The COVID-19 pandemic has been incredibly hard on most small businesses, more so those directly or indirectly ( like ourselves ) connected to the hospitality sector. Its seriously frustrating that since March 2020 when the first national lockdown was announced, the government deemed the term ‘hospitality sector’ suitable to cover vast swathes of this wonderful industry, lumping together all manner of businesses operating within the wide parameters of hospitality; from the bars, to restaurants to the large city chain hotels and the small, rural boutiques.

As the UK’s 3rd largest employer responsible for 3 million jobs directly and a further 1.8 million indirectly, I feel the hospitality industry still needs a clear and strong voice as many of the restriction challenges businesses have faced may have been avoided if representation in government had a deeper understanding of the sector.