Hospitality industry providing amazing support for Healthcare
"Over the past few weeks, we have been blown away by the support the hospitality sector has provided"
A call out for hotels to offer rooms for use by the under-pressure health sector has met with an "overwhelming response."
The Covid-19 outbreak has triggered a tide of brilliant community work across Warwickshire - and none better than the response from the hospitality sector to a request for support for a Health Service facing unprecedented pressure.
Warwickshire County Council issued a call out to hotels across Coventry and Warwickshire to request support in providing accommodation to frontline workers and recovering COVID-19 patients. The council's partners Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce and the Federation of Small Businesses did great work in sending out their own calls for hotels to come forward - and the response was immense.
More than 30 hotels, ranging in capacity from small, local hotels to large chains, have signed up to offer much-needed accommodation, covering areas including Stratford, Kenilworth, Rugby, Bulkington, Ansty, Nuneaton and Warwick. A total of 2,382 beds have been offered for front-line workers and 1,386 beds for COVID-19 patients.
Among those to step forward with help was the Mercure Warwickshire Walton Hall Hotel and Spa.
General manager Jo Hammick said: "The hospitality industry has been hit hard by Covid 19 and the impact on our team members has been immeasurable. Clearly, from a business perspective, the focus is on how we will move forward once the lockdown has been lifted, but offering support during the current pandemic is top of our daily agenda.
"We have reviewed our processes to enable key workers to safely stay in our hotels and have introduced social distancing measures to ensure tour guests can be accommodated and receive meals without risking their or our teams safety.
"We are also lucky enough to have several self-contained apartments which can be utilised by key workers in the area who are unable to go home due to high-risk family members."
Warwickshire County Council Business Skills Lead, Fay Winterburn said: "Over the past few weeks, we have been blown away by the support the hospitality sector has provided through the COVID-19 crisis. In a time where we have seen some suppliers ramp up prices, the hotels have been incredibly generous in ensuring their rates are accessible to those in need of accommodation.
"Our partners such as Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce and FSB played a big role in calling out for hotels to come forward and the response has shown how well Coventry and Warwickshire has come together as communities to support each other in a time of need.
"We would really like to give our thanks to all those who stepped forward and worked with us to ensure where possible we stay open for business and offer the supportive accommodation needed during this time."
If any further hotels would be willing to help out, please complete the form: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/NT8N6NN
For further details, please contact Fay Winterburn on faywinterburn@warwickshire.gov.uk