- Online booking platform eviivo has joined forces with the B&B Association to host a series of webinars aimed at supporting independent hosts and hoteliers. The webinars, which run every Wednesday at 4pm, aims to present a cooperative community voice to share advice on how best to cope with the current pressures facing the industry due to the Coronavirus crisis. In addition to the webinar, eviivo is also hosting a weekly Coronavirus Update podcast every Friday. The podcast aims to kep people up to date on the Covid-19 pandemic; the impact it is having on the independent accommodation sector; as well as what Government and other support is available and how to access it. To listen to last Friday’s podcast, click here; webinars can be viewed on eviivo’s Youtube channel, here.
- Hospitality operator Whitbread has donated more than 27 tonnes of food, the majority of which has gone to food redistribution charity FareShare as part of its new partnership with the business. The food, which has been diverted as a result of the closure of Whitbread’s restaurants, in line with Government orders, is said to be enough to provide 64,387 meals. Most of these will be redistributed through FareShare’s nationwide network of frontline charities who are working to support those most vulnerable during the Coronavirus crisis.
- London hotel Strand Palace has signed up to the MealForce initiative, and pledged to produce and deliver more then 600 meals everyday to be supplied to NHS staff fighting on the frontline against the Coronavirus pandemic. The meals will be supplied to ambulance control rooms across the capital including in Barking, Bow, Croydon and Waterloo. They will be delivered by Steve Norton, head of transport at Adelie Food Group, along with the Strand Palace team. MealForce is an initiative under Helpforce, an organisation at the forefront of a national movement to improve the lives of NHS staff, patients and communities through the power of volunteering. They are working with organisations and volunteers who want to help in hospitals and provide extra support in these unprecedented times.
- Scottish-based hospitality group G1 has announced a range of initiatives designed to recognise and reward the sacrifice that NHS workers are making. These include grocery parcels being delivered to NHS workers at QEUH in Glasgow; and a “Heroes Card” rewards scheme that will be available specifically to key workers and give them 20% food discount and special drinks offers across the G1 portfolio. The group has also promised to throw a huge free party for QEUH workers once this crisis is over, which is set to take place at G1’s flagship venue, The Corinthian Club in Glasgow.
- Spirits brand Bacardi has announced a package of measures to support cocktail bars in UK and Europe. The #RaiseYourSpirits initiative will be focused on smaller, independent bars that ‘have no corporate back-up’, and provide £1.5m to help support the bar industry in Western Europe as it navigates the Coronavirus crisis. This includes the launch of a a virtual bar in partnership with Deliveroo Editions, which will enable bars to deliver cocktails to local customers in London and Manchester from next week.