Supporting a safe reopening for Scotland’s Hospitality Sector

David Trotter, Managing Director, Sports & Leisure, Sodexo UK

The last few months have been immensely challenging for our business, as we’ve managed site closures and reduced services. In all parts of our business in Scotland and the UK more widely, from stadia, to cultural destinations and venues, the impact has been huge. Parts of our business are still very much on pause – we are especially feeling the impact in events and of course within stadia. But whilst we manage ongoing national and local lockdowns, we have been doings lots of work across the sites where we operate, to ensure we offer our guests a safe, but still enjoyable, experience.

Over the last six months we have adapted our food offers to manage reduced demand and to allow for guests to queue for, and consume, their food and drinks in a safe way. This has involved working hand-in-hand with our clients to find new solutions and ways of working.

We’ve changed our cafés and kiosks to deliver a streamlined, takeaway service, making better use of outdoor space. We’ve also introduced one-way systems, screens, hand sanitisers, new signage and contactless payments, to support the safety of our guests and our teams.

Team training has also been a big priority. Our health and safety teams have devised a suite of new training modules which cover areas such as PPE, food safety and social distancing. This has been supplemented by extra one-to-one time for staff and their managers, with extra briefings on site to ensure teams are updated daily.

Our teams have demonstrated the ability to adapt to new challenges and utilise their versatility as many have been redeployed to work in Covid-19 testing units which have been mobilised and run by Sodexo on behalf of the Department of Health and Social Care. We’ve mobilised sites in Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Glasgow which form part of a larger network of over 500 test sites across the UK, with our teams taking on duties including preparing tests kits, managing deliveries and stock count alongside a range of other important roles.

Here are a few examples of how we have been working at our sites in Scotland and more widely in the UK to support our clients and guests:

Managing a new museum experience at V&A Dundee

V&A Dundee reopened in August and is staging a Mary Quant exhibition until the middle of January.

Heritage Portfolio, part of the Sodexo family, operates the on-site catering and hospitality and has rationalised the service to continue to offer a streamlined, quality service which can be delivered with a COVID-safe approach.

Visitor numbers to the museum are much reduced but the team is looking to grow numbers safely. The café onsite has changed to offer a takeaway service, with a new system for ordering and queuing for takeaway food and non-alcoholic drinks in place across the venue. Afternoon tea is also being served which visitors can combine with the entrance price and Covid-safe measures include new guards, masks and customer signage have also been introduced.

Adapted service for The Colonnades at the Signet Library

The Colonnades at the Signet Library reopened on 10 September. While our on-site services have not been heavily impacted by the pandemic, the afternoon tea offer has remained the same meaning our team can focus on one quality service.

Previously, the team would serve up to 90 meals in a day however this has now been reduced to a maximum of 40 to allow for social distancing. Touch-free sanitisers and sneeze screens are in place at the entrance and cleaning schedules have been amended to accommodate touch points and regular cleaning.

Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh

The regular events at the Royal Botanical Gardens, which would normally be run by our teams have been put on hold, but we still have three retail spaces open including East Gate Lodge, Terrace and John Hope Gateway, where the team is selling hot food, sandwiches, bakery items, ice creams and hot drinks. Bakery items are now individually packaged in vegware, foodservice packaging made from plants, where they were previously on open display. Our on-site team also have health and safety at the forefront, wearing appropriate PPE and installing protective screens, while indoor seating is available, but our services lean towards a takeaway offer.

Bateaux London

After six months of enforced closure, our teams at Bateaux London’s two boats on the River Thames, River Room and Glass Room, which offer dining experiences on the water, reopened in the Autumn serving individual tables of up to six guests for dinner evening cruises and Sunday Jazz Lunches. The team has now closed again in response to the national lockdown in England but the team is gearing up for special family cruise events and planning special Christmas and New Year cruises.

The team has revised its service and ways of working to ensure that guests can still enjoy fantastic food and a great experience but delivered in a way that keeps them socially distanced and safe. The team faced, and face again, the challenge of managing a backlog of bookings that have been cancelled, and have worked tirelessly to rebook guests, being as flexible as possible.

Whilst we all know that there is a lot of disruption still to come in coming months in the hospitality and tourism sector, in Scotland and indeed globally, our teams remain committed to supporting our clients with new ideas and solutions to help support them to bring in guests and drive revenues. And our teams continue to deliver a great service to guests and visitors, whilst keeping them safe.