So far 92% of people aged 12 and over in the UK have had their vaccine dose, 86% have had their second and 67% have had a booster. The main symptoms of Omricon are cough, fever and fatigue and it is less likely to cause severe disease than the Delta version. The covid travel restrictions have come to an end in England. For further guidance check out www.gov.uk/coronavirus

CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19): guidance and support visit www.gov.uk/coronavirus

From April 12th

Luxury beauty spa’s and grooming salon’s to be opened.

Two households or groups of 6 with outdoor dining can go ahead. 

Individuals or single households can go to a fitness centre or be offered personal training sessions.

Weddings of up to 15 guests can be held

Other than for weddings, wider social contact rules will continue to apply in all settings – i.e. no indoor mixing between different households and only groups of six or two households outdoors.

From 17 May

Guests for overnight stays in hotels permitted

Outdoor events of up to 30 people

Weddings of up to 30 guests

From 21 June

Will potentially see all legal limits on social contact removed, and restrictions on weddings abolished. 

NEWS ANNOUCEMENTS – COVID

The vaccine rollout brings us ever closer to the restart of events and we keep a close eye on tangible Government led news announcements

(COVID-19) Coronavirus 19

This event has taken us all by surprise, and our thoughts go out to all those that have lost loved ones, and to those that have been infected, and affected by this disease. We wish all the survivors well and a very quick recovery.

In 32 years of doing business, we have been through some global events that have rocked the world and taken everyone by surprise. This is different, as it has a broad spread, and like a ghost, it hangs around, ready to rest on and infect anyone, vulnerable or not, that it comes across.

We’ve adhered to Government and National Health Service (NHS) recommendations, respecting their professional advice, to de-spread, and take personal hygiene seriously.

We have received many emails from both large and small hospitality organizations laying out their terms of business in these pressing times with many events being canceled or postponed. It is with great relief that we have seen the general trend to be that of understanding, and considerable relaxation in the terms and conditions with regards to deposits and cancellations, offering shorter lead times for both. We have called this period a blip with a bump and this suspension thrown in has helped to smooth out the ride.

We say, please “stay positive”, as worrying will do nothing, and speaking to no one will lead to possible depression and anxiety over issues that have not been caused by you, and that cannot be controlled by you alone. We believe in the medical experts that can solve this problem. They are paramount to our healthy well-being and a bright future. In two months we have seen green shoots of recovery in certain parts of the world, so always carry on planning ahead, as with all surprises, they come to end, and when the beginning of the new starts, great new fresh pastures will also grow.

Coronavirus (COVID-19) is a new virus illness, that can affect your lungs and airways.

If you think you might have coronavirus

• follow the latest (NHS) advice. The symptoms of coronavirus are:-
• a cough, high temperature, and shortness of breath

NHS 111 has an online coronavirus service that can tell you if you need medical help, with helpful advice as to what to do: https://111.nhs.uk/covid-19

If there’s a chance you have coronavirus, you will be asked to stay away from other people (self-isolate). and will not be able to attend any events. Stay true to yourself if asked whether you have been in contact with anyone else who has contracted the disease. Check your temperature on a regular basis if you notice any signs of abnormality and take the appropriate advice on offer.

Thank our cotton socks, this is not a war. Across all borders, we are in this together, and we will come out of it even stronger, working cooperatively and as one. I am confident this is a very solvable blip, and from it, we will learn some very valuable lessons, to help us all for a brighter future.

