenham Trust have managed to engage and get people in the parks and out door cafes.
Camilla Lewington a local singer joined us to talk about the impact from the artist point of view, who discussed hosting sensible events and encouraging local businesses who have the capacity to help local performers, to speak up and create collaborations.
Peter Williamson from Hillside Brewery has found that the offering they created during lockdown, of takeaway drinks and virtual events has really kept them going and engaged customers and they will continue with these until weddings and team building events can happen again.
Although we are beginning to emerge from the lockdown and restrictions are easing, there may be a reticence by people to fully engage in the short term, so finding new innovative and creative ways to bring the business to the people remains the key to survival for a lot of the industry.
We also heard from Myra Billinghurst from Gloucestershire College, Peter McNeile from Andoversford Races, James Strickland from Neptune Rum, Tara Sanchez from Marketing Cheltenham, Jim Stevenson of Aston Lark, Lisa Garrett and Bairbre Llyod Cheltenham Festivals and Bob Holt, Investor. It is clear from this first session that everyone needs to support one another through these extraordinary times.
This is just the beginning of our discussion so if you would like to be involved or if you have any suggestions to help one another please get in touch with us and let us know how we can help. We will be holding a follow up on the 3rd August at 11am info@circle2success.co.uk
