This week, hospitality businesses were finally given the green light to reopen from Saturday 4th July after three months of closure.
With the British public eager to return to their favourite pubs and restaurants, and hospitality businesses raring to open, how can these businesses ensure the safety of its staff and customers?
Social distancing
While the government has advised people still remain 2 metres apart, for businesses where this is not possible, the 1 metre rule can be adopted.
This means many venues will need to reconfigure layouts to provide adequate space between customers. One-way systems, clear signage, floor markings, outdoor queueing systems and contactless payments are all recommended.
Pubs and restaurants have also been advised to use disposable cups and glasses when serving drinks. If this is not possible, glasses should be collected, washed and sanitised regularly in addition to plates and cutlery.
Relaxed licensing
To help hospitality businesses reopen safely, alcohol licences are set to be relaxed to allow for the sale of alcohol outside. This will allow pubs, cafés, and restaurants to use the full extent of their premises to operate.
Customer registration
Government ministers have discussed whether customers will need to pre-register their attendance before turning up to premises to help them learn more about spreading patterns and to control the virus.
Countries such as New Zealand have already adopted a similar system and have seen a plateau in cases and deaths.
More information is expected to be released regarding customer registration.
Order by app
To make it easier to keep staff and customers safe, the government has suggested that customers visiting pubs, restaurants and cafés order food and drink through a mobile app. This will limit the number of people in a confined space such as a bar/till point.
Our partnership with Preoday means we now offer an ‘Order to Table’ solution to help. With our new solution, there’s now no need to queue! Customers can order, pay and receive their food or drink, all without leaving their tables.
Click here to find out more or give us a call on 0330 0245014.