The Cocktail Service & Bar Nation React To COVID-19 Decimating The Events Industry

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Leading UK event bar company Bar Nation and sister company The Cocktail Service is at the front line of the Covid-19 pandemic but has put in robust plans to protect its employees and the future of its business.

Covid-19 has threatened the futures of thousands of business in events and hospitality industries and millions of workers. The Cocktail Service and Bar Nation, based in Oxford, employ 17 full-time employees in its head office and more than 100 casual employees who rely on the business for their livelihoods.

Since the outbreak, the company has been dealing with a huge raft of cancellations and postponements from a range of events both corporate and public.

Casey Small, co-founder of The Cocktail Service, said: “This is having a huge impact on our business. We have already or expect to lose every single event between now and the end of June due to postponement or cancellation – this, of course, could extend across the whole summer”

“Fortunately, we have run our business very mindfully from day one and have put a number of measures in place to try and prevent any job losses from our organisation”

The management team have been working very hard on mitigating the impacts of this very challenging time. Regular scenario planning has been taken, financial modelling and a proactive, precautionary approach. As with many other companies in the industry we have taken the government advice to furlough our team.

“Our team have been phenomenal in their response and it is our mission to keep this incredible team together. Aside from the furloughing of the team, we have held talks with our landlords, HMRC and all our suppliers and partners, who have been very supportive.”

“Our advice to any business feeling the pressure would be to act decisively and keep as much cash in the business as possible. Negotiate all your major outgoings. The key is to use the time for the positive as much as possible. We are now all out of the whirlwind and can start business planning, working on strategy and refining your offer. For those that are able, be agile and try and add value to the industry in this challenging time.”

“In a bid to stimulate bookings again by relaxing our Terms & Conditions. We are offering full refunds to any new bookings that need to cancel before June 1st due to Covid-19. As an extra incentive, we are also offering a discount to new bookings. These measures will give our clients total peace of mind when booking with us and financial protection from this catastrophic event. We urge other businesses to look to where they can de-risk their offer to potential clients. It’s in industries interests to try and be proactive, add value and if you are able to, help tackle the crisis ”

“The message from our team is, it is business as usual for The Cocktail Service & Bar Nation and we are continuing to book and plan events for our clients for the year ahead. We just urge our clients, partners and the public to support the events and hospitality industry as much as they can. Things are extremely tough for everyone involved right now and for the country as a whole. We do know that this world-class industry will bounce back stronger than ever”

For more information about the services The Cocktail Service provides, visit www.thecocktailservice.co.uk

Adam Parry
Author: Adam Parry

Adam is the co-founder and editor of www.eventindustrynews.com Adam, a technology evangelist also organises Event Tech Live, Europe’s only show dedicated to event technology and the Event Technology Awards. Both events take place in November, London.