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A Better Path for Hospitality: Productivity, Skills and Planning—Not Blanket Hours
Extending trading hours is not a substitute for demand. Longer opening hours do not automatically translate into higher sales or improved net margin—when staffing, premium pay for unsocial hours, utilities, security, and transportation
are factored in.
Operational reality
Workforce capacity is already tight. Recruiting chefs and late-night teams at overtime/unsocial rates materially erodes contribution.
Demand is finite. Consumers cannot extend disposable income simply because venues stay open longer; spend is more likely to be displaced, not created.
Open-presence costs. Simply remaining open to “signal competitiveness” carries a base load—lighting, heating/ventilation, refrigeration, kitchen readiness, security/door staff and power. When late-night footfall is thin and fragmented across venues, these hours often become negative-contribution periods.
Margin dilution is a real risk: spreading similar revenue across more hours increases fixed and variable costs without commensurate uplift.
Public services & externalities
Later hours can shift costs onto NHS, policing, cleansing and transport, which are already stretched. Any policy that widens late-night activity must address cost recovery and resourcing.
Market signals
Ongoing pub and venue closures indicate structural shifts in consumer behaviour and local economics. Policy should read the market, not ignore it.
What good policy would include
Full impact assessment on profitability, staffing, transport and public safety.
Local discretion(opt-in/opt-out) based on place-based evidence.
Cost-recovery mechanisms(e.g., calibrated late-night levies) are ring-fenced for policing, healthcare, cleansing and night transport.
Time-limited pilots with clear KPIs (sales/margin, incidents, staffing, resident impact) before national roll-out.
Support for productivity(skills, kitchen automation, energy efficiency) rather than blanket hours extensions.
We’re ready to work with government, local authorities and operators on an evidence-led approach that supports viable hospitality, safe town centres and value for the public purse.
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