tag:theconversation.com,2011:/id/topics/hospitality-3426/articlesHospitality – The Conversation2024-02-22T13:43:23Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2229522024-02-22T13:43:23Z2024-02-22T13:43:23ZColleges are using AI to prepare hospitality workers of the future<p><em>If you’re planning to go into the hospitality industry, the pathway is increasingly going to involve some sort of familiarity with AI. That’s one of the key messages in “<a href="https://he.kendallhunt.com/product/artificial-intelligence-machine-learning-and-robot-applications-hospitality-businesses">Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Robot Applications in Hospitality Businesses</a>,” a new book by <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=eNdWpmYAAAAJ&hl=en">hospitality professor Rachel J.C. Fu</a>. In the following Q&A, Fu discusses how the hospitality jobs of the future will rely more and more on technology to provide a pleasant guest experience.</em></p>
<h2>Will AI reduce the number of jobs in hospitality?</h2>
<p>AI could not only reduce the number of jobs, but it has already begun to <a href="https://newgenadv.com/2023/03/how-top-hotel-brands-utilizes-ai-to-their-advantage/">change the way existing jobs are done</a> by handling tasks such as guest check-ins, customer inquiries and the like.</p>
<p>For that reason, in the hospitality industry of the future, rather than people who interact with customers, the industry will need more data analysts, AI managers and people who can provide tech support. That’s because AI can perform routine and repetitive tasks, such as booking reservations and answering customer inquiries.</p>
<h2>How are hospitality programs using AI to teach in the classroom?</h2>
<p>Universities are using virtual reality to <a href="https://computing.mit.edu/news/generating-a-realistic-3d-world/">simulate real-world scenarios</a> for students to practice and hone their skills in a risk-free setting. </p>
<p>For instance, AI-powered simulations can mimic <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jul/16/japans-robot-hotel-a-dinosaur-at-reception-a-machine-for-room-service">front desk operations</a>, <a href="https://directory.nationalrestaurantshow.com/8_0/sessions/session-details.cfm?scheduleid=400&">kitchen management</a> or even crisis situations. This provides students with hands-on experience and enables immediate feedback.</p>
<p>Using AI in hospitality education is essential because it helps create a more <a href="https://cyber.harvard.edu/story/2023-06/impacts-generative-ai-teaching-learning">personalized learning experience</a> that builds on what students are good at and helps them overcome challenges. For instance, AI can make it easier and quicker for students to get feedback on their work, helping them learn better. It can also suggest new teaching materials and methods to educators, improving how they teach.</p>
<h2>Will AI make the industry better?</h2>
<p>Research indicates that AI has the potential to significantly enhance the hospitality industry by <a href="https://hbr.org/2021/07/how-to-design-an-ai-marketing-strategy">improving efficiency</a>. It could also <a href="https://cyber.harvard.edu/story/2023-06/impacts-generative-ai-teaching-learning">personalize customer experiences</a>, anticipate needs and identify trends, and reduce operational costs.</p>
<p>AI-driven chatbots and virtual assistants can offer 24/7 customer service. They can handle reservations and inquiries, and provide personalized recommendations. This enhances the guest experience and frees human staff to focus on more complex tasks, such as handling unexpected issues, complaints or emergencies. AI can assist in identifying problems, but human staff are needed to offer strategies for planning, professional development and risk management.</p>
<p>When the volume of job applicants becomes unmanageable, hospitality companies may consider adopting AI to streamline recruitment, employing algorithms to identify promising candidates based on skills and experience. They may consider ensuring that AI is programmed to avoid biases related to age, gender, ethnicity or background that have been <a href="https://hbr.org/2019/10/using-ai-to-eliminate-bias-from-hiring">found in hiring tools</a>.</p>
<p>Some <a href="https://hospitalitytech.com/rethinking-ai-hospitality-enhancing-operations-customer-experience">hotel companies use AI</a> to manage <a href="https://thewaltdisneycompany.com/powering-the-magic-with-renewable-energy/">energy consumption</a>. This is done by employing smart sensors and algorithms to adjust lighting, heating and cooling based on occupancy and weather conditions – all with an eye toward reducing environmental impact.</p>
<p>It also respects guest comfort, since the settings can be manually overridden by guests. This example highlights the ethical application of AI in balancing operational efficiency with guest satisfaction and <a href="https://impact.disney.com/environment/environmental-sustainability/">environmental responsibility</a>.</p>
<h2>What’s your book’s boldest prediction?</h2>
<p>As <a href="https://news.un.org/en/story/2023/07/1138412">technologies continue to evolve</a>, I boldly predict <a href="https://view.publitas.com/kendall-hunt-publishing/artificial-intelligence-machine-learning-and-robot-applications-in-hospitality-businesses-overview/page/20-21">AI-driven solutions</a> will become integral to every aspect of <a href="https://www.bcg.com/publications/2020/deploying-ai-artificial-intelligence-to-maximize-revenue">maximizing cash flow</a>. <a href="https://newgenadv.com/2023/03/how-top-hotel-brands-utilizes-ai-to-their-advantage/">Chatbots</a> that express humanlike emotions will become standard, providing instant, personalized engagement with guests during check-in or when the need arises. This could <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rineng.2023.101027">potentially improve satisfaction levels</a>.</p>
<p>An <a href="https://hbr.org/2024/02/find-the-ai-approach-that-fits-the-problem-youre-trying-to-solve">AI-driven system</a> should <a href="https://www.costar.com/article/527137634/ai-adoption-sparks-enthusiasm-in-hotel-industry-but-ethical-concerns-linger">prioritize guest consent</a>, allowing guests to <a href="https://www.goldmansachs.com/intelligence/pages/nvidia-ceo-huang-urges-faster-ai-development-to-make-it-safer.html">opt in or out of data collection</a> and use. It should also <a href="https://news.mit.edu/2021/fostering-ethical-thinking-computing-0302">clearly explain</a> how data enhances their travel experience. For example, guests at a luxury hotel chain can choose to share their dining preferences for customized restaurant recommendations but also ensure their information is used solely for enhancing their visit, not shared with third parties without explicit consent. </p>
<p>Robots might not be taking over the world of hospitality, but they’re certainly <a href="https://hoteltechreport.com/guest-experience/contactless-checkin">checking us in</a> to our hotels. Will AI be rated as the best concierge we’ve ever had, or will guests still desire a human touch? This will be one of the most crucial questions to explore as AI reshapes the hospitality industry and guest experience in the years to come.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/222952/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rachel J.C. Fu does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Will the hotels of the future involve fewer front desk clerks and more automated service? A hospitality expert who has written a new book on the subject weighs in.Rachel J.C. Fu, Chair & Professor of Department of Tourism, Hospitality and Event Management | Director of the Eric Friedheim Tourism Institute, University of FloridaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2217062024-02-14T13:23:27Z2024-02-14T13:23:27ZRevving up tourism: Formula One and other big events look set to drive growth in the hospitality industry<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/570748/original/file-20240122-21-hh4b9t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=95%2C59%2C7871%2C5160&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Sergio Perez of Oracle Red Bull Racing, right, and Charles Leclerc of the Scuderia Ferrari team compete in the Las Vegas Grand Prix on Nov. 19, 2023.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/sergio-perez-of-oracle-red-bull-racing-f1-team-and-charles-news-photo/1790416613">Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>In late 2023, I embarked on my first Formula One race experience, attending the first-ever <a href="https://www.f1lasvegasgp.com">Las Vegas Grand Prix</a>. I had never been to an F1 race; my interest was sparked during the pandemic, largely through the Netflix series “<a href="https://www.netflix.com/title/80204890">Formula 1: Drive to Survive</a>.”</p>
<p>But I wasn’t just attending as a fan. As <a href="http://hhp.ufl.edu/about/faculty-staff/rachel_fu/">the inaugural chair</a> of the University of Florida’s <a href="https://hhp.ufl.edu/about/departments/them/">department of tourism, hospitality and event management</a>, I saw this as an opportunity. Big events and festivals represent <a href="https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/IJEFM-10-2019-080/full/pdf?title=event-and-festival-research-a-review-and-research-directions">a growing share</a> of the tourism market – as an educator, I want to prepare future leaders to manage them. </p>
<p>And what better place to learn how to do that than in the stands of the Las Vegas Grand Prix? </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/574695/original/file-20240209-30-b8vl6u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A smiling professor is illuminated by bright lights in a nighttime photo taken at a Formula 1 event in Nevada." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/574695/original/file-20240209-30-b8vl6u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/574695/original/file-20240209-30-b8vl6u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574695/original/file-20240209-30-b8vl6u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574695/original/file-20240209-30-b8vl6u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574695/original/file-20240209-30-b8vl6u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574695/original/file-20240209-30-b8vl6u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574695/original/file-20240209-30-b8vl6u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The author at the Las Vegas Grand Prix.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Katherine Fu</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The future of tourism is in events and experiences</h2>
<p>Tourism is fun, but it’s also big business: In the <a href="https://www.ustravel.org/research/industry-impact">U.S.</a> alone, it’s a US$2.6 trillion industry employing 15 million people. And with travelers increasingly planning their trips around events rather than places, both <a href="https://www.ifea.com">industry leaders</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2007.07.017">academics are paying attention</a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.chicagotribune.com/2015/07/25/from-lollapalooza-to-nfl-draft-high-profile-events-paying-off-for-chicago/">Event tourism is also key</a> to many cities’ economic development strategies – think Chicago and its annual Lollapalooza music festival, which has been hosted in Grant Park since 2005. In 2023, Lollapalooza generated <a href="https://www.chicagobusiness.com/politics/lollapalooza-boosts-chicago-economy-422-million-2023-impact-study-says">an estimated $422 million</a> for the local economy and drew <a href="https://www.chicagobusiness.com/tourism/lollapalooza-2023-attendance-pays-hotels-restaurants">record-breaking crowds</a> to the city’s hotels.</p>
<p>That’s why when Formula One announced it would be <a href="https://www.espn.com/f1/story/_/id/35612895/las-vegas-approves-plan-hold-f1-race-2032">making a 10-year commitment</a> to host races in Las Vegas, the region’s tourism agency was <a href="https://press.lvcva.com/news-releases/formula-1-will-race-in-las-vegas-from-2023/s/766a27f9-57f8-48a2-a369-74ffeaf98e0f">eager to spread the news</a>. The 2023 grand prix eventually generated <a href="https://theathletic.com/5081391/2023/11/22/las-vegas-grand-prix-attendance-viewership-numbers/#">$100 million in tax revenue</a>, the head of that agency later announced.</p>
<h2>Why Formula One?</h2>
<p>Formula One offers a prime example of the economic importance of event tourism. In 2022, Formula One generated <a href="https://www.libertymedia.com/news/detail/485/liberty-media-corporation-reports-fourth-quarter-and-year">about $2.6 billion</a> in total revenues, according to the latest full-year data from its parent company. That’s up 20% from 2021 and <a href="https://www.libertymedia.com/investors/news-events/press-releases/detail/42/liberty-media-corporation-reports-fourth-quarter-and-year">27% from 2019</a>, the last pre-COVID year. A record 5.7 million fans attended Formula One races in 2022, up 36% from 2019. </p>
<p>This surge in interest can be attributed to expanded broadcasting rights, sponsorship deals and a growing global fan base. And, of course, the in-person events make a lot of money – the cheapest tickets to the Las Vegas Grand Prix were $500. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/570745/original/file-20240122-25-xaj1jo.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Two brightly colored race cars are seen speeding down a track in a blur." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/570745/original/file-20240122-25-xaj1jo.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/570745/original/file-20240122-25-xaj1jo.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=326&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/570745/original/file-20240122-25-xaj1jo.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=326&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/570745/original/file-20240122-25-xaj1jo.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=326&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/570745/original/file-20240122-25-xaj1jo.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=410&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/570745/original/file-20240122-25-xaj1jo.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=410&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/570745/original/file-20240122-25-xaj1jo.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=410&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Turn 1 at the first Las Vegas Grand Prix.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Rachel Fu</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>That’s why I think of Formula One as more than just a pastime: It’s emblematic of a major shift in the tourism industry that offers substantial job opportunities. And it takes more than drivers and pit crews to make Formula One run – it takes a diverse range of professionals in fields such as event management, marketing, engineering and beyond. </p>
<p>This rapid industry growth indicates an opportune moment for universities to adapt their hospitality and business curricula and prepare students for careers in this profitable field.</p>
<h2>How hospitality and business programs should prepare students</h2>
<p>To align with the evolving landscape of mega-events like Formula One races, hospitality schools should, I believe, integrate specialized training in event management, luxury hospitality and international business. Courses focusing on large-scale event planning, VIP client management and cross-cultural communication are essential. </p>
<p>Another area for curriculum enhancement is sustainability and innovation in hospitality. Formula One, like many other companies, has increased its emphasis on <a href="https://theathletic.com/4950077/2023/10/11/f1-sustainability-climate-change/">environmental responsibility</a> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2021/nov/26/climate-emergency-accelerates-f1-efforts-to-clean-up-image">in recent years</a>. While some critics <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2023/may/21/after-the-flood-storms-lie-ahead-for-formula-one-in-race-to-hit-carbon-zero">have been skeptical</a> of this push, I think it makes sense. After all, the event tourism industry both <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jort.2021.100393">contributes to climate change and is threatened by it</a>. So, programs may consider incorporating courses in sustainable event management, eco-friendly hospitality practices and innovations in sustainable event and tourism. </p>
<p>Additionally, business programs may consider emphasizing strategic marketing, brand management and digital media strategies for F1 and for the larger event-tourism space. As both continue to evolve, understanding how to leverage digital platforms, engage global audiences and create compelling brand narratives becomes increasingly important. </p>
<p>Beyond hospitality and business, other disciplines such as material sciences, engineering and data analytics can also integrate F1 into their curricula. Given the <a href="https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/f1-fans-becoming-younger-and-more-diverse-say-global-survey-results-/6696732/">younger generation’s growing interest</a> in motor sports, embedding F1 case studies and projects in these programs can enhance student engagement and provide practical applications of theoretical concepts. </p>
<h2>Racing into the future: Formula One today and tomorrow</h2>
<p>F1 has boosted its outreach to younger audiences in recent years and has also acted to strengthen its presence in the U.S., a market with major potential for the sport. The 2023 Las Vegas race was a <a href="https://www.ktnv.com/news/vegas-grand-prix/las-vegas-grand-prix-ceo-boasts-attendance-of-315k-claims-race-will-have-1-2b-economic-impact">strategic move</a> in this direction. These decisions, along with the continued growth of the sport’s fan base and sponsorship deals, underscore F1’s economic significance and future potential.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.formula1.com/en/racing/2024.html">Looking ahead in 2024</a>, Formula One seems ripe for further expansion. New races, continued advancements in <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/26/sports/autoracing/formula-1-broadcast-technology.html">broadcasting technology</a> and <a href="https://formulapedia.com/the-evolution-of-f1-sponsorship-deals-a-historic-overview/">evolving sponsorship models</a> are expected to drive revenue growth. And Season 6 of “Drive to Survive” will be released on <a href="https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article.drive-to-survive-season-6-release-date-announced-by-netflix.6ZS1GdHlVRpNc9dxA9kZ8F.html">Feb. 23</a>, 2024. We already know that was effective marketing – after all, it inspired me to check out the Las Vegas Grand Prix.</p>
<p>I’m more sure than ever that big events like this will play a major role in the future of tourism – a message I’ll be imparting to my students. And in my free time, I’m planning to enhance my quality of life in 2024 by synchronizing my vacations with the F1 calendar. After all, nothing says “relaxing getaway” quite like the roar of engines and excitement of the racetrack.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/221706/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rachel J.C. Fu does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>With big events drawing a growing share of of tourism dollars, F1 offers a potential glimpse of the travel industry’s future.Rachel J.C. Fu, Chair & Professor of Dept. of Tourism, Hospitality and Event Management | Director of the Eric Friedheim Tourism Institute | Affiliate Professor of Dept. of Information Systems and Operations Management, University of FloridaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2136062023-09-15T14:53:14Z2023-09-15T14:53:14ZHow pubs could get drinkers to swallow a peak-time price rise<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/548515/original/file-20230915-9077-wuqr4z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=119%2C29%2C4872%2C2964&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Beer o'clock.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/time-beer-concept-clock-watch-symbol-1408419845">Sergey Peterman/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>You may be used to paying more for a plane ticket or a train journey during peak times. But now a major British hospitality company has announced a similar approach to how much it costs to drink beer. </p>
<p>Stonegate Group, which owns chains including the Slug & Lettuce, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/sep/12/busy-pubs-charge-drinkers-more-slug-lettuce-yatess">has announced</a> plans to increase drinks prices by 20p when their pubs are at their busiest. </p>
<p>At a difficult time <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/jul/21/an-all-time-low-uk-hospitality-bosses-say-industry-is-fighting-for-survival">for the hospitality industry</a>, some might consider this a bit of a gamble. Certainly there has been something of a backlash on social media with, one person <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-66785823?at_ptr_name=facebook_page&at_link_id=59878B7E-515B-11EE-BBCB-DFC7D89D5CC3&at_link_origin=BBC_North_West&at_format=link&at_campaign=Social_Flow&at_bbc_team=editorial&at_campaign_type=owned&at_medium=social&at_link_type=web_link">commenting</a>: “If they push on with this there will be no such thing as a busy Stonegate pub.” </p>
<p>A spokesman for Stonegate told the Daily Telegraph that they are introducing the measure – known as “<a href="https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/dynamic-pricing">dynamic pricing</a>” – to deal with rising staffing costs, and that customers would be kept informed of any fluctuations in price. </p>
<p>The success of dynamic pricing – especially common (but <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/supreme-court-ruling-term-time-holidays-jon-platt-parents-travel-industry-cost-options-a7670501.html">not popular</a>) in travel – relies on whether or not a company or event can guarantee demand from potential customers. If they have other options, or feel that a price is simply too high, they may simply look elsewhere. </p>
<p>That said, research has shown (perhaps surprisingly) that consumers are generally fairly <a href="https://academic.oup.com/jcr/article-abstract/33/2/258/1849572">forgiving of price increases</a> if they consider the increase to be fair – perhaps if they know it’s down to increased supply costs for example.</p>
<p>But if a price hike is specifically related to a certain day or time of the day, it is quite possible that customers will perceive the increase as unfair. This could then lead to a negative perception of an establishment, and a loss of business. </p>
