Hospitality industry’s rapid growth under threat without Government support
The hospitality industry’s stellar growth since the financial crisis could be halted and start to fall by 2021 if the Government continues to overlook it, a new report has suggested. Research by Ignite Economics carried out for the British Hospitality Association, has predicted the sector’s workforce could begin to drop by 2021 with the contribution it makes to the economy also falling as cost pressures from wages and business rates bite alongside a potential labour squeeze once the UK leaves the EU. Any weakness in the industry would be a concern given it employs almost 10% of the entire UK workforce and has grown its contribution to the economy faster than…
Hospitality wages ’62p higher than national living wage’
The hospitality industry’s average hourly pay of workers outstrips the national living wage (NLW) by 62p, a global software provider (Fourth Analytics) for the leisure and hospitality industries has claimed. It’s important to remember that this is across the whole industry including large chains who quote wages as inclusive of tips who guarantee a wage of £9.50 per hour (for example), but this is actually £7.50 plus tips (having spoken to a few employees of said chains who have applied for work at my Lebanese restaurant). In my experience, the majority of operators still work on an NLW basis plus tips. Read More.
A Brief Lesson in Restaurant Economics
Or why your Espresso costs that much. Back in December 2015, Hannah C from North Yorkshire left an angry TripAdvisor review for Bennett’s Cafe and Bistro in High Petergate complaining that she was on a tight budget and still charged £2 for a cup of hot water and a slice of lemon. You can read her original review on Lost at E Minor which led to the following response from the bistro which I post here verbatim as it’s an elegant outline of simple restaurant economics: I’m sorry that you feel that you were ripped off and Ill try to explain why you weren’t. You entered the cafe and the…
Should Restaurants Charge Cakeage?
Would you bring your own food to a restaurant? There are two, sometimes conflicting, rules in the restaurant business: The restaurant’s duty is to create memorable experiences for the guest The restaurant makes and sells food in order to pay its bills and make a profit In general, when a guest arrives and does what is expected of them – i.e. orders things from your menu that you have carefully designed or selected – and pays the bill we are able to meet both rules. The team can focus on creating a memorable (happy) experience and the restaurant is paid for doing their job well. However, when a guest decides…
The Tip of the Hospitality Iceberg
Tips. They have been the hot topic this week in the UK with major chains coming under fire for not passing on all – if any – of the discretionary service charge to the staff. There has been outrage in all quarters about this, and some dubious PR involving utilising the discretionary service charge to ensure a ‘living wage’. There have also been calls for the abolition of the tip in favour of a straight wage. Unfortunately, there is no law on the subject of discretionary service charges, and – like it or not – even the BHA’s codes of practice say that an operator can retain some of the…
MISADVENTURES IN THE RESTAURANT TRADE
