Self-Isolation ‘Pingdemic’ could close restaurants

It has now been just over a week since COVID restrictions in England were scrapped, but how has this affected the hospitality sector? Many businesses have felt the effect of the pandemic, with staff shortages and drops in revenue, whilst others did not manage to make it out the other side.

As we start to move on from the Pandemic, the hospitality sector has been plagued by a ‘Pingdemic’ of its own. Between 8^th and 15^th July, more than 600,000 were instructed by NHS Test and Trace to self-isolate after being ‘exposed’ to the virus. However, as the government introduce their plan for double-vaccinated ‘key workers’ to avoid self-isolation ‘pings’ if they test negative for the virus, it is believed hospitality workers have been excluded from this scheme, pushing many businesses to the “knifes edge” as they struggle to recover.

UK Hospitality reports that up to a fifth of staff in the sector have been pinged and are isolating at any one time. This comes as data found that there were “an estimated 102,000 job vacancies in hospitality between April and June, nearly five-and-a-half times higher than the 19,000 recorded in December to February, and more than 20% higher than pre-pandemic levels”. In the meantime, hospitality staff affected by the Pingdemic will have to wait until August 16^th for the rules to be scrapped with UK Hospitality saying this decision “doesn’t go far enough, quickly enough”.

At App4, we provide the capabilities to our customers to adapt to ongoing changes in the industry. Our customers take advantage of features such as order at table, SMS push messaging, online ordering, mobile apps and web apps to aid the recovery of their businesses. A spokesman for Rockfish, a group of seafood restaurants in the South West, stated that despite the extensive damage the pandemic has had on the hospitality industry, the demand from the customer is still “massive” as customers continue to venture out post ‘freedom day’.

App4 solutions can help to provide your business with a steady revenue stream from takeaway and Click and Collect orders, to streamline a service that allows your business to operate on limited numbers of staff, if you are struggling to cope with self-isolation pings. Alternatively, a bespoke app for your business from App4 will provide your customers the ability to use an order at table solution, limiting the numbers of staff needed to keep orders coming to the kitchen and delivering your customers the service they deserve.

For more information on our services and what we can do to support your business, call us now on 01332 742 511 or email sales@goapp4.com

Read more on the Pingdemic at the links below:

https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/hospitality-workers-covid-pingdemic-no-exemption-george-eustice-b947309.html#r3z-addoor

https://www.bighospitality.co.uk/Article/2021/07/23/Scottish-Hospitality-Group-proposes-solution-for-pingdemic-uncertainties

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2021/jul/19/uk-pubs-and-restaurants-staff-pingdemic-hospitality-ons

https://inews.co.uk/inews-lifestyle/food-and-drink/pingdemic-hospitality-recovery-staff-told-isolate-before-start-new-jobs-1116280