<p>Before that change even happens, consumers <a href="http://www.albacharia.ma/xmlui/bitstream/handle/123456789/31987/kahnmtversky.pdf">tend to use</a> their own reference points when making a judgement about what a product ought to cost. These may derive from a menu or advertisement (external reference points) or recalled from memory or personal knowledge about what other people have paid (internal reference points). </p>
<p>For example, customers may know that they generally pay £5 for a pint of beer at a particular pub, and they will use that price as their starting reference for what an acceptable price might be. They are using their reference points to <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/2352761">assess price fairness</a>. For a price increase to be perceived as fair, the reference point needs to shift in accordance with the new cost. </p>
<p>This is no simple task for any business. In the case of dynamic pricing in a pub, a potential problem is that the low price used during the less busy periods may become the customers’ reference point. The peak rate price then stands out as unjust. </p>
<h2>Beer today, gone tomorrow?</h2>
<p>So how can the problem of reference points be overcome so that the price is not perceived negatively? Research suggests that the way in which alternative pricing is presented is key to how customer respond. </p>
<p>For example, one study showed that golfers tended to <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1057/palgrave.rpm.5170037">think it was fair</a> for a golf club to charge a regular price for “prime time” slots and offer a 20% discount for other times. But they thought it was unfair if the course charged 20% more for a prime slot compared to a regular price at other times. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Golf ball and club." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/548550/original/file-20230915-21-5v4z7k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/548550/original/file-20230915-21-5v4z7k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=379&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548550/original/file-20230915-21-5v4z7k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=379&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548550/original/file-20230915-21-5v4z7k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=379&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548550/original/file-20230915-21-5v4z7k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=476&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548550/original/file-20230915-21-5v4z7k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=476&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548550/original/file-20230915-21-5v4z7k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=476&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Tee times and costs may vary.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/golf-club-ball-grass-158881226">Mikael Damkier/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The response to the two scenarios was different, even though the economic impact was the same. By changing the point of reference, it is possible to change consumers preferences. </p>
<p>Pub landlords seeking to introduce dynamic pricing may get a better response if they try and alter the drinkers’s perception in a similar way. Presenting price changes as being cheaper during off-peak times are likely to be viewed as a gain from the drinkers’ perspective. </p>
<p>When information is presented in a way that make it seem like a gain for the customer, the evaluation is more positive than in a scenario where there is predominantly a sense of loss or increased cost. </p>
<p>Of course, it’s also important not to lie to your customers. But research suggests that adjusting the presentation and framing of new price structure may lead to a change that drinkers are more willing to swallow.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/213606/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Cathrine Jansson-Boyd does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Will you be happy to pay different prices at different times?Cathrine Jansson-Boyd, Reader in Consumer Psychology, Anglia Ruskin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2121072023-08-25T00:19:56Z2023-08-25T00:19:56ZGender-based violence is a big concern in hospitality – and women bear the brunt of managing it<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/544472/original/file-20230824-29-ks6aer.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C3855%2C2577&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Gender-based violence, particularly sexual harassment, is a serious and persistent problem across the workforce.</p>
<p>But our <a href="http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/1483454">new research</a> paints a concerning picture of the extent of the problem in the hospitality industry.</p>
<p>We interviewed 124 hospitality workers in Melbourne and Newcastle from a range of different bars, restaurants and cafes.</p>
<p>We found <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/gwao.12844">young women, queer and gender diverse workers</a> are on the front line in responding to and managing the threat of gender-based violence in their venues. </p>
<p>Women bar workers were also routinely seen as “<a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/gwao.13006">better suited</a>” to manage the threat of violence.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/welcome-to-your-first-job-expect-to-be-underpaid-bullied-harassed-or-exploited-in-some-way-110438">Welcome to your first job: expect to be underpaid, bullied, harassed or exploited in some way</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>‘The line is clear’</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0278431918305061">Gendered dynamics</a> are particularly stark in service labour.</p>
<p>Enduring sexual harassment was described as a routine “<a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1360780418780059">part of the job</a>” for young people, particularly in women in bar work.</p>
<p>Workers insisted the line between friendliness and harassment from patrons in bar work is “very clear”. Karen*, a bar worker from Melbourne, said</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The line is very clear. I think it’s as soon as you feel unsafe in a situation, it’s like ‘don’t say to me, anything explicit about what you want to do with me’. That’s obviously, deeply inappropriate. I’m serving you a drink.</p>
</blockquote>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/72-of-australians-have-been-sexually-harassed-the-system-we-have-to-fix-this-problem-is-set-up-to-fail-141368">72% of Australians have been sexually harassed. The system we have to fix this problem is set up to fail</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Ben, a barista in Newcastle, wanted management to clearly designate “the line” for what is “acceptable” or “unacceptable” behaviour, rather than placing responsibility on the individual to “speak out”.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Why is it not standardised across venues? I feel like that line [calling out bad behaviour] is dictated by your superiors.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Workers like Ben, whose managers didn’t have processes for protecting staff, meant risks had to be assessed and navigated by workers on their own. Learning how to manage harassing or abusive customers was considered a normal and essential part of the job, particularly impacting women, gender diverse and queer workers.</p>
<h2>Women routinely expected to manage violence</h2>
<p>In our study, women bar workers were regularly called upon to defuse violent or aggressive patrons. Women were expected to be “calmer” and “kinder”, creating significant risk of harm for them.</p>
<p>Felicity, a Melbourne bar worker, said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>If a guy is in for a bit of argie [looking to fight], the absolute worst thing you can do is send a male bar member to deal with it […] Women can deescalate that situation far better, nine times out of ten. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>A pub worker from Newcastle, Stan, said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Some guys just want to kick off and will start a fight over anything […] It doesn’t matter what you do in those situations, you’re pretty much fucked. Unless you’re a female [staff member], to be honest.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>This expectation to manage violence is an unrecognised extra form of gendered labour which women are primarily expected to undertake.</p>
<p>Women, queer and gender diverse workers also described instances of being spat at, followed home, and threats of physical and sexual violence.</p>
<p>Given the scale and breadth of gendered <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/crime-and-justice/recorded-crime-victims/latest-release">violence against women</a>, the normalised position that women are “better suited” to manage violence is risky and exploitative.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1598082867006955522"}"></div></p>
<h2>Five recommendations to change the industry</h2>
<p>We suggest five recommendations targeting employers, policy and resourcing to create change in the industry. </p>
<ol>
<li><p>new policies for addressing sexual harassment in front-of-house service labour are needed. This includes processes for registering and resolving complaints, investigations and outcomes, which should be developed by government and industry in consultation with workers</p></li>
<li><p>the hospitality industry should develop tailored approaches, in line with <a href="https://humanrights.gov.au/our-work/sex-discrimination/projects/positive-duty-under-sex-discrimination-act#XliB5">the new positive duty under the Sex Discrimination Act</a>, to support businesses and venues to prevent and respond to sexual harassment. This should address key areas such as <a href="https://humanrights.gov.au/sites/default/files/factsheet_-_effective_education_and_training_0.pdf">effective education and training</a>. It should also focus on recording all instances of gender-based violence so the true scale of the problem can be better understood and monitored over time</p></li>
<li><p>hospitality management strategies should implement a “zero tolerance” approach to account for, and reduce the risk of, sexual and gender-based harassment. Behavioural expectations between workers, and workers and employers, should be discussed and agreed upon</p></li>
<li><p>hospitality venues must continue to improve gender equity across all staffing positions to support developing skills and the value of diverse experience in hospitality</p></li>
<li><p>increased state and federal funding is needed for local organisations to deliver training, resources and campaigning tailored for hospitality workers based on their experiences. This will lead to better outcomes in the industry.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>These changes can create safer and more respectful workplaces for all. </p>
<hr>
<p><em>*All names attributed to quotes from participants in this study are pseudonyms.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/212107/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Julia Coffey receives funding from the Australian Research Council. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>David Farrugia receives funding from the Australian Research Council. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lena Molnar works for Women with Disabilities Victoria. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Steven Threadgold received funding from the Australian Research Council for this project. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Megan Sharp does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Our research with 124 Australian hospitality staff found women bar workers were routinely seen as ‘better suited’ to manage the threat of violence - which is both risky and exploitative.Julia Coffey, Senior Lecturer in Sociology, University of NewcastleDavid Farrugia, ARC Future Fellow, School of Education, Deakin UniversityLena Molnar, Research Fellow, Newcastle Youth Studies Centre, University of NewcastleMegan Sharp, Lecturer in Sociology, The University of MelbourneSteven Threadgold, Associate Professor, Sociology, University of NewcastleLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2066572023-07-24T20:50:36Z2023-07-24T20:50:36ZCanada’s federal single-use plastics ban: What they got right and what they didn’t<iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/canadas-federal-single-use-plastics-ban-what-they-got-right-and-what-they-didnt" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>There is little dispute these days over the need to regulate single-use plastics. But there is ample confusion around what plastics to address and how to do so.</p>
<p>In 2020, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the intention to reach <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/managing-reducing-waste/reduce-plastic-waste/canada-action.html">zero plastic waste in Canada by 2030</a>, spurred on by a ban on some plastic items in 2022. </p>
<p>As the UN <a href="https://www.un.org/en/climatechange/nations-agree-end-plastic-pollution#:%7E:text=175%20nations%20agree%20to%20develop,plastic%20production%2C%20use%20and%20disposal">continues to develop its own global regulations</a>, Canadian businesses and consumers are starting to feel the impacts of our single-use plastics ban, and some industries are finding it more challenging than others to adapt. </p>
<h2>Designing a plastics ban</h2>
<p>In order to determine what items to include in the first phase of the ban, the federal government performed a <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/evaluating-existing-substances/science-assessment-plastic-pollution.html">scientific assessment of plastic consumption</a>. Based on this study, the ban targeted six items determined to be of highest concern: plastic ring carriers, plastic straws, plastic stir sticks, plastic bags, plastic cutlery and plastic food wares. </p>
<p>The government also laudably <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/managing-reducing-waste/reduce-plastic-waste/single-use-plastic-overview.html">categorized plastics as a toxic substance</a>.</p>
<p>However, the question remains: is Canada’s single-use plastics ban actually going to make a big difference? </p>
<p>Among the targeted plastics include common food service items such as takeout containers and plastic cutlery, items which <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidrvetter/2021/06/18/these-four-plastic-items-make-up-almost-half-of-all-ocean-trash/?sh=45080bb5fea4">are among the most commonly found in the environment</a>. This waste alongside the <a href="https://hdl.handle.net/10214/26944">usefulness of plastics for restaurants</a> would seemingly make the food service industry an essential place to start when addressing plastics waste.</p>
<h2>Focus on circularity and reusable alternatives rather than single-use items</h2>
<p>When looking for alternatives to single-use plastics as a restaurant operator, there are a plethora of single-use paper, bamboo, compostable, biodegradable, wood pulp or bio-based plastic options. </p>
<p>However, despite the advantage that many of these alternatives can break down over time, not enough emphasis is put on the remaining essential <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/energy/biodegradableplastics-may-end-up-doing-more-harm-than-good/2023/01/30/46e356b6-a0e3-11ed-8b47-9863fda8e494_story.html">single-use nature</a> of these items. </p>
<p>Indeed, the ability for compostable and biodegradable food wares to be accepted in a municipal composting facility is entirely dependent on the waste management cycle of that municipality, which can differ greatly between neighbouring cities. </p>
<p>Additionally, given the lack of standardization on what <a href="https://www.worldwildlife.org/blogs/sustainability-works/posts/is-biodegradable-and-compostable-plastic-good-for-the-environment-not-necessarily">is classified as biodegradable</a>, consumers can often be deceived by mislabelled products. </p>
<p>After all, microplastics are biodegraded plastics.</p>
<p>Offering alternative materials to food service operators is certainly a step in the right direction. However, as an effective long-term solution, the government needs to offer support for the integration and growth of <a href="https://ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/topics/circular-economy-introduction/overview?gad=1&gclid=CjwKCAjw-IWkBhBTEiwA2exyO9g_vHbIgcOIC-zk9EkESNDSQWReS0OTFkn3nOFiOia0paS5GuKvIhoCCOkQAvD_BwE">circular systems</a>. </p>
<p>In doing so, we also need to acknowledge the challenges involved in implementing these systems for restaurant operators. </p>
<h2>Challenges and solutions for food service operators</h2>
<p>The greatest <a href="https://hdl.handle.net/10214/26944">challenges operators are facing</a> with this ban are the costs of quickly switching to reusable or compostable items, sourcing issues and the general lack of alternatives that tick all the same material boxes as conventional plastics. </p>
<p>Looking at the way restaurant operators are responding to this challenge, there are a few key solutions we need to be focusing on. </p>
<p>First and foremost is an emphasis on reusables over alternatives. To make a zero-plastic waste transition realistic, we need to focus on supporting the infrastructure and consumer education required to make reusables accessible. </p>
<p>Ample progress has been made in this area since takeout food has <a href="https://www.ctvnews.ca/lifestyle/new-normal-the-year-in-takeout-trends-as-restaurants-face-a-reckoning-1.5231981?cache=yes">become more common</a> and has resulted in the launch of multiple reusable takeout container startups such as Suppli, Friendlier, or ShareWares. </p>
<p>Additionally, as with any change that affects our daily lives, our own habits are simultaneously the easiest place to start and the hardest to change. As such, a large piece of this transition will be <a href="https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/JHTI-01-2023-0052/full/html">consumer education</a> so that restaurant goers and grocery shoppers understand the ‘why’ behind this plastics transition. </p>
<p>All levels of government can better support restaurants through this transition by providing guidance, funding and advocacy for scaling reusable startups and for integrating them into food service with different communities likely requiring different levels of support.</p>
<p>Some companies have been experimenting with <a href="https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/tim-hortons-returnable-cups-experiment">their own reusable schemes</a>, however, relying on corporate drive alone will not be sufficient.</p>
<h2>Seeing the plastics ban as an opportunity</h2>
<p>In light of the development of this ban and the deliberations over the United Nations’ plastic regulation treaty, it’s clear that legislation surrounding single-use plastic reduction will likely increase over the next decade. </p>
<p>Restaurant operators, and other industries that regularly handle single-use plastics need to be more proactive about what they will need from their government to become less reliant on plastics in the future. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/in-a-barbie-world-after-the-movie-frenzy-fades-how-do-we-avoid-tonnes-of-barbie-dolls-going-to-landfill-209601">In a Barbie world ... after the movie frenzy fades, how do we avoid tonnes of Barbie dolls going to landfill?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Moreover, the six items included on Canada’s list of banned plastics are by no means comprehensive and <a href="https://davidsuzuki.org/story/canadas-plastics-ban-should-include-beverage-containers/">activists continue to call</a> for additional items to be included. In particular, <a href="https://www.ctvnews.ca/climate-and-environment/what-is-and-is-not-included-in-canada-s-ban-on-single-use-plastics-1.5136387">nine additional</a> common single-use plastics were found in the environment but are not being practically addressed. </p>
<p>Canada has the opportunity to be a global leader with the implementation of this single-use plastics ban by supporting reuse and moving towards circular practices. </p>
<p>If we can get further support for reusable programs, expand the list of harmful plastics and provide targeted consumer education around the harms of plastic waste then we have a real shot at an exemplary start to a circular economy. </p>
<p>Are we up to the challenge?</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/206657/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Canada is seen as leading the way in banning single-use plastics. But how comprehensive are these actions, and how realistic is the dream of a zero-waste future?Bruce McAdams, Associate Professor in Hospitality, Food and Tourism Management, University of GuelphEmily Robinson, Post-Graduate Researcher and Food Education Manager, University of GuelphLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1882862022-08-23T19:11:21Z2022-08-23T19:11:21ZHostile hospitality? Survey finds decent work conditions still missing from too many menus<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/480231/original/file-20220822-65296-67fm5m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C3%2C2114%2C1397&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Getty Images</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Almost three years after COVID-19 hit New Zealand, the hospitality sector is slowly rebuilding. Widespread business closures, limited opening hours and an inability to <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/food-drink/300655580/stumped-as-to-why-anyone-would-answer-this-job-ad">attract workers</a> have drawn <a href="https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/470653/low-pay-and-poor-conditions-in-hospitality-and-tourism-needs-to-be-turned-around">widespread media attention</a> and renewed calls for increasing the number of migrant workers allowed into New Zealand <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/125810650/hospo-addiction-to-cheap-migrant-labour-could-force-the-closure-of-businesses-unable-to-afford-nz-workers">to fill vacant jobs</a>. </p>
<p>The government has also set out its goals for regenerative tourism (encouraging visitors to leave a destination better than when they arrived) and hospitality (fostering a sustainable and attractive industry that raises the reputation of the sector). It has also opened debates about <a href="https://www.mbie.govt.nz/immigration-and-tourism/tourism/tourism-projects/tourism-industry-transformation-plan/">a “reset” of immigration policy</a>. </p>
