The fight is on for the commuter’s pound by Ann Elliott

It’s been interesting over the past few weeks listening to human resource development departments and customers talk about hospitality in focus groups and in one-on-one conversations. There are some key themes that have emerged from these discussions.

 1. The vast majority of customers expect to return to work for two to three days a week by the end of September, though some think that might not happen until 2022. This arrangement suits them and the lifestyles they have developed over the past 18 months, potentially providing better work-life balance. It also suits employers who can cut the size of their physical support offices, move them above pubs/restaurants or close them completely. It provides both parties with greater flexibility and freedom. It’s a win:win.

 2. Customers think this change in working practices is for good and not just a post-pandemic reaction. It will, ultimately, lead to them using hospitality venues in different ways both at work and at home. They feel their days in “town” or wherever their workplace is, will be longer and more intense. They will try and fit more in, maybe staying later or starting earlier or both. They will be saving money by not commuting and that money can be spent then on upgrading their experiences when in town. They may want to treat themselves a little bit more than usual.

 3. With their time in town being only 60% of pre-pandemic levels, the rota of places they use for breakfast or lunch, for instance, will have to change – brands will have to drop off. They don’t have the space for them all in a three-day week. Many people I spoke to are now working out which ones they will keep visiting and which ones they will lose, even if those choices and decisions are still subconscious at this stage.

 4. This, in turn, means much greater competition for their custom. Supply has fallen by 10% (a rough estimate I know) but demand might be falling by as much as 40% if a five-day week becomes a three-day week in city centres. I don’t need to teach operators how to suck eggs but understanding customers, and how to retain them, is going to have to be central to strategy development for the foreseeable future. Not that it should ever have gone away, of course.

 5. My sense is that customer expectations are high, their memories long. They don’t know, or care, about the issues the sector is having with recruitment, supply chain or Brexit. They want their favourite places to be just as they remembered them, if not better. I am not seeing much forgiveness for slower service, teams coming back from furlough, shorter menus or price rises. As a respondent said to me last week “if pubs are only paying 5% VAT, why do these prices feel higher than they were?”

 6. There is a feeling that while these days at work might be longer, their working hours at home might also be longer. Work seems to have filled the time they were spending on the commute and they are working just as hard, if not harder, than they were in the office. There is no time for a long leisurely lunch in the pub up the road. They imagine they will still be using delivery and click and collect on the days when they are not in the office. Again, demand may fall off as the ratio of home versus office working changes but it’s certainly here to stay as long as operators choose to offer it.

 Customers are ready and eager to come back to work in an office on the whole – if not just to have a change from the monotony of looking at the same four walls every day. They are keen and eager to use pubs, bars and restaurants too (with some hesitancy about safety). Their custom and loyalty is going to be a very precious commodity.

Ann Elliott is a hospitality strategist, connector and adviser