84% of hospitality businesses have no special staffing plans for Olympics

14-Sep-2011 - Last updated on 26-Apr-2021 at 18:12 GMT

People 1st's guide will help you plan for the 2012 Olympics

A massive 84 per cent of hospitality business owners and managers have said they are not planning to make changes to staffing levels during the Olympics next year despite 15 per cent of workers saying they’d pull a sickie to watch the Games.

The results of the survey by People 1st may come as a wake-up call for restaurant, hotel and pub owners who have not yet considered planning for next year’s event which is expected to attract an extra 500,000 visitors to the UK.

London 2012, which will take place at 34 official venues in England, Scotland and Wales, is expected to generate £2bn in tourism both during and after the event.

However, businesses are warned they may not benefit from the extra custom if they don’t put plans in place now.

Sector skills council People 1st has compiled a special guide, downloadable through BigHospitality, which gives top tips for preparing for the Olympics and signposts the resources available to help them.

Find out how best to manage staff levels, how to plan for transport disruptions, make a profit from food sales, train staff and build a presence online in the organisation’s guide, which you can download here.

WorldHost events

People 1st's customer service programme WorldHost, which provides front-line teams with the skills, confidence and behaviours to improve customer retention, loyalty and revenue within any service-focused business, will be running trainer sessions for those interested in improving skills for the London Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The sessions will take place at:

Old Trafford Stadium, Manchester on Tuesday 11 October
Villa Park Stadium, Birmingham on Thursday 13 October

Contact jbeyqubfg@crbcyr1fg.pb.hx to book your place.

Women 1st event

Women 1st, the People 1st programme which aims to support more women to achieve a senior position in hospitality, will also be giving top tips for success in the industry at its next event on 27 September.

Keynote speaker Jillian MacLean, managing director of Drake & Morgan, will speak about the challenges of setting up a business in the current economic climate and highlight the proactive steps females working in hospitality can take to accomplish their career aspirations while Women 1st image specialist Jodi Goldman will talk about perfecting communication skills and dressing to impress.

Sharon Glancy, champion of Women 1st, said: “Our London networking event will inspire and encourage females to emulate the success of leading personalities in our sector, such as Jillian, recently voted Entrepreneur of the Year by the Shine Awards, and accomplish their own career aspirations in our vibrant industry.”

The Women 1st event will take place at the Anthologist, Moorgate, from 6.30pm. Tickets are £20. Click here to register.