UKHospitality's benchmarking survey returns to inform ongoing dialogue with government

Sector trade body UKHospitality is bringing back its annual industry benchmarking survey after taking a break last year due to the pandemic.

The survey, which you can access here, will be used ensure the trade body has the most comprehensive picture of the industry and that its messaging is effective when communicating its needs to government.

This year, UKHospitality has broadened the research to include hotels as well as pubs, bars, restaurants and nightclubs. All respondents will receive a summary of the survey when it’s published in April.

Kate Nicholls, chief executive of UKHospitality, said: “This survey will help us in our efforts on behalf of all hospitality businesses to demonstrate to the government that ours is a sector that can drive UK economic recovery, if given the right support. This report has historically shaped and informed our dialogue with government and never has such dialogue been so crucial to the sector.”

The trade body has always been among the industry's most fervent advocates, with added emergency in the past two years as many businesses' survival was on the line.

It has done so by lobbying for the allocation of emergency funds, from furlough to VAT cuts and government-backed loans; informing how Covid restrictions should be implemented to cause the least disruption possible in hospitality settings and supporting the campaign for a hospitality minister in government. 

The trade body's CEO, Kate Nicholls, was awarded an OBE in the New Year Honours List 2021 for services to the hospitality sector, particularly during the Coroavirus pandemic.