Over the past 24 hours you may have seen a new campaign has been launched, created by hospitality professionals to open the eyes of the UK to the plight of hospitality industry.
Since the start of pandemic the various localised industry Facebook groups have been providing an amazing service of keeping everyone up to date with the latest news whilst trying to stop misinformation spreading. Last week when the new restrictions were launched they decided it was time to band together and come up with strong message in this worrying time for our industry.
It is important to note here that we have been in contact with this group from the start of this mission and they are as concerned about the Covid-19 pandemic as anyone, they want to see rates drop and bring an end to it all. They do not object to masks being warn by staff and customers, to Track & Trace, to the rule of 6 etc and are happy that hospitality can do its bit to help. However the 10pm curfew, they feel, as do we, is a step too far, unnecessarily singles out the hospitality industry and has the potential to make matters worse with the knock on effects.
They simply think that the way the government have gone about it is wrong and want to bring attention to the issues we face.
#CancelTheCurfew – Stop Blaming Hospitality is the result of many days of conversations and thousands of messages going back and forth.
It is more than just a hashtag and most importantly it is a campaign that is designed to empower those working on the frontline of the hospitality industry to attempt to raise awareness amongst consumers of the impact that the policy is having on their industry; in hope that they will join them in pressuring the government to U-turn on the ruinous policy.
What Can I Do To Help?
The campaign relies on the hospitality industry getting behind it. Firstly, please join up to one or more of the #CancelTheCurfew social media groups:
Here you will be kept up to date with the latest news and plans as well as get access to the images that we would love you to use on your social media profiles to show your support of the campaign.
There is also a petition in the system on the government website concerning the 10pm curfew being cancelled (unsurprisingly this is not a quick or simple process) if you fill out this form you will be informed when the petition is live. This information will also be shared through the social media channels.
This Saturday, 3rd October, we are planning on making a real splash and your help is needed for this. At 10pm we are asking that all staff stand outside their venues (in max groups of 6) and take a photo. Then please post this on your personal and the venues (if they’ll let you) social media channels with the hashtag #CancelTheCurfew. We are hoping for thousands of venues around the country to join in and produce a social media ‘thunderclap’.
This is all about spreading the message of #CancelTheCurfew – Stop Blaming Hospitality. It is all about getting people to understand our plight so the more of you sharing the message and using the imagery on your profiles the more of an impact it will have. Tag, Forward, Share, Like and Love.
One of the leading voices of the campaign and founder of Hospitality Gin, Tom Lord said:
“The industry that we love is in grave danger of being suffocated by this curfew. Some venues were starting to see a light at the end of the tunnel before it was announced as customers returned and we all settled into “the new normal”. Now we’ve been plunged back into uncertainty.”
“We want the British public to know the impact that the curfew is going to have, not just on our businesses, but on our friends and colleagues. We have borne the brunt of the measures announced over the past fortnight. We are vilified as breeding grounds for the virus, yet Public Health England’s own figures show this is not true. In fact, the latest figures show that we have one of the lowest infection rates outside of the home.”
“Hundreds of thousands of people will lose their jobs as a direct result of this disastrous policy, thousands of businesses will close their doors forever, and the hospitality industry will never be the same again. Stop blaming hospitality, let us serve”
If you have any questions or suggestions then the team will be keeping an eye on the social media accounts so feel free to message them through those or failing that drop BarLifeUK a message.
From BarLifeUK a huge congratulations to everyone involved in bringing this campaign together it was a massive effort with everything else you have on your plates at the moment.
#CANCELTHECURFEW – Stop Blaming Hospitality, Let Us Serve
