Please note that this article was originally written in April 2020; I had to repost it at a later date due to moving my website to a different hosting provider
Chaos has ensued far and wide due to the rapid and unexpected spread of COVID-19, with all industries facing incredibly hard hits as a result. The hospitality industry has faced one of the hardest hits in my opinion, not only compared to other industries, but within the sector itself. Absolutely nothing could even begin to compare to this. With establishments closed and employees from far and wide being made redundant, one can only begin to imagine what will become of the industry once this has all passed.
The first question to ask ourselves is, when will it in fact pass? The Chancellor of Health has stated that we could remain in lockdown for a minimum of 3-6 months, although it is predicted to last quite a bit longer. Whilst we keep ourselves busy, we must begin to wonder how the hospitality industry will change, because it certainly will.
First of all, with the advancement of technology and the increasing popularity of the already incredibly popular delivery services such as ‘UberEats’ and ‘Deliveroo’, it is very likely that many food and beverage outlets, particularly fast food outlets, will switch purely to this form of service. Why pay the exorbitant rent that London requires, not to mention the wages of the many waiters and staff, when you can save a lot of money, thereby increasing overall profits, by taking full advantage of these delivery services.
Does this mean the same for fine dining establishments? I highly doubt it, because while many establishments focus on tasty food and fast service, fine dining establishments are all about the experience. Not only this, but guests very much appreciate the vast amount of knowledge held by the waiters and sommeliers servicing them. It is, therefore, abundantly clear that fine dining will never go out of style. This appears to be the edge that fine dining has over technology, and why technology has not yet taken over. Post corona, I predict that fine dining establishments will be the only thing left to experience, with everything else becoming automated and interpersonal.
When this period eventually passes, establishments must ensure that they are at the forefront of innovation, as due to the change of landscape that will inevitably occur, competition will be higher than ever. So, although it is important to think about and analyse the situation now to decide what will be best for service professional, establishments must also look to the future. They must be ahead of the game, and not risk playing catch up.
