Eastbourne hotel bosses say reopening industry is a ‘huge boost’ for the town

The reaction comes after Prime Minister Boris Johnson said in a statement on Tuesday (June 23) hotels, pubs, restaurants, hairdressers, outdoor gyms, playgrounds, cinemas, museums, galleries, theme parks, arcades, libraries, social clubs and community centres can reopen on July 4.

Mr Johnson has also tweaked the two metre rule, which will come into effect on July 4.

He said, “Where it is possible to keep two metres apart people should. But where it is not, we will advise people to keep a social distance of one metre plus.”

Eastbourne Hospitality Association (EHA), The New Wilmington Hotel and Mulberry Restaurant, The Sheldon Hotel and Eastbourne Borough Council (EBC) have all shared their thoughts on, and plans for, a post-lockdown, covid-secure reopening.

Eastbourne Hospitality Association

The EHA said it welcomes the PM’s announcement as it represents a ‘huge boost’ for many businesses in the town.

An EHA spokesperson said, “Being able to reopen in any way represents a huge boost for many businesses in the town.

“Although many pubs and restaurants have been able to improvise by introducing takeaway and delivery services, the latest announcement has come as a massive relief to the hotel industry.”

EHA’s Mark Cotman said, it was a huge relief to be able to start taking bookings again as members were getting close to ‘real financial danger’.

He said, “We are so happy to hear that we will be able to reopen. Many of our members are getting close to real financial danger, so it is great news for them – and us – that we are now able to take bookings again and welcome guests to our iconic town.”

Mr Cotman said it is also exciting news as school holidays are ‘just around the corner’ and people will be able to start planning ‘summer getaways’.

The EHA said it has been working with stakeholders and businesses across the town to ensure safety is ‘paramount’ for both visitors and hospitality staff, this includes the opening of an online shop which is offering competitively priced PPE.

The EHA’s Kristian Hayter said, “This is a fantastic piece of news. Although many events have had to be cancelled this year, and our members would say that we are not out of the woods yet, there is still so much to do and enjoy in Eastbourne.

“We will continue to work with our partners at visiteastbourne.com to highlight the best that Eastbourne has to offer.

“I, and all of our members, cannot wait to start welcoming guests back to our amazing town.”

The New Wilmington Hotel and Mulberry Restaurant

The joint owner of the Compton Street business Sally Kitchen said she has extensive plans in place and is ‘so excited’ to open up to customers again.

She said, “We can’t wait. We’re so excited to open up our doors and get everybody back in enjoying themselves. We’re hoping to start rescheduling our events we had to cancel.

“We have plans in place. We have done everything we can to make the hotel secure. Everyone here has gone through rigorous training. We want everyone to come back in, relax and enjoy themselves.”

Sally said it has been tough for the business but she has tried to stay positive throughout the lockdown.

She said, “It has been very hard work and uncertain. We have tried to stay positive. From the business side it has been extremely bad. We believe once we can open our doors we can build again.”

The Sheldon Hotel

The Burlington Place hotel owners Judith and Greg Brown said they have been hosting NHS staff and other keyworkers throughout the lockdown and adapted and introduced safety regulations to their establishment after advice from the NHS.

They said, “We think we have got everything covered and we are confident and thrilled to be properly reopening. We are so excited to be welcoming people back.”

The types of changes the hotel has mas made over the last three months includes the ‘immediate’ closure of public areas such as lounges and playrooms, also breakfast is being delivered outside of guests’ doors in the morning and extensive additional deep cleaning is being carried out throughout the building.

The owners have decided against ‘unfriendly’ facemasks and said the screen which is in place is doing a ‘great’ job of balancing friendliness and safety.

Judith and Greg also said they have been keeping busy on social media and thanked those for spreading the word online.

They said, “Marketing has been very difficult for us. Trying to sell holidays to people during the lockdown just seemed wrong. But we kept busy on social media. We are so grateful to our family, friends and people who took the time to read, share, like and comment on our posts because it kept us going. Thank you all.”

For more information, visit www.thesheldon.co.uk/

Eastbourne Borough Council

The council’s Margaret Bannister said it is ‘reassuring’ the tourism and hospitality sector will be opening again.

She said, “With one in four local jobs supported by tourism, we really are looking forward to welcoming back our visitors once again, and getting our economy moving for the benefit of everyone, all while maintaining important distancing measures and enhanced cleaning regimes.

“This has been an incredibly challenging time for businesses but behind the scenes we have been working hard to get Eastbourne ‘covid-ready’ for reopening, as I know our businesses have too.”

Cllr Bannister said her colleagues at the EHA have done a ‘fantastic’ job by supporting local businesses with ‘responsibly’ sourced personal protective equipment.

The councillor also said there has been an ‘increased interest’ in the last 24 hours on the council’s VisitEastbourne website, and this interest is something she aims to capitalise on.

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