<p><a href="https://news.aut.ac.nz/aut-news-site/Voices-From-The-Front-Line.pdf">Our survey</a> of 400 hospitality workers, taken immediately before the pandemic struck, had already showed concerning levels of non-compliance with basic employment rights within the industry. The survey results point to long-standing issues in the sector. </p>
<p>Our report has also informed the Ministry for Business, Innovation and Employment’s <a href="https://www.mbie.govt.nz/immigration-and-tourism/tourism/tourism-projects/tourism-industry-transformation-plan/">Draft Tourism Transformation Plan</a>, which has just been released for consultation. Hopefully, by correctly understanding the true origins and nature of the problems, the hospitality industry can identify lasting solutions. </p>
<h2>Reputational damage</h2>
<p>Key findings from the survey included:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>16% of respondents have not signed an employment agreement before starting work</p></li>
<li><p>13% of respondents are not receiving the correct payslips</p></li>
<li><p>18% of respondents are not receiving the minimum wage</p></li>
<li><p>22% of respondents did not get the correct holiday pay</p></li>
<li><p>22% of respondents are not getting time off or correct pay for working statutory holidays</p></li>
<li><p>22% of respondents are not receiving the correct rest breaks</p></li>
<li><p>81% of respondents state they received no training in their jobs</p></li>
<li><p>49% of respondents experienced or witnessed harassment in the workplace</p></li>
<li><p>69% of respondents were aware of health and safety risks in their workplace.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>These findings describe a sector with a significant number of employers who are not meeting common expectations for decent work. This minority is dragging down the overall image of the industry and undermining the many good hospitality employers. </p>
<p>One hospitality worker said: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>I haven’t had a pay rise in the four years I have been with my current employer.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>According to another:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I didn’t get my minimum wage. I didn’t get my holiday pay, and because of my migrant status I was too afraid to protect myself legally. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>A third said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The longer you work in the industry the more you see and are subjected to all forms of abuse. Some people (customers and employers) see hospitality staff not much more then a slave to service their needs".</p>
</blockquote>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Barista with mask making coffee." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/480227/original/file-20220822-19099-8gqndo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/480227/original/file-20220822-19099-8gqndo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/480227/original/file-20220822-19099-8gqndo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/480227/original/file-20220822-19099-8gqndo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/480227/original/file-20220822-19099-8gqndo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/480227/original/file-20220822-19099-8gqndo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/480227/original/file-20220822-19099-8gqndo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Hospitality workers report being underpaid, working without contracts and being fired without cause.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com.au/detail/photo/young-waiter-with-protective-mask-using-a-coffee-royalty-free-image/1321467846?adppopup=true">Alvaro Gonzalez/Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Failures are not new</h2>
<p>The first message from the survey is that while current issues in the sector are acute, they are not new. COVID has simply amplified <a href="https://doi.org/10.1108/ijchm-04-2020-0314">long-standing problems</a>. </p>
<p>Crucially, it is important to draw a distinction between issues around migrant labour and the low pay and poor conditions that the survey highlights. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/shocking-yet-not-surprising-wage-theft-has-become-a-culturally-accepted-part-of-business-121038">Shocking yet not surprising: wage theft has become a culturally accepted part of business</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>The New Zealand hospitality sector has always struggled to find local workers. As a result it has been <a href="https://academics.aut.ac.nz/david.williamson/publications">highly dependent on migrant labour</a>. But the poor pay and conditions so clearly exposed by the survey were <a href="https://orapp.aut.ac.nz/bitstream/handle/10292/10712/Opinion%20Piece%20Hosp%20Soc.pdf?sequence=5&isAllowed=y">not common before the 1980s</a>. </p>
<p>This raises the question – what changed?</p>
<p>Prior to the 1980s, hospitality pay and conditions were contained within industry-wide collective agreements, enforced by a powerful union that benefited from strong relationships with the state and employers. </p>
<p>While one couldn’t argue that exploitation never occurred during this period, the system provided both migrant and local hospitality workers with concrete minimum pay rates, extensive penalty rates and protected conditions. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/weve-let-wage-exploitation-become-the-default-experience-of-migrant-workers-113644">We've let wage exploitation become the default experience of migrant workers</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>However, the free market revolution of the 1980s and 1990s strongly encouraged individual contracting and removed compulsory unionism. Hospitality workers were now exposed to downward pressure on wages and conditions, without the protection of a powerful union or collective agreements. </p>
<p>From this point on, increasing casualisation (part-time or on-call work, rather than full-time employment), falling wages and increasing numbers of exploitation cases have come to <a href="https://openrepository.aut.ac.nz/handle/10292/10412">define the sector</a>. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1561178172422778880"}"></div></p>
<h2>A map for change</h2>
<p>So what needs to change to improve the sector?</p>
<p>Firstly, the government needs to increase pressure on poor employers and reward the good employers. By increasing the resources of the Labour Inspectorate, a more rigorous enforcement of labour laws can be brought to bear on employers who are not meeting the standards of decent work. </p>
<p>At the same time, customers can be engaged though initiatives like the New Zealand Restaurant Association’s <a href="https://www.restaurantnz.co.nz/hospocred/">Hosopocred</a> scheme. This scheme, which will require an employer to apply and provide evidence for accreditation, will help identify good employers and allow customers to make a choice to support them. Consumer behaviour can be a powerful incentive for improving employment practices.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/no-a-complex-system-is-not-to-blame-for-corporate-wage-theft-126279">No, a 'complex' system is not to blame for corporate wage theft</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Secondly, there needs to be widespread support for the government’s proposed <a href="https://www.makeworkfair.nz/">fair pay agreements</a>. These could be the basis for industry-wide commitment to decent work, including better pay and conditions, improved training and better representation of employees voices. </p>
<p>Fair pay agreements could result in significant changes in the workplace, including lifting service quality and employment standards.</p>
<p>Finally, those involved in the hospitality sector must continue and strengthen the tripartite approach between unions, employer groups and the government that is driving the proposed <a href="https://www.mbie.govt.nz/immigration-and-tourism/tourism/tourism-projects/tourism-industry-transformation-plan/">industry transformation plan</a> set out by the government. Only when all elements of the industry work together can the image and reality of hospitality work be fundamentally changed.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/188286/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>With the government’s Draft Tourism Transformation Plan now out for consultation, the hospitality industry has an opportunity to clean up long-standing concerns over wages and conditions for workers.David Williamson, Senior Lecturer in the School of Hospitality and Tourism at Auckland University of Technology, Auckland University of TechnologyCandice Harris, Professor of Management, Auckland University of TechnologyErling Rasmussen, Auckland University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1862232022-08-14T20:03:48Z2022-08-14T20:03:48ZJess Ho’s ‘unflinching’ hospitality memoir is a Cantonese-Australian Kitchen Confidential<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/478218/original/file-20220809-24-u88r0x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C3994%2C2353&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Farley Webb</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><a href="https://affirmpress.com.au/publishing/raised-by-wolves/">Raised by Wolves</a> is like Anthony Bourdain’s <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/33313.Kitchen_Confidential">Kitchen Confidential</a>, if it were told by a second-generation Cantonese Australian from Hong Kong, whose work in the food industry spans 15 years. Jess Ho combines a compelling, unflinching critique of the Melbourne food scene with memories of an abusive childhood. </p>
<hr>
<p><em>Review: Raised by Wolves: A memoir with bite – Jess Ho (Affirm Press)</em></p>
<hr>
<p>This brilliantly written memoir discusses exploitative labour in the restaurant and bar industries, culinary appropriation – and enduring racism, sexism, alcohol abuse, depression, <a href="https://theconversation.com/coping-with-bereavement-and-grief-lessons-from-history-9088">grief</a> and loss. </p>
<p>Ho threads Chinese culture into the fabric of the book, reflecting how deeply it’s woven into who they are. “Culturally, spite was one pillar of being Chinese,” they quip at one point. And it’s intrinsic to how they experience food, for example: “the Chinese […] value silky gelatinous textures as much as we do crunchy”.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/from-lurid-orange-sauces-to-refined-regional-flavours-how-politics-helped-shape-chinese-food-in-australia-150283">From lurid orange sauces to refined, regional flavours: how politics helped shape Chinese food in Australia</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Raised by Wolves is delightful, sad, honest and funny in equal measure. Ho admits to hating themself for dumbing down ethnic cuisines to suit popular food culture, in their role at a popular Melbourne Asian restaurant frequented by hipsters. At a Chinese dinner, they castigate their white colleagues for adding soy sauce to their food at the table, threatening to “soy tax” them. </p>
<p>The author’s acerbic criticisms of their workplaces – and themself – shine through the pages. (And their liberal use of profanity reflects the high-octane environment of restaurant and bar work.) Interspersed with accounts of backbreaking restaurant work, Ho relives their experiences of their own dysfunctional family, including shocking physical and verbal abuse from their mother. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/478221/original/file-20220809-18-ugd671.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/478221/original/file-20220809-18-ugd671.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/478221/original/file-20220809-18-ugd671.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/478221/original/file-20220809-18-ugd671.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/478221/original/file-20220809-18-ugd671.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/478221/original/file-20220809-18-ugd671.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/478221/original/file-20220809-18-ugd671.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/478221/original/file-20220809-18-ugd671.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Jess Ho’s memoir writes of ‘backbreaking restaurant work’, in an unflinching critique of the food scene.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">John LeGrand/Unsplash</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Childhood trauma</h2>
<p>Ho recounts how “my mother threw a dishrack full of wet plates, knives and pots at me from across the room when she said I drank my cup of tea too loudly. I was five.” Outside the home, Ho was an anxious child, feeling “that my very flimsy grasp of the English language was going to reveal how Chinese I was to my low socio-economic, underfunded, poorly educated, racist breeding ground of a primary school”.</p>
<p>Hospitality provided an escape route. It was a way to earn a living from Ho’s teenage years on. In the restaurant industry, they excelled in everything they did, working in front-of-house and back-of-house. Hospitality staff often work a punishing 60 or more hours a week. The restaurant worker, having missed meals during the week, would later gorge on both food and drink, “eating like it’s your death-row meal on your day off”. Half-hour breaks at night were spent at bars, work then recommencing until sunrise. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-celebrity-award-winning-chefs-are-usually-white-men-106709">Why celebrity, award-winning chefs are usually white men</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Ho experienced discrimination as an Asian female. They have since chosen to identify as <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-are-gender-pronouns-and-why-is-it-important-to-use-the-right-ones-169025">nonbinary</a>, a decision they explore in the book.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I hated being a girl, but being a boy wouldn’t give me inner peace […] I never saw who I was reflected back at me until I cut all my hair off and gave myself permission to reject binary definitions.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Ho speaks of “crass chefs intent on flexing their masculinity or flaunting their homosexuality”. And they point out “it was an industry that had abused, stalked, harassed, sexually assaulted, intimidated, belittled, gaslit, bullied, discarded and overworked me”. There was no letup, even when they owned a bar. By the time they quit the industry before turning 30, Ho’s whole body was out of whack from hard physical work and stress. </p>
<p>Ho’s gripping account is a sad indictment of the hospitality industry in Melbourne (likely similar to scenarios in other Australian cities). </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/478222/original/file-20220809-22-8q92iq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/478222/original/file-20220809-22-8q92iq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/478222/original/file-20220809-22-8q92iq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/478222/original/file-20220809-22-8q92iq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/478222/original/file-20220809-22-8q92iq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/478222/original/file-20220809-22-8q92iq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/478222/original/file-20220809-22-8q92iq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/478222/original/file-20220809-22-8q92iq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Jess Ho has given voice to Asians and their food.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Elle Morre/Unspash</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Culinary appropriation</h2>
<p>Ho takes issue with the <a href="https://theconversation.com/jamie-olivers-jerk-rice-is-a-recipe-for-disaster-heres-why-101879">cultural appropriation of dishes</a> and “fusion” food. They disparage a Sichuan restaurant that served food that was a caricature of the region – such as potato salads with chunks of cold lap cheong, raisins and cubes of apple. However, history tells us that all cuisines are hybrids. Food historian Ken Albala <a href="http://kenalbala.blogspot.com/2019/01/cultural-appropriation-authenticity-and.html">says</a> the movement of people, plants and animals – and even colonisation and slavery – has given us every classic cuisine we now seek to protect. </p>
<p>Ho argues that the industry promotes European cooking as superior, overlooking “the skill involved in tempering spices, nixtamalising corn, fermenting cabbages or folding soup-filled dumplings”. They add that chefs and restaurant owners, after a week’s overseas visit, often return to Australia and become gatekeepers of cuisine sampled as tourists. </p>
<p>Ho blames the media for enabling this, using words such as “reinvented” and “elevated” to “describe their watered-down versions of generational familial recipes that they have mutilated in the name of artistry and capitalism”. </p>
<p>They felt themself contributing to the problem of cultural erasure, oppression and <a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-what-is-systemic-racism-and-institutional-racism-131152">systemic racism</a>, and chide themself for </p>
<blockquote>
<p>censoring parts of someone else’s culture and selling the easily digestible bits to a rich, white audience. […] I’d be pushing white faces cooking Thai food and dumbing down an entire cuisine into entertainment. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>Ho recalls all the Thai chefs in one restaurant quitting en masse in response to their “national dishes being bastardised and being stripped of their voices”. </p>
<p>Philosopher Lisa Heldke has done <a href="https://philpapers.org/rec/HELEAR-2">extensive work</a> on cultural colonialism, food cultural appropriation and exoticising ethnic foods. Heldke says cultural food colonialism is enacted by Western food adventurers, on a quest for “cooking and eating ethnic foods – most frequently the foods of economically dominated or ‘third world’ cultures”. Novelty, exoticism and “authenticity” are the values that frame their quest.</p>
<p>Significantly, Ho has given voice to Asians and their food, validating dishes and ingredients relished by Asians, without whitewashing them for a Western sensibility. When Ho seeks flavours: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>I want crisp, charred, sweet vegetables kissed by a wok. I want fermented tofu melted over morning glory. I want herbal soup with tofu skins and chicken feet. I want silken tofu with raw garlic and century egg. I want crisp and lacy banh xeo with plump-arse prawns, immaculate lettuce, herbs and nuoc mam. I want a stinky bamboo salad. I want fermented fish som tum so spicy I see through time, and sticky rice to sop it up with. I want a cauldron of kimchi stew. I never crave cheese platters, but I always crave Asian food.</p>
</blockquote>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/young-womens-memoirs-of-migration-dispossession-and-australian-unbelonging-demand-to-be-heard-182223">Young women's memoirs of migration, dispossession and Australian 'unbelonging' demand to be heard</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/186223/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Cecilia Leong-Salobir does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Jess Ho’s acerbic, sad, funny memoir of combines a compelling critique of the Melbourne food scene that became her family with memories of a traumatic childhood.Cecilia Leong-Salobir, Honorary Research Fellow, The University of Western AustraliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1857732022-07-11T05:14:35Z2022-07-11T05:14:35ZWhat is emotional labour - and how do we get it wrong?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/473291/original/file-20220711-63936-9ctlj9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=99%2C28%2C9390%2C6288&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The term “emotional labour” is <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2018/11/arlie-hochschild-housework-isnt-emotional-labor/576637/">applied to</a> an array of home-based activities — from keeping mental to-do lists, to remembering to call your in-laws on their birthdays. Some advocate the need to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/06/opinion/boys-gender-books-culture.html">teach boys</a> emotional labour, or <a href="https://www.harpersbazaar.com/culture/features/a12063822/emotional-labor-gender-equality/">identify it</a> as the unpaid jobs men still don’t understand. </p>
<p>But that’s <em>not</em> what emotional labour is, according to the sociologist who coined the term in 1983, in her book <a href="https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520272941/the-managed-heart">The Managed Heart: Commercialization of Human Feeling</a>.</p>
<p>For Arlie Russell Hochschild, emotional labour is emotion work (the management of human feeling) performed in exchange for pay and as a condition of employment. </p>
<p>What is regularly called emotional labour – the (unpaid) emotional management we do in our private lives, such as parenting and personal relationships – is actually emotion work, but shouldn’t be defined as emotional labour.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/understanding-emotions-is-nearly-as-important-as-iq-for-students-academic-success-131212">Understanding emotions is nearly as important as IQ for students' academic success</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>What is emotional labour?</h2>
<p>Emotional labour is <a href="https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520272941/the-managed-heart">precisely defined</a> by Hochschild as “the management of feeling to create a publicly observable facial and bodily display [that is] sold for a wage”. In 1983, she estimated that close to one-third of all jobs in the United States possessed elements of emotional labour, disproportionately impacting women working in the service sector.</p>
<p>Hochschild’s analysis was informed by participant observation, interviews and informal discussions with a range of employees in the airline industry. Emotional labour, she says, is only applicable to jobs where a worker is required to perform feelings and create emotion in others while engaging in work. </p>
