Hotels are reopening soon - lets hope they can stay that way

Vincent Page, owner of Antiques on High (Image: Lesley White)

As hotels and B&Bs set to re-open on the 17th of next month lets hope this time they can stay open for good and bring the holiday makers back to this glorious town.

So, the retail trade in general has re-opened after what seems like an eternity, and the newfound freedom we all share is quite rightly being viewed with a cautious optimism after reopening in June last year only to be locked up again a few months later.

There will no doubt be plenty of businesses who have struggled to get this far and you should be applauded for your tenacious attitude and if you feel as though “fings ain’t what they used to be” then you maybe right but will things ever return to a world we once knew?

The latest Government statements suggest they will. Patience and cautious optimism seem to be very much the order of the day in business terms and we do have a lot to be grateful for although it may not seem so at the moment.

It’s not just your business that’s suffered, this has been felt the world over, so we need to look at the bigger picture in order for our country to survive long term.

One leading high street bank has received just over eight thousand new account applications since being allowed to open new accounts in the last couple of weeks which provides a clear indicator that many people still have faith in the economy of this country and feel re-assured that it will bounce back to meet its former levels of trade, although let’s not forget the incredibly cheap rates provided by the Government with their various bounce back loans in a bid to kick start the economy. It will be interesting to look back in ten years’ time and see how many companies have thrived and gone onto great success on the strength of these loans compared to how many have failed in the same time.

In real terms the rates being offered to legitimate businesses for borrowed funds will probably never be offered again so benefitting from them should be a safer option than it has even been before based on the fact that you know what you’re doing business wise.

If you have a business and you have re-opened don’t be despondent if you’re not as busy as you had hoped, it will take time and we must all take a long-term view on this situation, but its sure as hell good to be back and looking forward to the future.