Tim

In 31 years GSC has booked groups* in over 100 city destinations in 42 countries

• 1     Moscow
• 2     St Petersburg
• 3     Copenhagen
• 4     Stockholm
• 5     Paris
• 6     Amsterdam
• 7     Rome
• 8     Barcelona
• 9     Madrid
• 10   Algarve
• 11   Miami
• 12   Kuala Lumpa
• 13   Tokyo
• 14   Busan
• 15   Seoul
• 16   Dubai
• 17   Abu Dhabi
• 18   Munich
• 19   Frankfurt
• 20   London
• 21   Edinburgh
• 22   Dublin
• 23   Seville
• 24   Milan
• 25   Geneva
• 26   Nice
• 27   Monte Carlo
• 28   Harare
• 29   Victoria Falls
• 30   Quebec
• 31   Hong Kong
• 32   Istanbul
• 33   Limassol
• 34   Valetta
• 35   Naples
• 36   Malaga
• 37   Porto
• 38   Lisbon
• 39   Cascais
• 40   Marrakech
• 41   Athens
• 42   Prague
• 43   Budapest
• 44   Vienna
• 45   Brussels
• 46   Brugge
• 47   Lyon
• 48   Hamburg
• 49   Cardiff
• 50   Birmingham
• 51   London
• 52   Brighton
• 53   Bristol
• 54   Bath
• 55   Cambridge
• 56   Oxford
• 57   Exeter
• 58   Reading
• 59   Chantilly
• 60   Strasbourg
• 61   Santiago
• 62   Cape Town
• 63   Cong County Mayo
• 64   Berlin
• 65   Warsaw
• 66   Bucharest
• 67   Lima
• 68   Vancouver
• 69   Seattle
• 70   Newcastle
• 71   Liverpool
• 72   Manchester
• 73   Oslo
• 74   Glasgow
• 75   Norwich
• 76   Plymouth
• 77   Antwerp
• 78   The Hague
• 79   St Andrews
• 80   Noordwijk
• 81   Chartres
• 82   Montreux
• 83   Wengen
• 84   Lake Maggiore
• 85   Southampton
• 86   Leeds
• 87   York
• 88   Paphos
• 89   Sitges
• 90   Pissouri Bay
• 91   Venice
• 92   Versailles
• 93   Magne Le Hongre (Disneyland)
• 94   Faro
• 95   Marbella
• 96   Torquay
• 97   Swindon
• 98   Bambang (Santa Cruz River)
• 99   Truro
• 100 Coventry

And more

Countries

1. Zimbabwe
2. Botswana
3. South Africa
4. Namibia
5. Morocco
6. Spain
7. Portugal
8. France
9. Switzerland
10. Belgium
11. Holland
12. Germany
13. Austria
14. Poland
15. Czech Republic
16. Russia
17. Korea
18. Cyprus
19. Greece
20. Romania
21. Turkey
22. Japan
23. China
24. USA
25. Canada
26. Chile
27. Brazil
28. Sweden
29. Denmark
30. Ireland
31. Scotland
32. England
33. Wales
34. UAE
35. Peru
36. Norway
37. Monaco
38. Hungary
39. Malta
40. Italy
41. Philippines

(*Group sizes – 10 to 1000 delegates for one day to 5 day residential meetings)

55,000 new rooms have been added to the EU Hotel bloc in the last 18 months. This has had the overall effect of reducing room rates by an average of 9 per cent. It’s the old supply and demand adage.

Brexit sees some challenges for the hospitality industry in the UK. Minimum wage and utility cost increases have had a double whammy on the industry, together with the drop in the number of Europeans who have come to work here. Other increases incurred by employers are in the employee national insurance, apprentice levy and compulsory pension enrolment schemes.

Management is now having to reorganise their business models to keep service levels high whilst running profitably and still offer decent service levels.

The challenge with new openings is that they increase the demands on established businesses qualified staff, who are aware of new opportunities in the expanding market place,

In terms of rates, some are offering lower room and meeting prices, to win the business. This is where GSC can advise and be helpful!

London adds close to 7,000 bedrooms between 2017 and Q1 2018 – Try our venue finding service for something different.

New York, followed by Geneva, Zurich, Paris, Washington, and Monaco, with London* dropping to sixth place (in Europe*) due to strong currency fluctuations, healthy new supply, extreme weather, and Brexit – resulting in a 4.8% decline in average occupancy.