'Respect the rules' when bars reopen in Harrogate says leading hotelier

A top Harrogate hotelier says it's utterly crucial that everyone 'respects the rules' set by the Government when the town's bars are allowed to reopen en masse on July 4
Simon Cotton, managing director of HRH Group, said the reopening of much of the hospitality sector in Harrogate was an exciting prospect.Simon Cotton, managing director of HRH Group, said the reopening of much of the hospitality sector in Harrogate was an exciting prospect.
Simon Cotton, managing director of HRH Group, said the reopening of much of the hospitality sector in Harrogate was an exciting prospect.

Simon Cotton, managing director of HRH Group which runs The Fat Badger and White Hart and The Yorkshire hotels in Harrogate, said the reopening of much of the hospitality sector a week tomorrow was an exciting prospect. But, in order for it to work and win customers back, bars had to ensure social distancing was more than a phrase.

Mr Cotton said: “People come to hotels, restaurants, pubs and bars to relax and it is when they’re relaxing that they may become a little forgetful of the rules.

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"We’ll be training our staff to ensure customers are ‘politely’ reminded to respect the rules in place and we won’t hesitate to ask people to leave, for the safety of others, should anyone not want to respect this.

“Managing people in the supermarket, the bank, or the shops since they’ve opened is one thing, but people are very much on their guard just now."

The town's economy meant the relaxing of rules in lockdown was a necessity but customers fears of going out into public situations had to be respected and their confidence won, added Mr Cotton.

He said: “We are excited, awakened, fired up and raring to go! I’m passionate about hospitality and the fact that our business never sleeps, so this pandemic has hit us hard. The thought that we can get going with a good amount of the summer hopefully still ahead of us is fantastic news.

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“Possibly the single-most important task in front of us in terms of Harrogate's bars is ensuring that our customers are safe and feel safe with us."

Even once a little more normality returns to Harrogate's important hospitality sector upon which so many jobs in town depend, the financial prospects of bars and businesses were by no means certain.

Mr Cotton said: “The one metre ruling is a real game-changer. It’s not just the huge difference it will make to the revenue that we can generate by increased footfall, but it impacts on how many more staff we’ll need.

"More customers, more staff, therefore more of our team that we can bring back from furlough, therefore taking another step toward normality. This obviously helps reduce reliance on the government.

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Mr Cotton said, the way things were looking despite the gradual reopening of the economy, Harrogate businesses were in for a tough year even if they do the right things.

He said: “Lastly, but by no means least, the new 1m rule means we can create a better atmosphere. People go to the pub or dine out because of the buzz and trying to create that at two metres was going to be incredibly hard.

"With one metre it makes things so much easier and will help bring a smile to peoples faces, which is exactly what we’re all about in hospitality.

“We have to look at operating somewhere between 70% and 80% of our previous business levels just to cover the bills and break even.

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"We’d be happy with that as a start and have written off making any profit this year; it’s all about damage limitation now and seeing ourselves through to 2021."

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