<p>She explains that emotional labour is typically about attempting to <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2018/11/arlie-hochschild-housework-isnt-emotional-labor/576637/">feel the right feeling for the job</a>. Examples include a flight attendant creating a calm atmosphere, a secretary facilitating a cheerful office, a waiter promoting a pleasant dining experience, or a funeral director making the bereaved feel understood.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/473289/original/file-20220711-45421-bjq08o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/473289/original/file-20220711-45421-bjq08o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/473289/original/file-20220711-45421-bjq08o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/473289/original/file-20220711-45421-bjq08o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/473289/original/file-20220711-45421-bjq08o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/473289/original/file-20220711-45421-bjq08o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/473289/original/file-20220711-45421-bjq08o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/473289/original/file-20220711-45421-bjq08o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A waiter promoting a pleasant dining experience is performing emotional labour.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The feeling rules and expectations that comprise emotional labour are documented in <a href="https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520272941/the-managed-heart">The Managed Heart</a>. The following example presents a case in which the absence of emotional labour reveals its cultural expectation and demand: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>A young businessman said to a flight attendant, “Why aren’t you smiling?” She put her tray back on the food cart, looked him in the eye, and said, “I’ll tell you what. You smile first, then I’ll smile.” The businessman smiled at her. “Good,” she replied. “Now freeze, and hold that for fifteen hours.” Then she walked away. In one stroke, the heroine not only asserted a personal right to her facial expressions but also reversed the roles in the company script by placing the mask on a member of the audience.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Emotional labour demands workers not merely manage their own emotions, but adopt systems to manage the flow of emotions and exchange between workers and customers. As Hochschild argues, the flight attendant is required to be nicer than might be considered natural. </p>
<p>Conversely, the bill collector is expected to be harsher, to inspire fear in their clients. In both cases, the employee is expected to produce a feeling in the consumer to satisfy company demands.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/473283/original/file-20220711-7520-p3e26s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/473283/original/file-20220711-7520-p3e26s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/473283/original/file-20220711-7520-p3e26s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=475&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/473283/original/file-20220711-7520-p3e26s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=475&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/473283/original/file-20220711-7520-p3e26s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=475&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/473283/original/file-20220711-7520-p3e26s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=597&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/473283/original/file-20220711-7520-p3e26s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=597&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/473283/original/file-20220711-7520-p3e26s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=597&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Arlie Russell Hochschild coined the phrase ‘emotional labour’ while observing employees in the airline industry.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/archivesnz/">Archives New Zealand</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Jobs requiring emotional labour are identified as possessing three dimensions: </p>
<ul>
<li>they require face-to-face or voice-to-voice contact with the public</li>
<li>they require the worker to produce an emotional state in another person</li>
<li>they allow employers via training and supervision a degree of control over the emotional activities of employees. </li>
</ul>
<p>It is this attempt to manage the emotional system within public life – and specifically, in commercial contexts – that constitutes emotional labour. </p>
<p>The concept symbolises a shift from the uses of emotion in the private sphere to its application to commercial contexts; what Hochschild calls a “transmutation” that is <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/2778583">achieved through</a> the emotion work, feeling rules, and social exchange that make up the basis of emotional life.</p>
<p>Emotion work and feeling rules originate in the private domain. But emotional labour brings them into commercial contexts, where their performance and management are made into a product.</p>
<p>As Hochschild stated <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2018/11/arlie-hochschild-housework-isnt-emotional-labor/576637/">in a recent interview</a>, the now-common use of the term she coined risks broadening its meaning so loosely as to render it meaningless: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>It is being used to apply to a wider and wider range of experiences and acts. It’s being used, for example, to refer to the enacting of to-do lists in daily life — pick up the laundry, shop for potatoes, that kind of thing. Which I think is an overextension. It’s also being applied to perfectionism: you’ve absolutely got to do the perfect Christmas holiday. And that can be a confusion and an overextension. </p>
</blockquote>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/we-need-to-talk-about-the-mental-health-of-content-moderators-103830">We need to talk about the mental health of content moderators</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>The Managed Heart</h2>
<p>Almost 40 years since its original publication in 1983, it is fitting to revisit The Managed Heart, which arguably ranks as one of the most important contemporary sociological texts. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/473286/original/file-20220711-45231-e2nyl1.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/473286/original/file-20220711-45231-e2nyl1.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/473286/original/file-20220711-45231-e2nyl1.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/473286/original/file-20220711-45231-e2nyl1.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/473286/original/file-20220711-45231-e2nyl1.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/473286/original/file-20220711-45231-e2nyl1.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1130&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/473286/original/file-20220711-45231-e2nyl1.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1130&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/473286/original/file-20220711-45231-e2nyl1.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1130&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<p>The Managed Heart, which established Hochschild as a public sociologist, is perhaps her <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0730888411418921">most enduring contribution</a>. It examines the cost of employment conditions in contemporary capitalist, post-industrial societies characterised by the expansion of the service sector.</p>
<p>As Hochschild explains in the opening of the book, her quest was to consider —following Marx’s interest in the conditions of employment — the human cost of becoming an instrument of labour.</p>
<p>She turned to the airline industry and specifically the experience of flight attendants in managing their emotions at work. She also drew on bill collectors as another illustrative case study. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/karl-marx-his-philosophy-explained-164068">Karl Marx: his philosophy explained</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>The costs of emotional labour</h2>
<p>Hochschild found that as commercial interests lay claim to a worker’s emotional life, that worker becomes vulnerable to alienation from aspects of themselves and their work.</p>
<p>The flight attendants interviewed by Hochschild often spoke of their smiles as being <em>on them</em> but not <em>of them</em> and found it difficult to come down after work from their artificial elation, born of needing to continually enhance the customer’s status through acting as if the cabin is the customer’s home.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/473299/original/file-20220711-15-gukdpa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/473299/original/file-20220711-15-gukdpa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/473299/original/file-20220711-15-gukdpa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=383&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/473299/original/file-20220711-15-gukdpa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=383&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/473299/original/file-20220711-15-gukdpa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=383&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/473299/original/file-20220711-15-gukdpa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=481&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/473299/original/file-20220711-15-gukdpa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=481&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/473299/original/file-20220711-15-gukdpa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=481&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Hosting the perfect Christmas dinner is just one of the tasks that is not, in fact, emotional labour, says Arlie Russell Hochschild.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Workers also manage this demand by separating out themselves from the job. Workers who clearly segregate themselves from their jobs are less likely to suffer burnout, but risk estrangement from themselves. They can become cynical about the requirement to act and perform. </p>
<p>While taxing the worker, this form of labour enables a version of public life where many people – we as customers – experience trusting and pleasant transactions with total strangers, on a daily basis.</p>
<p>But the costs of performing emotional labour show how important it is to use the concept correctly. By overextending the concept, we risk devaluing it – or worse, rendering the type of labour it describes less visible.</p>
<p>And this undercuts a key contribution provided by Hochschild’s book: making visible the struggles that this labour imposes on the worker. Struggles that were, up until then, largely invisible or seldom recognised.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/185773/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>We often talk about ‘emotional labour’ as performed by those who take on the emotional workload within families or relationships. But the term has a specific meaning – and that’s not what it is.Michael James Walsh, Associate Professor in Social Sciences, University of CanberraStephanie Alice Baker, Senior Lecturer in Sociology, City, University of LondonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1745882022-01-31T13:00:43Z2022-01-31T13:00:43ZBad managers, burnout and health fears: Why record numbers of hospitality workers are quitting the industry for good<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/443206/original/file-20220128-13-dvs5n9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=181%2C94%2C5570%2C3733&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Dealing with customers every day can put significant stress on hospitality workers. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/VirusOutbreakNewYork/9da6a49f3149473fa1020b2052a28f64/photo?Query=waiter%20&mediaType=photo&sortBy=arrivaldatetime:desc&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=3031&currentItemNo=30">AP Photo/Mark Lennihan</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>About 3.5 million people have <a href="https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/PAYEMS">at least temporarily left the U.S. workforce</a> since March 2020. <a href="https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/USLAH">Over one-third of them</a> – 1.2 million – are in the leisure and hospitality industry. </p>
<p>This has created huge problems for restaurants, hotels and other leisure and hospitality businesses that have struggled to find workers for <a href="https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/JTS7000JOL">record numbers of job openings in 2021</a>. </p>
<p>A big part of this decline seems to be explained by the “<a href="https://theconversation.com/us/topics/great-resignation-112723">great resignation</a>.” Leisure and hospitality workers are quitting at the <a href="https://www.bls.gov/news.release/jolts.t04.htm">highest rates of any industry</a>. About 1 million quit in November 2021 alone. And the data suggests many of them are not simply swapping one hospitality job for another but leaving the industry entirely. </p>
<p>Why are these workers quitting, where are they going and what can be done to bring them back? </p>
<p>We recently commissioned a survey aimed at tracking down some of these workers and answering these questions. The research is ongoing, but our early qualitative results offer some clues to answering these questions. </p>
<h2>Reasons for attrition</h2>
<p>Before we get to our early data, there are several characteristics of leisure and hospitality work that help explain why the industry <a href="https://www.schedulehead.com/8-reasons-for-employee-turnover-in-hospitality/">has unusually high turnover rates</a>.</p>
<p>For one thing, the wages are very low. Leisure and hospitality workers <a href="https://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.t19.htm">were earning an average of US$515 a week</a> – including tips – as of December 2021, making them the worst-paid of all sectors, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data. That’s less than half of the average for all private workers and translates into annual income of under $27,000 – based on 52 weeks of pay.</p>
<p>This puts financial stress on these employees, often forcing them to work <a href="https://www.fastcasual.com/news/study-why-hourly-workers-forced-to-work-multiple-jobs/">multiple jobs to get by</a>.</p>
<p>The working hours are also challenging, <a href="https://www.insider.com/when-not-to-eat-at-a-restaurant-2019-3">often involving nights</a>, <a href="https://www.eatthis.com/worst-day-eat-chain-restaurant/">weekends</a> and <a href="https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/IJCHM-02-2017-0105/full/html">holidays</a>, which means hospitality workers routinely miss out on time with friends and family, limiting opportunities to recharge their emotional batteries. </p>
<p>Moreover, the nature of the jobs in this sector are particularly stressful and emotionally draining. In fact, <a href="https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520272941/the-managed-heart">sociologists</a> and economists have a phrase for this: <a href="https://www.vogue.com/article/what-is-emotional-labor">emotional labor</a>. This concept refers to the suppression of whatever emotions an employee may be experiencing to provide good service to a customer – and often “<a href="https://www.psychologicalscience.org/news/minds-business/what-service-with-a-smile-means-for-employee-well-being.html">with a smile</a>.”</p>
<p>In hospitality, employees must regulate the outward expression of their emotions to the benefit of the customer and their employer, regardless of what they are feeling. Sometimes this puts little or no burden on the employee, but at other times it takes a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCHM-03-2017-0176">great emotional toll</a>. </p>
<p>The COVID-19 pandemic <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7574898/">has amped up the emotional labor</a> of service work considerably. </p>
<p>The new stressors include massive furloughs and layoffs since March 2020, significant risks to personal health by having little choice but to work at a physical location where workers regularly are in close proximity to colleagues and customers, as well as fights with patrons over <a href="https://www.today.com/food/food-workers-discuss-pandemic-confrontations-angry-customers-t224537">enforcing mask bans and vaccine mandates</a>. The news media regularly report on angry and even violent confrontations between <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/restaurants-and-hotels-push-back-against-the-uptick-in-customer-tantrums-11632821400">customers and service workers</a>, whether on <a href="https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/unruly-airline-passengers-faa-2021/index.html">planes</a>, in <a href="https://www.today.com/food/restaurants-struggling-unruly-patrons-t186105">restaurants</a> or in other types of <a href="https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20211007-the-service-roles-that-lead-to-burnout">establishments</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Two customers – one wearing a mask, one not – hold up their phones to a waiter wearing a mask to show their vaccination status" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/443205/original/file-20220128-25-7o2v0e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/443205/original/file-20220128-25-7o2v0e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/443205/original/file-20220128-25-7o2v0e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/443205/original/file-20220128-25-7o2v0e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/443205/original/file-20220128-25-7o2v0e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/443205/original/file-20220128-25-7o2v0e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/443205/original/file-20220128-25-7o2v0e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Hospitality workers are required to enforce vaccine and mask mandates, which has led to altercations.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/VirusOutbreakCalifornia/ba05c94c2d3a48b5abd8514f4483e4a4/photo?Query=waiter%20&mediaType=photo&sortBy=arrivaldatetime:desc&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=3031&currentItemNo=14">AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Finding the ‘quitters’</h2>
<p>While there’s been a ton of coverage of the sector’s <a href="https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/JTS7000QUR">record quit rate</a> – which dipped slightly to 5.8% in December – there’s less hard data on why hospitality workers are leaving their jobs now and where they are going.</p>
<p>So as part of an ongoing project studying employee attrition, we asked Qualtrics – an employee and customer experience data-gathering company – to find people who worked in the hospitality sector before and during the COVID-19 pandemic and have since left the industry – a process that was exceedingly difficult. </p>
<p>We completed a qualitative unpublished pilot study in December 2021 to help inform a larger quantitative survey we’re working on right now. Our initial results, which include open-ended responses from 31 people, aren’t necessarily representative of all or even most workers who have quit their jobs but allow us to paint a more complete picture of what’s driving the decisions of these specific individuals. We asked them why they left, where they went and what could lure them back to a hospitality job. </p>
<p>We used their answers to construct questions that are appropriate for in-depth statistical analysis, which will then be administered to 350 people who agree to take part in the quantitative survey. Results of that survey will be available in a couple months. </p>
<h2>Why people are leaving</h2>
<p>Our first question focused on what drove people to not only quit their jobs but leave the hospitality sector. The most common responses related to health and safety concerns, burnout and issues involving managers or co-workers. </p>
<p>One of our respondents was a 35-year-old single mother who said she had been working in the food service industry for about five years before the pandemic hit. She quit her job four months later. </p>
<p>“My safety and my family’s safety were on the line and I was being overworked,” she said. </p>
<p>A 20-year-old man said he left the hotel industry during the pandemic after five years “because I truly wasn’t happy” and “didn’t have the will to keep going on.” </p>
<p>Another 35-year-old woman said she quit her job on a cruise ship because she cares for her elderly parents, who would be more at risk were they exposed to COVID-19. </p>
<p>“They didn’t care about our well-being,” she said. “I have family at home that can die if exposed to COVID.”</p>
<h2>Where did they go</h2>
<p>As for what the people in our survey decided to do after leaving the industry, the most common answer was to get more education. But others emphasized a desire to go into business for themselves or to a different type of service job, such as in retail. </p>
<p>A 21-year-old man who had been working at nightclubs for over three years said he quit to go to college.</p>
<p>Both the 35-year-old single mother and 20-year-old man said they decided to become self-employed. </p>
<p>Another 23-year-old single mother who had worked in food service before and during the pandemic left for retail, stating: “I got another job as a cashier and it was the only thing I could find at that moment.”</p>
<h2>Would they go back</h2>
<p>Most of our participants told us nothing would bring them back to these types of jobs – they were done with the industry. The 35-year-old single mother, for example, said there was nothing that could be done to bring her back now that she had moved on with her own business.</p>
<p>But others said better money or hours would help lure them back, as well as stronger managerial support. </p>
<p>[<em>Over 140,000 readers rely on The Conversation’s newsletters to understand the world.</em> <a href="https://memberservices.theconversation.com/newsletters/?source=inline-140ksignup">Sign up today</a>.]</p>
<p>A 42-year-old woman who spent nearly a decade in the food service industry said she would return for “better pay and more respect,” a sentiment echoed by others. </p>
<p>An 18-year-old woman said she quit a food service job because of a manager with a “really bad temper” who would “cuss at customers and employees.” She said that the only way she would go back to hospitality work is if a company showed her “that managers are actually there to help employees.”</p>
<p>“I would also like customers to be more patient and humble,” she added.</p>
