A Year in Lockdown
2020 has been a year like no other, but we have still managed to make it a memorable one.
The year itself should have been a celebration of our 10-year anniversary of the launch of the mobile MOVERBar, designed to allow businesses the flexibility of serving customers in a variety of locations, from outdoors to function rooms where a fixed bar is not present.
With Covid-19 however impacting that, strategy and change was aplenty, but the MOVERBar still did have its rightful place, being installed for a number of clients to assist them to re-open once COVID-19 restrictions were lifted in the summer.
In the new world of COVID-19, we have had to adapt. We temporarily closed our warehouse, had people working from home and all became experts in Zoom meetings.
Thankfully, the warehouse and offices were able to reopen in May and, despite a few days in November where it had to be closed due to a large fire nearby, it has remained open during the current pandemic. That said, never in the history of Servaclean’s 32 years have we had to close and in 2020 this happened twice. A true sign of the times!
Not one to rest of one laurels, we have been using the past nine months to work hard on our brand message and website to ensure that it is ‘ready to go’ when the time arises. This includes the addition of new information about hygiene and sustainability, a new page dedicated to Cocktail Stations and information about how a Servaclean bar can help to maximise business profits. All three are areas where we believe customers will be placing a greater emphasis come 2021 and beyond.
Despite the industry as a whole being placed under huge restrictions and continuing differences in advice, Servaclean’s major customers Hilton Hotels, Leonardo Hotels and Haven Holiday Park have continued to invest in their bar areas. The total number of bars ordered and delivered in 2020 was 162, of which 82 were installed by Servaclean’s installation team. These bars have been supplied and installed in venues all over the world from Finland, through to Liverpool, Glasgow and London.
Now, we are looking forward rather than back and are preparing for a much more prosperous 2021, with news of a vaccine approved by the UK government recently, the signs are positive. After having weathered the storm of 2020, there is light at the end of the tunnel and a growth of resilience with in the hospitality sector.
Recent findings show that this is an outstanding sector which pulled together in an unprecedented way and that there is a pent-up consumer demand for hospitality in our neighbourhoods and communities. Our team predicts there will be an increase in outdoor bar projects and that the sector will grow in 2021. Consumer confidence and the need for travel will encourage hospitality growth throughout the year, with more people considering staying in the UK next year for their holidays, the sector could well face a seismic boom.
Like many businesses, we have had to embrace change however the business is well on the road to making sure 2020 is not only remembered for Covid-19, but also for allowing them to have a far greater 2021.
