Majority of hospitality businesses have no appetite for autumn discounting

Of the 234 business leaders of independent restaurants, pubs and quick-serve operations questioned by the weekly poll, just over a quarter (26%) say they will offer some sort of early week discount into September and beyond.

Operators are split when questioned whether offering discounts could be damaging for their business going forward, with 48% fearing it might and 52% thinking it would not.

A growing number of businesses have announced that they will be offering a EOHO type discount in September and beyond, from independent restaurants to high street chains. The most recent examples include all-day dining group Bill's, which will offer a new bespoke menu at a discount from next month, mirroring the approach it has taken in August.

Other restaurants continuing to offer a discount into autumn include Emilia’s Crafted Pasta, Benares, Camino and The Gilbert Scott.

In terms of the safety guidelines, ensuring that more than two households are not mingling is a challenge for the industry, with just 16% planning to “strictly enforce” compliance and 59% leaving it up to the customer. Another 21% were unhappy to interfere in customer groups.

But when asked whether they had any sympathy for operators not abiding by the guidelines, 47% had a “zero tolerance” approach while 30% thought those not complying should be named and shamed.

Despite the success of EOHO in bringing in customers early on in the week, confidence among business leaders has fallen week on week. The number of operators asked who were ‘quite confident’, ‘confident’ or ‘very confident’ in the future of their business now stands at only 67%, down from 73% the previous week.

The Hospitality Leaders Poll is conducted on a weekly basis by Lumina Intelligence for BigHospitality, MCA Insight and The Morning Advertiser..