<p><em>Updated to add new quit rate data.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/174588/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>New research shines light on what is driving hospitality workers – like waiters and hotel workers – to abandon the industry as part of the ‘great resignation.’Andrew Moreo, Assistant Professor of Hospitality Management and Director of Research, Florida International UniversityImran Rahman, Associate Professor of Consumer Behavior, Auburn UniversityLisa Cain, Associate Professor of Hospitality Leadership and Marketing Management, Florida International UniversityTrishna G. Mistry, Assistant Professor of Hospitality Management, University of South FloridaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1741682021-12-22T15:04:19Z2021-12-22T15:04:19ZOmicron: Rishi Sunak’s £1 billion business injection likely to need a booster almost immediately – economist<p>The new and more transmissible omicron variant threatens to be a tsunami for the NHS and the British economy. Reluctantly, the UK government passed new <a href="https://news.sky.com/story/covid-19-boris-johnson-announces-plan-b-restrictions-to-combat-spread-of-omicron-variant-12490130">“plan B” COVID restrictions</a>, requiring masks to be worn in shops and public transport, with a diktat to work from home if possible. The <a href="https://www.heraldscotland.com/politics/19799639.covid-scotland-nicola-sturgeon-issues-three-week-covid-restrictions-boxing-day/">devolved administrations</a> have <a href="https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/welsh-government-introduces-new-boxing-22526241">gone further</a>, including placing limits on indoor and outdoor gatherings. </p>
<p>So far, another national lockdown has not been announced. But the prime minister, Boris Johnson, <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2021/12/21/boris-johnson-rules-covid-restrictions-christmas-despite-omicron/">has warned</a> that further restrictions may be forthcoming some time after Christmas Day, if the number of omicron cases and hospitalisations get out of control. </p>
<p>Yet while the government is deliberating on whether – or when – to impose new COVID restrictions, the public appear to be one step ahead. Concerns about omicron have led to a <a href="https://www.reuters.com/markets/europe/uk-retail-sales-growth-slides-omicron-hits-cbi-2021-12-21/">dramatic fall</a> in high-street footfall at the traditionally busiest time of the year. Hospitality has been especially hit, with bookings for Christmas parties and lunches cancelled and omicron probably also affecting the sector’s food supply chain. Businesses in the sector are estimated to have lost <a href="https://www.ukhospitality.org.uk/news/590608/Weekend-hospitality-sales-plummet-by-40-amid-fears-of-another-lockdown.htm">40% to 60%</a> of their trade in December. </p>
<p><a href="https://dailybusinessgroup.co.uk/2021/12/sunak-unveils-1-billion-fund-for-covid-hit-firms/">In response</a>, the chancellor of the exchequer, Rishi Sunak, has announced an emergency support package of £1 billion for business, with a focus on the leisure and hospitality sector. These businesses can apply for cash grants of up to £6,000, while there is also some assistance to cover staff sick pay. </p>
<p>While welcome, however, this package is unlikely to be sufficient. Many pubs and clubs could be expected to take in this sort of revenue (and more) in an evening or over a weekend – especially during the festive period. There is no furlough scheme for displaced employees in the sector or support for those on zero-hour contracts, whose hours will be reduced due to falling demand. There is also no support for the retail sector. </p>
<p>If omicron is as severe as some projections suggest, then a post-Christmas lockdown is very much on the cards. If that happens, more government support will need to be forthcoming. Yet it might come too late for the thousands of businesses and livelihoods that are already struggling with the impact of the new variant, so it would have been wiser for the government to do more for businesses earlier. </p>
<h2>Misapprehensions around public debt</h2>
<p>Sunak is reportedly keen to establish his fiscal conservative credentials and <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2021/12/20/lengthy-battle-christmas-covid-restrictions-ministers-stood/">has been one</a> of the voices around the cabinet table arguing against further COVID restrictions. But prioritising fiscal conservatism at present feels like a misunderstanding of where we are in this crisis. </p>
<p>The pandemic is a once in a lifetime shock that requires bold and decisive action on both health measures and on the economy. In this regard, the government is not as fiscally constrained as the mainstream media often portrays. While government borrowing is at post-war highs, UK gilt yields are very low, which means the cost of <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-57912347">servicing any new debt</a> (as a proportion of GDP) is negligible. </p>
<p>It is also important to stress that the government does not operate like a typical household. Treasury bonds or gilts are largely purchased by the Bank of England, which is owned by the government even though it acts independently, so technically the government can never really run out of money. We also saw how economies that took quick, tough action on COVID in the early stages of the pandemic <a href="https://theconversation.com/data-from-45-countries-show-containing-covid-vs-saving-the-economy-is-a-false-dichotomy-150533">performed relatively better</a>.</p>
<p>Failure to act now, and decisively, on both COVID and the economy, not only threatens the long-term health but also the wealth of the nation.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/174168/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Phil Tomlinson receives funding from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) as part of the Made Smarter - People Led Digitalisation project. </span></em></p>By prioritising prudence over business support, the chancellor will probably do more harm in the long run.Phil Tomlinson, Full Professor in Industrial Strategy Deputy Director Centre for Governance, Regulation and Industrial Strategy (CGR&IS), University of BathLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1546092021-04-09T13:01:36Z2021-04-09T13:01:36ZPubs are reopening but research shows contact tracing still isn’t working – here’s how to fix it<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/394253/original/file-20210409-17-1akn2pa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=7%2C21%2C4765%2C2919&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Every customer must sign in when pubs reopen.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/young-people-toasting-beer-wearing-open-1937176303">View Apart/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Contact tracing is vital to supporting public safety during the COVID-19 pandemic. But rather than providing truthful information, it seems many people lie when asked to provide their contact details. Police officers in Australia, for example, have <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/aug/11/privacy-concerns-over-australian-businesses-collecting-data-for-covid-contact-tracing">complained</a> that people have been writing the names “Donald Duck” and “Mickey Mouse” on contact tracing forms. </p>
<p>Governments need to be able to fully trace citizens who have been exposed to COVID-19, and without the correct contact information, it’s impossible to do this. And it could potentially pose a serious threat to public safety when more restrictions are lifted and when the third lockdown in the UK properly comes to an end.</p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2021.102867">Our new research</a> looks at people’s experiences of contract tracing and how to improve the system to ensure everyone’s health and safety. We conducted studies in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the US. Initially, we surveyed 240 participants and found that most of them (74%) encountered contact tracing at hospitality venues. But that only 24% of them provided correct and complete information each time. About 68% chose their reluctance to cooperate was due to their concerns about privacy.</p>
<p>Next, we interviewed participants to address their privacy concerns. And also found what would help customers to better cooperate and have more trust when their personal information is collected and stored. Lastly, we conducted another survey with 365 participants to test our ideas. </p>
<h2>Reassurance about data needed</h2>
<p>We found that one of the reasons many people ended up giving false information is because they don’t feel fully comfortable giving their personal details but they still wanted to be polite and helpful. So in giving a false name, it allows them to fulfil the request without causing any problems or making a scene. </p>
<p>We also heard from our participants that if businesses showed how their contact details would actually be stored and gave a better sense of their capability to handle contact tracing professionally, they would feel more inclined to comply with the request. This makes a lot of sense because, of course, many people are scared about data breaches and privacy invasion. So they care about the business’s ability and professionalism to manage their information. </p>
<p>Our research shows that people are more likely to share their truthful information if they have confidence in a business’s competence to manage their data. One thing that people we spoke to mentioned was for businesses to make sure that contact tracing spreadsheets are not misused (many women <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/life/test-trace-used-harass-women-already/">have reported</a> being harassed after handing over their contact details) and can’t be seen by other <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-06-14/covid-confusion-as-cafes-warned-about-privacy-dangers/12351314">customers</a>. </p>
<h2>Government backing is key</h2>
<p>It’s also clear that contact tracing should not be <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-10-31/covid-19-check-in-data-using-qr-codes-raises-privacy-concerns/12823432">outsourced to companies</a> with unclear privacy rules. Instead, it should be supported by governments. We found that if governments support contact tracing through strong data protection regulation and technology, people feel safe to disclose truthful information. </p>
<p>In this way then, governments can play a big role in helping to encourage people to cooperate with contact tracing at hospitality venues. And they can do this by <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/venues-required-by-law-to-record-contact-details">requiring businesses</a> to follow strong data protection policies. Governments can also enforce penalties if companies do not follow the rules.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="People queuing outside a pub." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/394254/original/file-20210409-17-hanevb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/394254/original/file-20210409-17-hanevb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/394254/original/file-20210409-17-hanevb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/394254/original/file-20210409-17-hanevb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/394254/original/file-20210409-17-hanevb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/394254/original/file-20210409-17-hanevb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/394254/original/file-20210409-17-hanevb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">With pubs about to reopen again, it’s feared case numbers could begin to rise.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/london-england-may-31-2020-traditional-1745736242">Chaz Bharj/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The process needs to be standardised</h2>
<p>Another thing that came up time and time again from our participants was the fact that businesses have different contact tracing systems – making it hard to fully trust how each method works. This is then more likely to lead to people giving false information to avoid engaging with each system.</p>
<p>This is why contact tracing needs to be a standardised process no matter which hospitality venue people visit. For example, <a href="https://www.restaurantnz.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Level-2-Guidelines-for-operating-_PublicHealthOrder_v7_.pdf">the Restaurant Association of New Zealand</a> has taken the lead in providing support for restaurants and cafes to conduct standardised contact tracing. This has helped to gain more cooperation from people as they know what to expect at each venue.</p>
<h2>Word of mouth helps</h2>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2020.102815">Research</a> shows that people rely on others’ words as “social proof” to guide their own behaviours. This is known as the “bandwagon effect”. And in terms of contact tracing essentially means that people will feel less sceptical about sharing their information when they’ve been told by others that contact tracing is important and safe. </p>
<p>This is why governments and businesses should launch <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/php/contact-tracing-comms-graphics.html#slows-spread">social media campaigns</a> to encourage people to share their positive thoughts about contact tracing. With positive word of mouth, more and more people will accept contact tracing as a new social norm. And as a result others will be more likely to follow in their footsteps and disclose truthful information.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/154609/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>What restaurants, bars and pubs can do to help people happily hand over their data.Donia Waseem, Lecturer in Marketing, University of BradfordJoseph Chen, Lecturer/assistant professor in Marketing, Macquarie UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1545852021-02-19T11:09:27Z2021-02-19T11:09:27ZBritish people are really missing the pub – here’s why<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/382733/original/file-20210205-21-1jf7cgj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C3100%2C1963&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/group-happy-friends-drinking-toasting-beer-1085215253">View Apart/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The events of the past year have had a <a href="https://www.morningadvertiser.co.uk/Article/2020/09/14/How-many-pubs-have-closed-by-September-2020">devastating impact</a> on the hospitality sector in the UK. At the forefront of lockdown’s sacrifices for many is the closure of an institution that is a cornerstone of british culture – the pub. </p>
<p>An <a href="https://www.morningadvertiser.co.uk/Article/2020/12/09/How-many-pubs-closed-in-2020">estimated 2500 pubs</a> closed during 2020, accelerating an already <a href="https://inews.co.uk/news/uk/british-pubs-closing-how-we-can-save-them-138877">existing trend</a> prior to COVID-19. While the likes of celebrity pub owner <a href="https://inews.co.uk/news/long-reads/saving-britains-pubs-tom-kerridge-interview-second-lockdown-pubs-745962">Tom Kerridge</a> and beer writer <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/jan/23/pubs-britain-fabric-properly-helped-lockdown-locals">Pete Brown</a> lead efforts to raise awareness about the plight of Britain’s pubs, many people find themselves <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/food-and-drink/features/pubs-stay-closed-may-will-miss-much-just-beer/">longing for the unique atmosphere</a> of their favourite “local”.</p>
<p>What people miss most about pubs right now has little to do with buying and drinking alcohol – after all, those habits have continued largely unhindered in the form of <a href="https://alcoholchange.org.uk/blog/2020/drinking-in-the-uk-during-lockdown-and-beyond">home drinking</a>. Instead, it’s the opportunity to be around and interact with other people.</p>
<p>Pubs are recognised as <a href="https://theconversation.com/rural-pubs-really-do-make-countryside-communities-happier-but-they-are-closing-at-an-alarming-rate-72231">important assets</a> to their communities, providing economic and <a href="http://beergroupinquiry.com/index.html">social value</a> alike. They’re also an excellent example of what the American scholar Ray Oldenburg calls the “third place”, a space other than the home or workplace where people meet to interact and maintain relationships.</p>
<p>These spaces were hugely valuable but increasingly under threat even before COVID-19, with the existance of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/sep/04/britain-shared-spaces-pubs-youth-clubs-libraries-austerity">pubs, youth clubs and libraries</a> already impacted by recent years of austerity policies and technological changes. But well-run pubs offer something that, in spite of some admirable efforts like <a href="https://camra.org.uk/press_release/camra-invites-new-labour-leader-for-a-pint-down-the-virtual-pub/">virtual pubs</a>, is difficult to recreate at home: a truly offline, in-person social experience.</p>
<h2>Social interaction</h2>
<p>Even before the pandemic, loneliness was <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/2yzhfv4DvqVp5nZyxBD8G23/who-feels-lonely-the-results-of-the-world-slargest-loneliness-study">widespread in Britain</a>. </p>
<p>Through a collaboration with the <a href="https://www.campaigntoendloneliness.org/about-the-campaign/">Campaign to End Loneliness</a>, I’ve been researching the role that pubs play in tackling social isolation and loneliness. The <a href="https://repository.lboro.ac.uk/articles/report/Open_arms_the_role_of_pubs_in_tackling_loneliness/13663715">resulting report</a> highlights the important social role that pubs play in bringing people together and fostering meaningful and valuable social interaction. Pubs are about much more than getting drunk.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Man drinking alone at a table in a pub" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/382734/original/file-20210205-17-1iitxc8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/382734/original/file-20210205-17-1iitxc8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=383&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/382734/original/file-20210205-17-1iitxc8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=383&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/382734/original/file-20210205-17-1iitxc8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=383&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/382734/original/file-20210205-17-1iitxc8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=482&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/382734/original/file-20210205-17-1iitxc8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=482&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/382734/original/file-20210205-17-1iitxc8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=482&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Groups most at risk of isolation and loneliness, such as older men living alone after retirement or divorce, tend to benefit from going to the pub.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/brussels-belgium-apr-2-older-man-1073108027">Radiokafka/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Conducted before the pandemic, my research highlights the <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s41978-020-00068-x">variety of social interaction</a> that took place in pubs. This ranges from the “swift pint” to leisurely lunches with friends and close family as part of daytime outings, or to mark celebrations.</p>
<p>For others, pub going involved activities such as book groups, craft classes and <a href="https://pintofscience.co.uk/">public talks</a>, which <a href="https://theconversation.com/from-book-clubs-to-the-archers-how-to-reinvigorate-the-local-village-pub-129673">many pubs offered</a>. A number of participants also spoke of visiting pubs frequently but rarely drinking alcohol. For these people, good tea and coffee, a range of soft drinks and well-priced food were reasons to visit the pub.</p>
<p>The social aspect of going to the pub helps to provide opportunities for beneficial social interaction, which many people of different ages and backgrounds currently struggle to find elsewhere. Face-to-face interaction also helps to <a href="https://camra.org.uk/campaign_resources/friends-on-tap-a-report-for-camra/">build and maintain friendships</a> and social connections that serve as <a href="https://theconversation.com/loneliness-has-serious-health-risks-and-the-solution-is-social-23638">important protection</a> against the harmful effects of loneliness. This is particularly true for groups most at risk of social isolation and loneliness, such as <a href="https://www.bristol.ac.uk/media-library/sites/policybristol/PolicyBristol-PolicyReport-51-Apr2019-OMAM.pdf">older men</a> living alone after retirement or divorce.</p>
<p>As one retiree in his 70s told me, a trip to the pub could give him the chance of “being with people”. He said: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>There’s nothing I like better than being able to talk to people […] not just about silly things but having a good laugh and, you know, generally speaking, bringing yourself out of what you’ve been doing and what you haven’t been doing.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Chronic loneliness has been likened to a <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/articles/201803/cure-disconnection">negative feedback loop</a>, where the anxiety and loss of social confidence caused by feeling lonely leads to avoiding social settings, resulting in further isolation. Going to the pub, a socially active and pleasurable activity, can help to create positive reinforcement. Increased socialising builds confidence, which in turn encourages further involvement in social events and local community activities.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Bearded grey-haired men drinking alcohol and playing cards at a table with drinks" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/382735/original/file-20210205-16-epvgs4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/382735/original/file-20210205-16-epvgs4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/382735/original/file-20210205-16-epvgs4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/382735/original/file-20210205-16-epvgs4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/382735/original/file-20210205-16-epvgs4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/382735/original/file-20210205-16-epvgs4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/382735/original/file-20210205-16-epvgs4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Not everyone goes to the pub for the chance to drink alcohol.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/cards-smartphone-bearded-greyhaired-men-drinking-1475757602">Dmytro Zinkevych/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>As the landlady of a rural village pub told me, the varied activities the pub hosted were “filling a gap” in her village, which otherwise lacked options for residents to interact and bond. Describing the “stitch and natter” craft groups that had proved popular with local residents, she recalled how “we’ve got a couple of ladies that have never done any crafting before and [they are] learning off people”.</p>
