If anyone can show you how to survive tough times, it is people in Hospitality, in the past few months, they have gone from sit in to take out, sit in but sit out, sit in but don’t self serve and now Tier 2 in London . Here are a three of my favourite examples of restaurants getting creative in order to survive and thrive this Pandemic!
Greenhouses in Amsterdam
You may have seen images floating around on Social Media of Mediamatic restaurant in Amsterdam, serving guest bubbles in their own private greenhouses. If you are blessed with open space, this is a great way to encourage customers to dine in while adhering to social distancing measures.
2. Create your own Co-working hub!
With more and more people working from home and going stir crazy, many pubs, restaurants and hotels are offering an “office space” to encourage locals to take their home office mobile! The Red Lion Badlesmere offered the following on their Facebook page that went viral!
“Looking for a place to work other than your living room?
We are offering you a pub desk. What's this you ask?
A table to yourself, near a plug socket and free WiFi for 3 hours. Oh did we mention unlimited tea and coffee with a small lunch included. All this for £10, Monday - Friday 12pm-5pm”
Ok so this may not be the boozy lunch offerings you are used to, but it will get people in and very likely convert locals to be repeat customers!
3. Make your space a “Home away from home”.
With many families having to celebrate birthdays, anniversaries etc etc alone, offering them a space that will make their celebrations much more special is a sure fire way to drum up business. Offer a package deal of drinks and food to control your costs to ensure you benefit, you can even partner with other local businesses to offer add-ons such as cakes, balloons and decor.
It is going to be a tough slog there is no denying it, but continue to reassure customers of their safety being paramount and be creative with your offering. We all need hospitality as we are naturally social creatures. If you have seen some fun and interesting ideas I would love to hear about them!