I think perhaps we are still in shock. Words like ‘challenging’ and ‘tough’ just don’t do any sort of justice to the devastation of the industry we all love and rely on for our livelihoods. The upset, the struggle and fear are different to anything we have experienced before.
Generally, I think we have accepted that we are in for the long haul, thus short and medium term optimism remains weak.
I hate to be a harbinger of doom, but if the vaccine is 18 months away – it is not unreasonable to expect that it will take the world that long to recover.
No-one wants to see any businesses fail. The advice is to be transparent with all your suppliers and partners and of course owners / investors. Be realistic, but don’t stop believing in recovery. Because it will come and we must all have the confidence to accept that is true.
Let’s look shorter term and hope, beyond hope, that after the initial peak - which is anticipated to be in the next week or so - perhaps we can see some green shoots in the coming months.
Working primarily in the UK and the majority of our members being based here, we can pin our hopes on staycations. Once the current lockdown is relaxed and restrictions lifted, I suspect hotels will see an immediate uplift (well, it couldn’t get much worse, could it?!). We will all be desperate to see friends and visit family and will travel to achieve that. There may not be the abundance of flights to take us further afield anyway.
No-one is going to come out unscathed apart from perhaps a slightly cleaner and better world, with more appreciation for our key workers and a new, healthier approach to our working lives. We should make the most of this opportunity to see the bigger picture, appreciate our families and our friends – however distant they may be.
Keep reaching out for the positives, look for the glimmers of light, and take advantage of a slightly slower pace of life. Unless of course you have taken a job in the NHS!
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