<h2>Restorative hospitality</h2>
<p>My findings add new urgency to the wider debates about how best to limit, mitigate or prevent the many damaging effects of social isolation and loneliness. When the pandemic eases, and only when it is safe to do so, it will be important to embrace the role that such social spaces can play. Pubs could even start to offer forms of “restorative hospitality”, where pubs and other public social spaces help to rekindle the social lives disrupted by the pandemic.</p>
<p>While pubs are not the only venues that will likely play this role, they do offer a clear example of the social infrastructure that will need to be preserved or rebuilt following the pandemic. From <a href="https://www.bowltogether.org/">bowling alleys</a> to cafes, the spaces where we come together socially all help build and maintain the social connections that are <a href="https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/tips-for-everyday-living/loneliness/tips-to-manage-loneliness/">vital to managing loneliness</a>.</p>
<p>If these venues are to offer these services, it’s important to remember that skilled and experienced pub staff are adept at creating introductions between customers that facilitate social interaction and help forge connections that might not otherwise have occurred. </p>
<p>After the pandemic, when pubs can safely reopen, it will be more important than ever that the hospitality sector <a href="https://inews.co.uk/inews-lifestyle/food-and-drink/hospitality-minister-boris-johnson-new-cabinet-position-campaign-petition-829643">receives support and recognition</a>. Hearing the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/food/2020/may/29/the-thing-i-miss-most-in-lockdown-now-pub-beer-gardensgrace-dent">much missed</a> sound of laughter with friends once more will be an important step in the recovery for both people and communities.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/154585/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Thomas Thurnell-Read receives funding from the Campaign to End Loneliness. Heineken UK was also a non-funding partner for his research.</span></em></p>Pubs are recognised as important assets to their communities, providing economic and social value alike.Thomas Thurnell-Read, Senior Lecturer in Sociology, Loughborough UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1533802021-01-21T21:48:42Z2021-01-21T21:48:42ZHow new and ‘auld’ acquaintances are celebrating Scotland’s national bard on Robbie Burns Day<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/379998/original/file-20210121-17-obls.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Both governments and community organizations promote Robert Burns suppers. Here, an official United Kingdom government photo shows the haggis brought in at the British Prime Minister's residence, Jan. 22, 2018. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Number 10/Flickr)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Jan. 25 is the day when people in Scotland and around the world fete <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/arts/robertburns">Scotland’s national bard, Robert (“Rabbie” or “Robbie”) Burns</a>. </p>
<p>The 18th-century poet’s radical <a href="https://www.scotsman.com/arts-and-culture/robert-burns-politics-were-open-secret-civil-service-1432455">messages of political equality</a> penned in a <a href="https://books.google.ca/books/about/Burns_the_Radical.html?id=QkdaAAAAMAAJ&redir_esc=y">time of populist agitation against the state</a> have attracted both long-standing popular interest and scholarly debate. Scholars have also explored an <a href="https://books.openedition.org/pufc/9088?lang=en">ecological consciousness that pervades his work</a>. </p>
<p>While <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-30878982">Burns’s womanizing</a> and his rebuke of <a href="https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/robert-burns">orthodox religion and conventional morality</a> often attract popular attention, now as in his time (1759-96), the quality and substance of his poetry continue to capture the imagination. </p>
<p>Burns embraced the <a href="https://slate.com/human-interest/2014/08/despite-disputes-over-whether-scots-is-separate-language-or-dialect-of-english-scots-wikipedia-showcases-vibrant-speaker-and-editor-community.html">vocabulary of his native lowland region of Scotland</a>. In “A Red, Red Rose,” he spoke of: “<a href="https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/43812/a-red-red-rose">luve … Till a’ the seas gang dry</a>.” </p>
<p><a href="https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/highland-games">Like Highland games</a> that are organized across the globe, and tartans worn at weddings worldwide, Burns has become an essential part of Scotland’s brand in a <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Tourism-Land-and-Landscape-in-Ireland-The-Commodification-of-Culture/James/p/book/9780367868765">globalized era where markers of national difference</a> are central to tourism. <a href="https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781611480306/Robert-Burns-in-Global-Culture">Both Burns and the suppers that celebrate him have proven remarkably malleable symbols</a> worldwide of the Scottish nation <a href="https://doi.org/10.1386/hosp.9.2.161_1">and Scottish hospitality</a>.</p>
<h2>Festive and flexible</h2>
<p>Burns supper traditions are held on the bard’s date of birth. These events have proven remarkably festive, flexible and open, something that matters in the context of <a href="https://www.centreonconstitutionalchange.ac.uk/news-and-opinion/multicultural-scotland">an increasingly</a> <a href="https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/files//statistics/nrs-visual/pop-cob-nat-19-20/pop-cob-nat-19-20-info.pdf">culturally and racially diverse Scotland</a>, where some are involved in <a href="https://www.scotsman.com/lifestyle/family/scottish-independence-could-scotlands-2021-election-provoke-second-referendum-and-what-has-boris-johnson-said-3084790">articulating a vision for independence</a>. Unlike other <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/politics/eu_referendum/results">parts of the United Kingdom, Scotland</a> voted <a href="https://www.gov.scot/brexit/#:%7E:text=The%20people%20of%20Scotland%20voted,elements%20of%20the%20future%20relationship.">to stay within the EU</a>. </p>
<p>In recent years, organizers in Scotland have planned <a href="https://www.scottishfield.co.uk/culture/whatson/big-burns-supper-event-has-something-for-all">LGTBQ+ Burns themed</a> events and a <a href="https://bemis.org.uk/swf-events">kosher Burns supper</a>. The organization Glasgow Afghan United has brought Burns <a href="https://www.thenational.scot/news/15898026.pictures-burns-rumi-celebrated-scotlands-afghan-community/">into dialogue with 13th century Sufi poet Rumi</a> while serving both haggis and Afghan biryani. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1087493523077779456"}"></div></p>
<p>Scholar Nathalie Duclos who has researched the movement for Scottish independence and the 2014 referendum notes the governing Scottish National Party (SNP) has advanced a conception of Scotland as a <a href="https://journals.openedition.org/rfcb/856">social democratic society while emphasizing Scottish citizenship “based on residency rather than ancestry.”</a></p>
<p>Many Scots are now <a href="https://theconversation.com/scotland-could-vote-to-separate-in-2021-testing-canadas-independence-formula-151975">pushing for a second independence referendum</a>, which some hope will allow the country to embark on a new partnership with Europe and the wider world. The SNP argues that <a href="https://doi.org/10.4000/osb.1807">progressivism provides a logic for independent nationhood</a>. </p>
<p>This year, as COVID-19 hinders get-togethers and forces adaptations, could Burns be just the figure to supply both Scotland and the world with a symbol of Scotland’s progressivism, adaptability and inclusivity? </p>
<h2>Supper: haggis, ‘neeps’ and ‘tatties’</h2>
<p>The customary Burns supper boasts colourful Scottish regalia, good-humoured speeches and, of course, the country’s famous dish of haggis (a savoury, encased pudding of sheep organs, onion, oatmeal, suet and spice), with the traditional accompaniments of “neeps” (turnips) and “tatties” (potatoes). </p>
<p>The Selkirk Grace — a <a href="https://www.visitscotland.com/about/famous-scots/robert-burns/burns-night">short, evocative prayer written in the Scots vernacular —precedes the meal</a>. Often it seems as if the haggis takes centre stage. The humble pudding is piped into the event, and all are treated to <a href="https://www.scottishpoetrylibrary.org.uk/poem/address-haggis/">Burns’ whimsical “Address to a Haggis.”</a></p>
<p>The haggis is toasted before guests tuck into this Scottish delicacy. The customary order of the evening, which involves liberal offerings of whisky drams, include a keynote speaker who extols Burns. </p>
<p>Another offers a “Toasts to the Lassies,” traditionally written and offered by a male, ideally a mixture of “gallantry and farce” that references’ Burns’s verse, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KuXlKBXi_kE">according to Scottish writer Alasdair Hutton</a>, a veteran toaster. Following this is an often-ribald reply from “the lassies” to “the laddies.” </p>
<p>The event typically wraps up with a rousing version of Burns’ <a href="https://www.scotland.org/features/the-history-and-words-of-auld-lang-syne">“Auld Lang Syne,” known the world over as the song that rings in the New Year</a>. </p>
<p>The Burns supper is a highlight of the Scottish calendar, along with <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/20556587">St. Andrew’s Day and Hogmanay (the two-day celebration of the new year)</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Food on a table." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/380018/original/file-20210121-15-mwhm8l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/380018/original/file-20210121-15-mwhm8l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/380018/original/file-20210121-15-mwhm8l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/380018/original/file-20210121-15-mwhm8l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/380018/original/file-20210121-15-mwhm8l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/380018/original/file-20210121-15-mwhm8l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/380018/original/file-20210121-15-mwhm8l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The traditional meal includes haggis, ‘neeps’ (turnips) and ‘tatties’ (potatoes).</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Global Burns</h2>
<p>This year, for many, Burns Night will depart from convention. On the Mediterranean island of Malta, there will be no Burns supper in 2021, reports John Lejman, a long-time member of the Saint Andrew Society that organizes suppers. But in Dunedin, New Zealand, success in containing the novel coronavirus means <a href="https://otagomuseum.nz">the event is expected to unfold much like it has in previous years</a>, says Seán Brosnahan, a Burns supper organizer. </p>
<p>In Canada, the Scottish Society of Ottawa (the chilly home city of <a href="https://www.kiltskate.com/">the Kilt Skate event</a>) is <a href="https://ottscot.ca">hosting a virtual celebration</a> that includes a pre-taped address from <a href="http://www.grahammctavish.com">Scottish actor Graham McTavish</a> of <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3006802/"><em>Outlander</em> fame</a>. Going virtual has spurred collaboration with the St. Andrew’s Society of Montréal and others. </p>
<p>The event will highlight Burns’ ecological message by virtually showcasing <a href="https://www.cryptic.org.uk/portfolio/primordial-waters">“Primordial Waters,” a collaborative sound and video display by Glasgow-based artist Heather Lander and musician and composer Alex Smoke</a>. This work, with its water focus, resonates with the Scotland’s <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-50808243">priorities around climate change</a> in the run up to COP26 — the UN climate conference <a href="https://ukcop26.org">in Glasgow later this year</a>. </p>
<figure>
<iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/352471599" width="500" height="281" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen="" mozallowfullscreen="" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">‘Primordial Waters.’</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Its place at a Burns supper reminds us that Rabbie Burns can be invoked and involved in a variety of ambitious new political programs, including a <a href="https://www.gov.scot/policies/climate-change">net-zero carbon emissions policy that the Scottish Government is pursuing to position itself as a world leader</a>.</p>
<h2>Re-fashioning the lowland Scot</h2>
<p>In Burns’s homeland, <a href="https://www.nts.org.uk/visit/places/robert-burns-birthplace-museum/highlights/burns-cottage">in Burns Cottage</a>, where the first recorded supper was held in 1801, <a href="https://friendsofrbbm.org.uk">a virtual Burns supper is in the works</a>. The Black and Ethnic Minorities Infrastructure in Scotland, a Scottish government body, is offering small grants “<a href="https://bemis.org.uk/swf-fund-burns-day-2021">to bring multicultural Burns Nights to homes across the country</a>,” and notes that “diverse ethnic and <a href="https://bemis.org.uk/swf-fund-burns-day-2021">cultural minority communities are key elements of Scotland’s past, present and future</a>.”</p>
<p>Researchers at the University of Glasgow are mapping over 2,500 Burns suppers <a href="https://burnsc21.glasgow.ac.uk/supper-map">globally and capturing their activities in a digital inventory</a>. The study is led by <a href="https://www.gla.ac.uk/schools/critical/staff/gerardcarruthers/">Gerard Carruthers, professor of Scottish literature</a>, and <a href="https://www.gla.ac.uk/schools/critical/staff/paulmalgrati/#biography">Paul Malgrati, who wrote a PhD on Burns in Scottish politics</a>. It reveals the global reach of an event rooted in history, but adapting to new contexts.</p>
<p>Whether in your household or as a participant connecting virtually on Burns Night this year, festivities are an occasion to raise a dram to Rabbie Burns — a poet whose verses may have been penned in a regional tongue, but who is claimed as an inspiration around the world. </p>
<p>The toast is not just for verses that have transcended centuries, but for the man who penned them, who in death has proven to be Scotland’s most resilient and versatile icon.</p>
<p><em>This is a corrected version of a story originally published Jan. 21, 2021. The earlier story incorrectly identified Alex Smoke.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/153380/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Both Burns and the suppers that celebrate him have proven remarkably malleable symbols worldwide of the Scottish nation and Scottish hospitality.Kevin James, Professor, History, University of GuelphAndrew P. Northey, Research Assistant, Centre for Scottish Studies, University of GuelphDylan Parry-Lai, Research Assistant, Centre for Scottish Studies, University of GuelphLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1501952021-01-07T14:50:34Z2021-01-07T14:50:34ZGoing to the cinema in Lagos isn’t just about the movie that’s showing<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/374221/original/file-20201210-20-1xjh2po.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Nigerian director Kunle Afolayan speaks with passengers aboard a flight during the premiere of his film, The CEO.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Florian Placheur/AFP/Getty</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Going to the movies is a favourite hobby of many young people in Lagos, Nigeria’s most populous city. As the centre of the country’s media and art industry, Lagos vibrates with culture and entertainment. It is home to a massive creative ecosystem including film production and exhibition, theatre, music, photography, fashion, hospitality and festive events.</p>
<p>Lagos is also the capital of <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/27666895?seq=1">Nollywood</a>, Nigeria’s prolific movie industry. It’s the seat of Nigeria’s cinema culture, boasting the highest number of movie theatres and distribution companies in the country. The leading Nigerian cinema chain, Filmhouse Cinemas, has 12 cinemas. Lagos alone accounts for <a href="https://filmhouseng.com/cinemas">six</a>, while other cities have one each. </p>
<p>There is limited research into the makeup of African cinema audiences. The existing information tend to be anecdotal evidence of censorship and social media commentary. Cinema audiences carry important data. Who are they and how do their demographic details influence their interpretation of the films? </p>
<p>To understand more, I conducted a <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/13696815.2019.1615871?casa_token=Y1S0c4ySfGQAAAAA:eFhSiCu4hooxYLVV5NtrTJdFfBVDAqmN5kJv3krzZxtJzSSR1MwdBteQn9DCGFi6uuDp-T0cZpS5wNk">study</a> of cinema-goers in Lagos, based on demographics and habits. The dominant group were young, educated women who visit the cinemas as part of a social and networking experience. They also view the practice as aspirational.</p>
<h2>The cinema-going audience and why they go</h2>
<p>Audience studies are crucial to the cinema business. Filmmakers gain insights into what movies to produce, cinema operators learn more about their income sources. Companies also learn the optimum number of screenings to hold, how long to keep a film in the cinema, and other valuable data.</p>
<p>With the help of assistants, I interviewed cinema-goers across 3 movie theatres in Lagos, on the opening weekend of a popular Nollywood film–Kunle Afolayan’s <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5036924/"><em>CEO</em></a>. I analysed the data using demographics and their corresponding habits to understand movie watchers’ behaviour.</p>
<p>Young people aged 26-35 made up the dominant cinema audience in Lagos. This group was mostly made up of college-educated women, who attended their neighbourhood cinemas on weekends, in the company of friends and dates. Cinemas were packed on evenings, starting heavy on Fridays and thinning out by late Sunday.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/373249/original/file-20201207-19-lyt0mm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Two men smiling and waving." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/373249/original/file-20201207-19-lyt0mm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/373249/original/file-20201207-19-lyt0mm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/373249/original/file-20201207-19-lyt0mm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/373249/original/file-20201207-19-lyt0mm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/373249/original/file-20201207-19-lyt0mm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/373249/original/file-20201207-19-lyt0mm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/373249/original/file-20201207-19-lyt0mm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Nigerian director Kunle Afolayan and actor Wale Ojo pose for pictures at the premiere of a film.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Florian Plaucheur/AFP/ Getty Images</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Since 2004, Hollywood movies have dominated Nigerian cinemas and attracted the most audience. But that trend is rapidly changing with the emergence of high quality Nigerian films. Cinema-goers showed more enthusiasm for local movies made by prominent filmmakers and featured celebrity actors.</p>
<p>Audiences were also attracted by huge marketing and publicity efforts. Movie lovers crowded venues to see trailers, with the hope of meeting the filmmaker and actors in person. Many were willing to pay higher ticket prices for the experience. </p>
<p>Cinema-goers in Lagos were interested in the technical and aesthetic values of the production, and the quality of the acting. While they were largely drawn to romantic comedies, they sometimes enjoyed thrillers with strong narratives.</p>
<p>For many, cinema-going is a social process, which begins with one’s companion and continues with other viewers at the venue. Activities such as sharing expectations while in the queue at the box office, searching for online information about the film and deciding refreshment choices are all part of the cinema experience. </p>
<p>Many cinema-goers spend considerable time with their partners, including post-movie window-shopping at the mall. Audiences aren’t only focused on the movies. Other attractions include the entire experience of leaving their homes, being immersed in a modern, air-conditioned shopping mall, taking in the sights, sounds and smells from the shops in the building, seeing a mix of female and male fashion trends, running into acquaintances, seeing and being seen by people they aspire to be like, all without hurry.</p>
<p>At the mall, people took selfies and shared them on social media for their friends’ network. It was an announcement of how they wanted to be seen, their personal styling, where they had been, what they could afford and the relationships they were in. It provided the space for intimate conversations as well as other subjects of interest, not least the film of the day.</p>
<h2>Is cinema audience research important?</h2>
<p>Cinema audience research provides independent data that is not influenced by external sources. Cinema operators and other industry players collect their own data. But their efforts are often guided by economic and political interests. </p>
<p>Independent studies are crucial to understanding this aspect of cultural production and circulation. The competition among cinema owners, and the government’s quest for taxes could affect the credibility of data generated by cinema chains.</p>
