HOTELS and restaurants across Scotland have united with a number of the country’s leading producers and suppliers to ‘Help out Hospitality’ in a move inspired by the successful ‘Eat Out to Help Out’ scheme rolled out by the UK government during the COVID-19 crisis.
Prompted by the recent increase in energy prices, the documented cost of living crisis and the increasing costs faced by businesses, the effort looks to support hospitality outlets located across Scotland, with a co-ordinated effort to provide customers with a range of dining and stay incentives, which are set to kick off on October 24th and run through November and potentially beyond.
Spearheaded by Barry Knight, Director of The Full Range, one of the UK’s leading food and drink procurement firms, the scheme has worked to incorporate every aspect of the supply chain to allow restaurants and hotels located throughout the country to create enticing deals on both meals and overnight stays, at a time which typically sees a drop in business.
Of the effort, Barry has said “By leveraging our unique position in the marketplace, we have been able to negotiate a support package across a wide range of suppliers and manufacturers which allow our partner restaurants to run promotions throughout the month of November, in turn, encouraging diners to eat out and sustain footfall at a particularly vulnerable time for hospitality
By involving suppliers in the process, we can drive meaningful change – generating discounts at the beginning of the process while removing commission on the other end; a real win / win for the industry, at the same time satisfying consumer demand for great value deals.”
The new scheme follows months of turbulence for businesses, which have been hard hit by spiralling costs, and it has been designed to be available to any restaurant, supplier, producer, or manufacturer in the UK to take advantage of. Unlike typical deal platforms, no commissions or costs are involved in participation, with all bookings made directly with site allowing participating businesses to enjoy as healthy margins as possible.
Many of Scotland’s best-known producers and suppliers including Mark Murphy, Grahams Family Dairy, Campbell Prime Meats, Gilmours and George Campbell have already confirmed their involvement, alongside hospitality venues located throughout the UK. Restaurants and hotels which have confirmed their involvement include Metropolitan Bar (Glasgow), Ingliston Resort (Bishopton), McKays Hotel (Pitlochry), Links House (Dornoch) and Kinloch Hotel (Isle of Arran).
The original ‘Eat Out to Help Out’ scheme was used by UK diners over 100 million times generating over £522 million in support for outlets UK-wide at a time of reduced consumer confidence helping to kick-start the hospitality industry post-lockdown. It is hoped that this iteration of the scheme will help in bolstering business from rising costs as well as maintain footfall during a typically quiet period for the industry.
To find the full list of participating venues, a dedicated Help out Hospitality website and Instagram account have been created, which will be regularly updated.
