Page 10 - Hospitality Report July 2021

There are a number of new opportunities emerging out of the pandemic as we create a new normal
The focus of our product has been to identify emerging opportunities and build them into the framework of Eat Out Round About as we move into a new economy and a new normal. The following highlights trends we have found as part of the project and how the hospitality businesses are working with us as they plug into innovation and benefit from new trends and opportunities.
12. A Community That Really Care’s About Local
Before the pandemic, there was little known association with eating out and impacting the local economy within the marketplace. Our research found that the ability to help the local economy was the number #1 factor behind getting involved with our trials. Helping hospitality was second, followed by saving money and finally helping to raise the profile and brand of the local area. The idea that people could benefit by helping themselves by saving money and at the same time allowing the local economy to thrive was a positive one.
Our project team took time during the lockdown in the early part of 2021 to work with Wakefield Council’s economic regeneration, high street, and tourism team to understand their challenges at a local level. We also worked with CLES, the National Organisation for Local economies, and they demonstrated to us the local multiplier of three. We created a system that could circulate and grow money into the local economy, and for the first time, we could map that and present it to customers in hospitality. Simply by working with Eat Out Round About, hospitality businesses are innovating by allowing their customers to see the economic impact they make when they eat out at their restaurant.
13. Benefitting Commercially from Sourcing Locally
The local multiplier of three from our research highlighted that participating in Eat Out Round About impacts three levels.
• The first level is when a voucher is brought into circulation into the local economy by being claimed.
• The second level is when a voucher is redeemed. A 50% saving means the redeemer contributes to
the local economy, and the value of the voucher multiplies to the economy at least 200%.
• The third level we identified was if a hospitality business, then sources locally, the money in the local
economy further circulates and grows.
The key to the platform was to build a system that would allow hospitality businesses to gain greater visibility on the platform for sourcing locally and impacting the local economy by helping with the circulation of vouchers by purchasing them for staff and customers.
14. Local Businesses Care For The Local Economy
The pandemic has brought attention to customers to care for local hospitality and the local economy and consequently local businesses to care too. We found those businesses that had thrived during the pandemic were positive and enthusiastic about supporting local hospitality. The fact they could benefit their employees along the way was an extremely positive benefit. Those businesses facing challenges will be looking for ways to engage their staff and operate inside a thriving local economy.