<p>With the loss of revenue to cinema chains due to the pandemic, this type of research is bound to be digital. As Showmax, Netflix, iROKOtv and other video-on-demand platforms vie for online viewers, it remains to be seen if cinemas will return to pre-COVID positions. But the research has to continue wherever film audiences convene.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/150195/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Añulika Agina does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>In Lagos, cinema audiences don’t go to the movies for the film alone. There’s more.Añulika Agina, Senior lecturer, Pan Atlantic UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1487022020-12-08T16:28:21Z2020-12-08T16:28:21ZSARS didn’t prepare the hospitality industry for the prolonged impact of COVID-19<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/373166/original/file-20201205-17-pvv2k1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=32%2C0%2C5400%2C3046&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The Fairmont Royal York Hotel in Toronto. After the SARS pandemic in 2003, Toronto hotels faced a recovery period.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>A virulent virus, worried travellers and a tourism sector on the brink. Sounds like 2020? In fact, this was the experience in a few global cities in 2002 and 2003. </p>
<p>Toronto was one of them. The city’s battle against a deadly virus — and the struggle for the rehabilitation of its damaged tourism sector — offers lessons for cities wondering how they will navigate a post-COVID world. And even plan for the next crisis, whenever it arrives. </p>
<p>Hotels, as places of refuge, pleasure, business and also contagion, are important places to explore how the tourism sector pilots its way through pandemics. The experience with SARS offers sobering lessons for Toronto and urban tourist destinations globally.</p>
<h2>Similar impacts of SARS and COVID-19</h2>
<p>How are the tourism crises of 2002-03 and today similar, and how do they differ? Both public health crisis resulted in <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/6710543/ontario-covid-19-measures-layoffs/">sudden, dramatic declines in hotel occupancy</a>. However, while all travel came to a sudden stop globally in 2020, the 2002-03 events centred on a few cities, with Toronto, Singapore and Hong Kong under the microscope. </p>
<p>Hotel occupancy rates in these cities recorded steep declines, as travellers headed elsewhere, businesses suspended events <a href="https://www.who.int/csr/sars/travel/airtravel/en/">and worried airlines and public health authorities</a> explored protocols such as the now-ubiquitous face masks.</p>
<p>The collapse in travel in winter 2020 occurred at a point when the overall economy and the travel sector were in robust shape and recording record profits. In 2002-03, circumstances were very different. Global travel had slowed due to the <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Business/story?id=86672&page=1">Iraq War</a>. Increasing documentation requirements and lingering concerns over security after 9/11 reduced cross-border traffic between Canada and the United States. </p>
<h2>Toronto hotels and SARS</h2>
<p>The arrival of SARS dealt a body blow to Canada’s largest city.</p>
<p>Both SARS and COVID-19 have had a severe impact on tourism and travel. Hotels are barometers of Toronto’s economic condition, and reveal the unequal impacts pandemics have on employment. Marginally employed people — immigrants and low-income workers — are over-represented among hotel workers. They lose their jobs quickly in the face of reduced demand. </p>
<p>Seasonal employment prospects also dim in the face of disruption. As in summer 2020, student summer employment was impacted in 2003, especially as Toronto entered the crucial summer months back, briefly, on the <a href="https://www.cmaj.ca/content/cmaj/168/11/1434.full.pdf">World Health Organization’s SARS travel advisory</a>. The blow dealt to the tourism sector locally was hard but, as it turned out, by no means fatal.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/373205/original/file-20201206-19-1bowie8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A woman in a black suit with a blue suitcase uses an Air Canada check-in kiosk at the airport. A sign with the text SARS is in the foreground." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/373205/original/file-20201206-19-1bowie8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/373205/original/file-20201206-19-1bowie8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=423&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/373205/original/file-20201206-19-1bowie8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=423&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/373205/original/file-20201206-19-1bowie8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=423&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/373205/original/file-20201206-19-1bowie8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=531&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/373205/original/file-20201206-19-1bowie8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=531&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/373205/original/file-20201206-19-1bowie8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=531&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A passenger checks in as a warning sign gives information about SARS at Pearson International Airport on May 30, 2003.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">CP PHOTO/Kevin Frayer</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Toronto’s experience with SARS suggests that once a place appears safe, reassured travellers return — with some coaxing and a lot of co-ordinated planning. In late spring 2003, Toronto businesses developed a co-ordinated response to recovery. Travel packages that included accommodation, restaurant reservations, sporting events and theatre tickets began to lure tourists back. This promotion was accompanied by an aggressive and <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/gas-chains-cutting-prices-to-encourage-toronto-travel-in-anti-sars-promotion-1.411220">co-ordinated roll-back of gasoline prices</a>. </p>
<h2>After SARS, a celebration</h2>
<p>The SARS crisis also led to the creation of a body for the tourism and hospitality sector, chaired by Tourism Toronto, which aimed to restore the city’s reputation. Local and provincial governments committed funds for advertising to reassure prospective tourists that Toronto was safe. The federal government also announced additional funds to promote Canada as a destination in international markets. </p>
<p>The most famous part of the reputation rehabilitation strategy was the hosting of the July 30, 2003, SARS benefit concert. Several hundred thousand fans cheered a lineup of world-famous musicians, headlined by the Rolling Stones. The results of <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/archives/the-2003-concert-that-rocked-toronto-after-sars-1.5650768">that mega-event</a> are hard to measure in terms of impact, <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news2/background/sarsbenefit/">despite the large and enthusiastic crowds that it drew</a>. Such an event is unimaginable today, with the timeline for the COVID-19’s defeat far off, and the certainty that doubts will linger about the wisdom of such boisterous, large-scale assemblies for a long time to come.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/qena0QraBHE?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">A CBC report on the 2003 SARS benefit concert.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In 2003, good news for the tourism sector arrived quickly. In fact, by late 2004, hotels were recording pre-SARS occupancy levels. It seemed as if the sector had dodged a bullet. But it had also dodged a critical opportunity to reflect on how new technologies and standards might reduce the impact of a future pandemic. And this is perhaps where the comparison proves most illuminating.</p>
<h2>After COVID-19?</h2>
<p>The hotel sector faces dramatically different conditions today. It is in the midst of a global pandemic affecting all sectors of the economy. SARS resulted <a href="https://www.who.int/csr/sars/country/2003_07_11/en/">in far fewer deaths</a>, over a shorter period of time, in a small number of major cities. </p>
<p>While the story of hotels’ recovery is inspiring, the pace was so fast that few paused to ask is larger lessons would be learned: What vulnerabilities might have been disguised in the rush to restore Toronto’s dynamic tourism sector? How could new technologies, systematic contingency planning and early detection systems might have become integrated into hotel management post-2003? </p>
<p>The greatest lesson of SARS may be how, amid the excited focus on recovery and a return to normalcy, so little thought was given to structurally prepare for the prospect of future crises. We need to keep these lessons in mind as we plan our emergence from COVID-19, and the resumption of travel.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/148702/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kevin James receives funding from the University of Guelph COVID-19 Research Development & Catalyst Fund.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jose Gabriel Alonzo receives funding from the University of Guelph COVID-19 Research Development & Catalyst Fund.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mark Holmes receives funding from the University of Guelph and SSHRC. Holmes is also a Board Member for the Canadian Travel and Tourism Research Association.</span></em></p>After SARS in 2003, an effort was made by Toronto’s tourism and hospitality industries to stimulate the sector’s recovery. But measures weren’t put in place for future pandemics.Kevin James, Professor, History, University of GuelphJose Gabriel Alonzo, Masters student, History, University of GuelphMark Holmes, Assistant Professor, Business and Economics, University of GuelphLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1482782020-10-16T14:25:19Z2020-10-16T14:25:19ZLookism: beauty still trumps brains in too many workplaces<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/363946/original/file-20201016-17-3rr2oa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">How to get ahead. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/businesswoman-applying-lipstick-while-preparing-work-1778800661">Ines Bazdar</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Universities position themselves as places where brains matter. It seems strange then that students at a US university would rate attractive academics to be better teachers. This <a href="https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/attractive-female-academics-rated-better-teachers">was the finding</a> of a <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0272775719307538?dgcid=coauthor">recent paper</a> from the University of Memphis, which concluded that female academics suffered most from this. </p>
<p>It raises an uncomfortable proposition, that beauty trumps brains even in 21st century workplaces. It would certainly be supported by veteran female broadcasters <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/2020/sep/22/bbc-subjects-older-women-to-lookism-says-libby-purves">such as</a> radio presenter Libby Purves, who recently complained about the way the BBC dispenses with women of a certain age. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.peoplemanagement.co.uk/news/articles/quarter-of-women-asked-to-dress-more-provocatively-for-video-meetings">Another survey</a>, this time in the UK, gave a deeper sense of the problem. It reported that employers were asking female employees to dress “sexier” and wear make-up during video meetings. </p>
<p>Published by law firm Slater and Gordon over the summer, and based on a poll of 2,000 office-based staff working from home during lockdown, the report found that 35% of women had experienced at least one sexist demand from their employer, usually relating to how they dressed for video meetings. Women also reported being asked to wear more makeup, do something to their hair or dress more provocatively. Reasons offered by their bosses were that it would “help win business” and be “pleasing to a client”.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/363945/original/file-20201016-13-8abs5e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Woman on zoom call at work" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/363945/original/file-20201016-13-8abs5e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/363945/original/file-20201016-13-8abs5e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/363945/original/file-20201016-13-8abs5e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/363945/original/file-20201016-13-8abs5e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/363945/original/file-20201016-13-8abs5e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/363945/original/file-20201016-13-8abs5e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/363945/original/file-20201016-13-8abs5e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Women get it worst.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/riga-latvia-april-04-2020-beautiful-1697168977">Girts Ragelis</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>It seems as though the shift to more virtual working has not eradicated what Danielle Parsons, an employment lawyer at Slater and Gordon, described as “archaic behaviour” which “has no place in the modern working world”. When employees’ performance is judged on the basis of their physical appearance, potentially shaping their pay and prospects in work, it is known as lookism. It’s not illegal, but arguably it should be. </p>
<h2>Beauty and the boss</h2>
<p>The Slater and Gordon survey findings affirm that many trends that we describe in our recent book, <a href="https://uk.sagepub.com/en-gb/eur/aesthetic-labour/book232313">Aesthetic Labour</a>, are widespread and continuing despite remote working. Our book reports over 20 years of research and thinking about this problem. Although our research started by focusing on frontline work in hospitality and retail, the same issue has expanded into a diverse range of roles including academics, traffic wardens, recruitment consultants, interpreters, TV news anchors and circus acrobats. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/363948/original/file-20201016-13-fep9ph.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Woman acrobat performing at circus" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/363948/original/file-20201016-13-fep9ph.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/363948/original/file-20201016-13-fep9ph.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=410&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/363948/original/file-20201016-13-fep9ph.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=410&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/363948/original/file-20201016-13-fep9ph.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=410&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/363948/original/file-20201016-13-fep9ph.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=515&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/363948/original/file-20201016-13-fep9ph.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=515&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/363948/original/file-20201016-13-fep9ph.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=515&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">No escaping it.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/aerial-acrobat-ring-young-girl-performs-1051991558">David Tadevosian</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Companies think that paying greater attention to employees’ appearance will make them more competitive, while public sector organisations think it will make them more liked. As a result, they are all becoming ever more prescriptive in telling employees how they should look, dress and talk. </p>
<p>It happens both to men and women, though more often to women, and is often tied in more broadly with sexualising them at work. For example, while Slater and Gordon found that one-third of men and women had “put up with” comments about their appearance during video calls, women were much likelier to face degrading requests to appear sexier. </p>
<p>When we analysed ten years of employees’ complaints about lookism to the Equal Opportunities Commission in Australia, we found that the proportion from men was rising across sectors but that two-thirds of complaints were still from women. Interestingly, the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0272775719307538?dgcid=coauthor">University of Memphis study</a> found no correlation for male academics between how their looks were perceived and how their performance was rated. </p>
<h2>Society’s obsession</h2>
<p>Of course, workplaces cannot be divorced from society in general, and within the book we chart the increasing obsession with appearance. This aestheticisation of individuals is partly driven by the ever-growing reach and importance of the beauty industry and a huge rise in cosmetic – now increasingly labelled aesthetic – surgery. </p>
<p>These trends are perhaps understandable given that those deemed to be “attractive” benefit from a “beauty premium” whereby they are more likely to get a job, more likely to get better pay and more likely to be promoted. Being deemed unattractive or lacking the right dress sense can be reasons to be denied a job, but they are not illegal. </p>
<p><a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/146954050200200302#:%7E:text=DEFINING%20THE%20AESTHETIC%20ECONOMY%20An,omic%20calculations%20of%20that%20setting.">Some researchers</a> have described an emerging aesthetic economy. Clearly this raises concerns about unfair discrimination, but without the legal protection afforded to, say, disabled people.</p>
<p>Not only has this trend continued during the pandemic, it might even have been compounded. With the first genuine signs of rising unemployment <a href="https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/employmentandemployeetypes/bulletins/employmentintheuk/october2020">reported this month</a>, research already suggests a <a href="https://www.recruitment-international.co.uk/blog/2020/08/job-applications-spike-by-more-than-1300-percent-for-some-roles">14-fold increase</a> in the number of applicants for some job roles. For example, one restaurant in Manchester had over <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/jul/28/eight-people-claiming-employment-support-for-every-vacancy-says-thinktank">1,000 applicants</a> for a receptionist position, while the upmarket pub chain All Bar One reported over 500 applicants for a single bar staff role in Liverpool. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/363949/original/file-20201016-21-g8dcdq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Woman pulling mask over her face" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/363949/original/file-20201016-21-g8dcdq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/363949/original/file-20201016-21-g8dcdq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=480&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/363949/original/file-20201016-21-g8dcdq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=480&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/363949/original/file-20201016-21-g8dcdq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=480&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/363949/original/file-20201016-21-g8dcdq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=603&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/363949/original/file-20201016-21-g8dcdq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=603&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/363949/original/file-20201016-21-g8dcdq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=603&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Beauty is your duty.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/woman-mask-human-face-eyes-136290545">aastock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Employers are now clearly spoilt for choice when it comes to filling available positions, and those perceived to be better looking will likely have a better chance. We know <a href="https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/IJCHM-04-2020-0314/full/html?skipTracking=true">from research</a> by the University of Strathclyde’s Tom Baum and his colleagues that the hospitality industry was precarious and exploitative enough even before COVID. </p>
<p>It all suggests that lookism is not going away. If we are to avoid the archaic practices of the old normal permeating the new normal, it is time to rethink what we expect from the workplace of the future. One obvious change that could happen is making discrimination on the basis of looks illegal. That would ensure that everyone, regardless of their appearance, has equal opportunity in the world of work to come.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/148278/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>It’s not just employers, it’s society in general.Christopher Warhurst, Professor of Work and Employment, University of WarwickDennis Nickson, Professor of Work, Employment and Organisation, University of Strathclyde Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1459452020-09-10T15:33:42Z2020-09-10T15:33:42ZEat Out to Help Out: crowded restaurants may have driven UK coronavirus spike – new findings<p>England is about <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-54093465">to re-impose</a> nationwide restrictions on gatherings to control the spread of COVID-19. This comes less than two weeks after the end of the government’s half-a-billion-pound scheme to get people to eat out in restaurants. Depending on how things go, we may look back on this scheme as the first step towards a second lockdown.</p>
<p>During August, the UK government ran the <a href="https://www.gov.uk/guidance/get-a-discount-with-the-eat-out-to-help-out-scheme">Eat Out to Help Out scheme</a> to get cash into the hands of hospitality businesses, boost confidence and encourage people back to the high street. </p>
<p>The government offered restaurant-goers a 50% discount on their meal, up to £10 per person, to eat out on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Over the month, the <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/taxpayers-pick-up-522m-eat-out-bill-5xlpz3g9d#:%7E:text=Britons%20had%20more%20than%20100,Mondays%20and%20Wednesdays%20last%20month.">government spent</a> £522 million of taxpayers’ money on more than 100 million of these subsidised meals. </p>
<p>Now that the scheme is over we can see if it achieved the government’s goals.</p>
<h2>People ate out</h2>
<p>It is hard to analyse a scheme like Eat Out to Help Out because people’s activity is volatile for numerous reasons. At the start of July, restaurants were still closed – under government orders. </p>
<p>By the start of August, people were beginning to go out again. So when looking at data in August, the question is: are any changes caused by the scheme, or do they reflect the gradual reopening after the lockdown was lifted in early July?</p>
