While talking about alcohol might still be a little tender for some, the initial reports about the success of the festive season seem broadly positive.
Of course, today’s comments from a wide cross-section of the hospitality trade are just a snapshot; and even then, views might best be described as just a little better than “mixed”.
While December as a whole seems to have been muted, the festive season itself appears to have been better, perhaps helped by the new approach to promotions, and more likely, the relatively dry weather.
As ever, significant notes of caution remain, mainly around costs and instability in the local economy more generally.
As the trade progresses through 2026, the word “cost” is likely to pervade most conversations. Cost in terms of running a business, most notably in relation to salaries, but also in the form of our exceptionally high cost-of-living, and its pernicious effort on disposable incomes.
For some, those higher costs will wipe out any relative trading gains made over the festive season, with the traditionally lean period at the start of each year to come.
One hotelier summed it up succinctly: “Obviously, we’ve had a big hike in the minimum wage over the year, and faced with another one next year. It’s hard to keep pushing the prices up, because you’ve got to look at what people are prepared to pay.”
It does pose the question as to what is really needed to change the game? If it’s generally accepted that trading has been, at best, average – and that is at the busiest time of the year – then it would be fair to say that more needs to be done to get to a position of sustained prosperity.
Of course, simple consumer confidence will play a role, with high-profile failures like Blue Islands or the Style Group only adding to the general instability; it is to be hoped that we don’t see too many similar examples in 2026.
But more broadly, what else would really make a difference? Feedback from businesses tends to be pretty clear, and it always focusses on reducing unnecessary costs and simplifying the bureaucratic burden.
In summary, doing less, and getting more. Perhaps that needs to be the mantra for the new year – not so much what are we going to do this year, but much more powerfully, what aren’t we going to do? And in (not) doing, perhaps our businesses will become simpler and cheaper to run, with the obvious economic benefit to all.
