Covid-19 hits small leisure businesses hard this Easter
Results Of A National Poll Of Leisure Hire Firms Show Extent Of Lockdown Impact
Bristol based motorhome hire specialist, The Motorhome Holiday Company has reported the results of a snapshot survey into the Covid-19 impact on Easter trading and the industry’s losses. The company polled 70 hire companies who reported an average of £1,000 loss per motorhome over the period of Easter week 2020. The survey was sent to 70 motorhome hire companies all listed on The Motorhome Hire Directory across the UK and the results indicate a daunting national picture.
Coronavirus Covid-19 costs industry around £2.5m
Matt Sims, owner and founder of The Motorhome Holiday Company comments on the results saying:
“Many of the UK’s motorhome hire operators are small family businesses. Some only operate one, two or three motorhomes. So far, the results suggest the effect of Coronavirus on Easter trading will hit our sector hard with cumulative losses close to £600,000 and that’s only from the companies who we have spoken to. It’s going to be a tough year for many in our niche sector and sadly, we expect many to not be able to carry on.”
It is estimated that there are approximately 2,500 motorhomes for hire in the UK. Assuming Easter loss of earnings are in the region of £1,000 per motorhome, the total impact of Covid-19 on easter trading to the sector for that period could be as much £2.5m.
Easter signals the start of the season and operators rely on this seasonal trading to shore up their annual income. The Motorhome Holiday Company has reported losses or postponements in the region of over £34,000.
Matt continued: “Easter is a prime time for us and prior to lockdown, we were almost fully booked for the bank holiday weekend. We have offered our customers vouchers to rebook at a time in the future and we have been grateful for their understanding at this difficult time. We anticipate the impact of Covid-19 will be over £200,000.”
Glastonbury 2020 being cancelled has also had a big impact on the business this year with revenues of around £100,000 being lost. “We are hopeful that we can restart the business in June, subject to the Government’s instruction. We anticipate having a busier than ever summer if we can open up. Having the ability to trade through the summer and autumn will be crucial for us this year.”
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