<p>Because the Eat Out scheme only operated Monday to Wednesday, we can compare it to the other days (Thursday to Sunday) and then compare the difference to the long-run trend. Looking at data from <a href="https://www.opentable.com/state-of-industry">OpenTable</a>, a booking app covering thousands of restaurants, the scheme clearly enticed people to eat out (this data reports 2020 dining levels compared with 2019). Indeed, on days when the scheme was active, people ate out nearly twice as often.</p>
<p><strong>UK restaurant dining, July-August 2020</strong></p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/357481/original/file-20200910-18-2grtte.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Graph showing UK restaurant dining in July and August" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/357481/original/file-20200910-18-2grtte.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/357481/original/file-20200910-18-2grtte.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=336&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/357481/original/file-20200910-18-2grtte.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=336&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/357481/original/file-20200910-18-2grtte.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=336&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/357481/original/file-20200910-18-2grtte.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=422&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/357481/original/file-20200910-18-2grtte.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=422&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/357481/original/file-20200910-18-2grtte.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=422&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Based on OpenTable data, using author's analysis</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But we also have to consider the long-term trend: by the start of August, restaurant attendance had already bounced back to near 2019 levels. People were basically going out as normal, so the half-price discount scheme didn’t encourage a “return to normal”; it encouraged extravagant levels of eating out.</p>
<h2>Did it help out?</h2>
<p>When the scheme was announced, the hospitality response was <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/e060bb36-b9c4-4cb2-a1cc-4233644cc5a0">pleased but cautious</a>: will people stop eating out on the weekends; what will happen after August? </p>
<p>The OpenTable data suggests people still went out on Thursdays to Sundays. Google mobility data, which reports changes in the volume of trips people take to retail, hospitality, recreation and leisure establishments, paints a similar, if less dramatic, picture in the chart below.</p>
<p><strong>Hospitality/retail/leisure footfall, July-August 2020</strong></p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/357482/original/file-20200910-23-duuj7s.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Graph showing mobility levels at retail, hospitality, recreation and leisure establishments in July and August" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/357482/original/file-20200910-23-duuj7s.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/357482/original/file-20200910-23-duuj7s.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/357482/original/file-20200910-23-duuj7s.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/357482/original/file-20200910-23-duuj7s.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/357482/original/file-20200910-23-duuj7s.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/357482/original/file-20200910-23-duuj7s.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/357482/original/file-20200910-23-duuj7s.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Google mobility data, author's analysis</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But when the scheme ended, things went right back to where they would have been. At the start of September there were more outings than at the start of August, but no more than would have been expected based on the long-term trend of reopening. There seems to be virtually no lasting impact on people’s consumption.</p>
<p>How does that compare with the government’s goals? It definitely got cash into the hands of hospitality businesses (in the short term). It also got people back on the high street (on certain days). And did it boost confidence? Perhaps too much.</p>
<h2>Quick fixes have consequences</h2>
<p>At the same time as the scheme was operating, the UK started to see an uptick in COVID-19 cases. This overwhelmed <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-54072479">testing capacity</a> and caused some regions to reimpose restrictions.</p>
<p>It’s impossible to know what caused this: people were also coming back from summer holidays and spending more time with friends. Indeed, transmission rates were <a href="https://covid19.who.int/region/euro/country/gb">already creeping up</a> in early August, before there could have been any effect from the Eat Out scheme. But the rapid acceleration in the proportion of detected positive cases at the start of September is consistent with cases where infection occurred in mid-August.</p>
<p>It’s certainly worth considering the effect of a £10 discount at the pub. And the effect of concentrating people’s outings on just three days of the week.</p>
<p><strong>Positive cases as a % of tests carried out</strong></p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/357506/original/file-20200910-23-69kf01.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Chart showing percentage of positive test cases" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/357506/original/file-20200910-23-69kf01.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/357506/original/file-20200910-23-69kf01.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=351&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/357506/original/file-20200910-23-69kf01.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=351&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/357506/original/file-20200910-23-69kf01.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=351&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/357506/original/file-20200910-23-69kf01.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=442&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/357506/original/file-20200910-23-69kf01.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=442&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/357506/original/file-20200910-23-69kf01.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=442&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">UK government data/author's analysis</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Looking at the English regions, there is a loose correlation between uptake of the scheme and new cases in the last weeks of August. Again, this isn’t to say that the scheme caused those cases. But it certainly didn’t discourage those people from going out.</p>
<p><strong>Eat Out uptake and COVID transmission by region</strong></p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/357484/original/file-20200910-24-1bzdi0q.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Chart comparing COVID-19 transmission to uptake of Eat Out to Help Out" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/357484/original/file-20200910-24-1bzdi0q.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/357484/original/file-20200910-24-1bzdi0q.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/357484/original/file-20200910-24-1bzdi0q.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/357484/original/file-20200910-24-1bzdi0q.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/357484/original/file-20200910-24-1bzdi0q.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/357484/original/file-20200910-24-1bzdi0q.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/357484/original/file-20200910-24-1bzdi0q.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">New cases detected in the last two weeks of August, per 100,000 of population.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">UK government data/author's analysis</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Footing the bill</h2>
<p>The Eat Out scheme was a creative way to get money to struggling hospitality businesses, and that’s no small feat. But the party comes with a hangover. Businesses that hired new staff to manage extra demand face the prospect of even tighter restrictions (as is already happening <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-54072272">in Bolton</a> in north-west England). Not to mention a potential second lockdown, particularly given the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/education/2020/aug/08/boris-johnson-would-close-pubs-before-schools-in-local-covid-19-lockdown">“pubs or schools”</a> debate, with the government indicating it would sooner close pubs and restaurants if forced to choose.</p>
<p>In future, policymakers should heed the lessons from this experience. Rather than trying to encourage a big-bang “back to normal”, governments should settle in for the long haul: encouraging and establishing patterns of behaviour that are safe and consistent with a pandemic.</p>
<p>If the goal is to financially support businesses, many countries have simply continued to give them loans, debt relief or payroll subsidies. If the goal is to get people out and spending on high streets, policies should be designed to keep people spread out (for example, allowing people to spread consumption across the week, and including take-out).</p>
<p>And if the goal is to boost confidence so that people return to normal, well maybe we just can’t do that yet.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/145945/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Toby Phillips does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Why UK government would have been wiser to either stick to pure business subsidies or offer its August restaurant scheme seven days a week.Toby Phillips, Public Policy Researcher, University of OxfordLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1406052020-07-08T17:39:39Z2020-07-08T17:39:39ZSummer statement: Rishi Sunak goes all out for jobs, leaving public finances for another day<p>Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2020/07/08/stamp-duty-government-500-voucher-rishi-sunak-announcement-pmqs/">summer statement</a> on July 8 was intended to show how the government can quickly end its emergency bankrolling of the economy, and let a re-energised private sector take the strain again. Since the lockdown was imposed in March, a furlough scheme <a href="https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/coronavirus-furlough-number-hits-9-million-days-before-cut-off-092912511.html">has allowed</a> shuttered firms to retain up to 9 million idled employees – over one-third of the workforce – at an Exchequer <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/a39328ac-d998-4e51-a7cb-7b1ea5902856">cost so far</a> of £60 billion. </p>
<p>When the furlough scheme ends in October, Sunak has announced that it will be replaced by a £1,000 bonus for each employee retained until January 2021, at a maximum cost of £9 billion. There is also <a href="https://news.sky.com/story/coronavirus-chancellor-to-unveil-2bn-work-placements-scheme-in-recovery-package-12023429">the addition</a> of a £2 billion work-placement scheme, to open up jobs for the 700,000 school and university leavers unable to find one. </p>
<p>Amid a crisis that has highlighted the importance of public-sector workers, and <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/d936d27f-9e2b-4e6a-91f4-3940d6bf64cb">could well trigger</a> a deep recession, the government’s overwhelming concern is to prevent a jump in unemployment as the furlough scheme is wound down between August and October. The OECD is forecasting that the UK is heading for one of the highest rates in Europe – potentially rising fivefold to almost 15% if there is a second wave of coronavirus. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/jun/10/uk-economy-likely-to-suffer-worst-covid-19-damage-says-oecd">OECD also forecasts</a> in June that the UK could see a GDP decline of more than 11% for 2020, made worse by other industrial economies experiencing a similar slump. There had been hopes of a V-shaped UK recovery, spurred by an <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/coronavirus-recovery-v-shape-recession-uk-gdp-bank-england-andy-haldane-a9594741.html">upbeat comment</a> on May’s consumer-spending data by the Bank of England chief economist, Andy Haldane. </p>
<p>But the initial bounceback in sales may have been boosted by a one-off spree with the savings that people accumulated during lockdown. And if the V’s upward slope stops even slightly short of its downward slope, there will still be a painful shortfall in output and employment. </p>
<h2>Big spender</h2>
<p>The fact that the UK budget deficit <a href="https://obr.uk/docs/June-2020-Commentary-on-the-public-sector-finances.pdf">is soaring</a>, lifting total public debt above 100% of GDP for the first time since the early 1960s (when wartime debts were still being paid down). Yet the government’s judgement is that has to keep up the emergency spending, even as revenues fall sharply, until a firm recovery in production and employment is underway. </p>
<p>Indeed, the summer statement was notable for its continued focus on extra outlays – other new measures to boost the economy include a temporary VAT cut for the hospitality industry from 20% to 5% (costed at £4 billion), and a nine-month suspension of stamp duty on house purchases below £500,000 (removing at least another £1 billion in tax). </p>
<p>There is to be a Eat Out to Help Out scheme offering government-subsidised 50% discounts in restaurants in August, plus vouchers to help people pay to make their homes more energy efficient. The new measures <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-your-money-51841748">add another</a> £30 billion to the £175 billion of extra spending (and £130 billion of extra borrowing) announced in March. </p>
<p>As when <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/budget-speech-2020">Sunak announced</a> the first round of government supports in March, the difficult task of raising taxes or cutting other expenditures to lessen the increase in the deficit has been left to the more detailed budget announcements due in the autumn – or even later.</p>
<p>The task of keeping people in work has been made more difficult by <a href="https://home.kpmg/uk/en/home/media/press-releases/2019/05/zombies-are-a-major-drag-on-the-uk-economy-kpmg-analysis.html">evidence that</a> many firms were already “hoarding” labour before the pandemic, with some only staying in business because of record low interest rates. This was a reflection of over ten years of minimal growth in <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-boost-uk-productivity-after-coronavirus-133735">workforce productivity</a>, which ground to a halt after the global financial crisis of 2007-09. </p>
<p>The new work placement scheme – paying employers for up to six months to take on young workers – has been likened to <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/6124759/Gordon-Brown-to-give-job-guarantee-to-all-18-24-year-olds.html">The Future Jobs Fund</a> launched by Gordon Brown’s government after the financial crisis. A closer parallel may be the Youth Training Scheme with which the Thatcher government kept school leavers in jobs while all around them were losing theirs in the 1980-81 recession. </p>
<p>While Thatcher won re-election two years later with unemployment still around 3 million (over 10% of the workforce at that time) <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-22070491">and rising</a>, today’s Conservative government is keen to win over the largely anti-Brexit youth vote, and <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-45098550">does not want</a> to run the same risk.</p>
<h2>Buy now, talk deficits later</h2>
<p>Sunak’s “whatever it takes” <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BiEGp-3IVOs">growth-boosting</a> contrasts sharply with the immediate spending restraint and tax increases that the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1g1zGV6vRQ">deemed essential</a> in 2010 after the financial crisis. Boris Johnson has already signalled there will be no return to “austerity”, even though the public debt to GDP ratio is <a href="https://theconversation.com/coronavirus-will-drive-public-debt-far-higher-than-expected-but-that-doesnt-mean-a-return-to-austerity-136295">now substantially higher</a> than ten years ago.</p>
<p>This is partly a recognition of voters’ unwillingness to see the public sector cut again. It <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2016/07/14/osbornes-legacy-what-the-austerity-chancellor-leaves-behind.html">also reflects</a> lingering doubt about whether austerity really worked, since it did not close the budget deficit by the 2015 target date (or even 2020), and may have left the health and social care services underprepared for COVID-19. </p>
<p>It also reflects an <a href="https://theconversation.com/modern-monetary-theory-the-rise-of-economists-who-say-huge-government-debt-is-not-a-problem-141495">unprecedented confidence</a> that the government can continue to run up new debt for some time, without the usual penalties of rising interest rates, higher inflation and a depreciating pound. Sunak isn’t necessarily a convert to the idea of <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/673b0be2-3559-4b61-9224-7c271ae4ed31">modern monetary theorists</a> that economists in the past exaggerated the constraints on public spending, underplaying governments’ capacity to borrow without squeezing resources from the private sector. But he’s realised <a href="https://www.ineteconomics.org/uploads/papers/Rachel-Smith-Are-Low-Rates-Here-to-Stay.pdf">it may be possible</a> to keep spending and borrowing at near-zero cost for several more months (even years) to stimulate recovery, not least because so many other countries are having to do the same thing.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/140605/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alan Shipman does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Boris Johnson says he wants to get on top of the UK’s productivity problem, but the job measures in the summer statement could take the country in the opposite direction.Alan Shipman, Lecturer in Economics, The Open UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1417252020-07-02T13:27:29Z2020-07-02T13:27:29ZDecline of the English pub: coronavirus compounded the industry’s problems<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/345100/original/file-20200701-159820-1ue04is.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=6%2C0%2C4354%2C2667&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/london-may-5-interior-pub-drinking-104693144">Bikeworldtravel/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Coronavirus has had an unprecedented impact on pubs in Britain. The British Beer and Pub Association estimates that the industry lost over <a href="https://beerandpub.com/2020/06/18/more-than-50-beer-and-pub-businesses-write-to-prime-minister-demanding-a-definitive-reopening-date-for-all-pubs-by-friday-as-sector-hits-crisis-point/">£100m each month</a> of lockdown. </p>
<p>Hundreds of thousands of staff were placed on the government’s job retention scheme, and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2020/may/15/lockdowned-pubs-forced-to-pour-70m-pints-of-beer-down-the-drain-coronavirus">70 million pints</a> of unused beer have been destroyed. </p>
<p>The “super Saturday” reopening in England on July 4 has been hailed as a new dawn for pubs. However, the industry will have to cope with more than social distancing and other challenges related to the coronavirus pandemic. While this crisis has created new problems, the British pub industry was already experiencing long-term decline. </p>
<h2>Big business</h2>
<p>Tens of thousands of pubs have closed since the 1980s, with more than 5,000 pubs lost in the <a href="https://www.thespiritsbusiness.com/2020/03/britains-bar-and-pub-closure-rate-drops-2/">last five years</a>. While changing economic and cultural conditions have contributed to the industry’s decline, <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02642060802188007">research</a> suggests that there is <a href="https://theses.ncl.ac.uk/jspui/handle/10443/3874">another contributor</a> – pub companies.</p>
<p>Pub companies, or “pubcos”, lease pub properties to tenants, who are then contractually obliged to pay rent and purchase supplies from the pub company. This is known as the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2019/may/31/tied-up-pub-landlords-battle-law-that-was-meant-to-help-them">beer-tie</a>, an agreement that forces tenants to buy beer from their pubco and prevents them from accessing the open market. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/345279/original/file-20200702-111305-1ejzgm7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/345279/original/file-20200702-111305-1ejzgm7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/345279/original/file-20200702-111305-1ejzgm7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/345279/original/file-20200702-111305-1ejzgm7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/345279/original/file-20200702-111305-1ejzgm7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/345279/original/file-20200702-111305-1ejzgm7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/345279/original/file-20200702-111305-1ejzgm7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A beer-tie agreement compels pub landlords to buy supplies from their pubco.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/two-pints-ale-beer-typical-traditional-490783234">JennyMB/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Pubcos borrow money to buy pubs, prioritise dividend payments to shareholders, and pay close attention to stock market prices. Their emergence reflects the full-scale “<a href="https://theses.ncl.ac.uk/jspui/handle/10443/3874">financialisation</a>” of the industry. The term financialisation refers to the growing dominance of finance throughout the economy and society. </p>
<p>By 2007, one of the largest pubcos – <a href="https://www.punchpubs.com/">Punch Taverns</a> – owned over 7,000 pubs with <a href="https://theses.ncl.ac.uk/jspui/handle/10443/3874">debts of over £4bn</a>. This borrowing enabled pubcos to expand rapidly during the 1990s. </p>
<p>The pubco model has come under intense scrutiny since the 2008 financial crisis. <a href="https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/sn06740/">Pubcos have sold pub premises</a> in order to repay debts as consumer spending began to fall under austerity.</p>
<p>Pubco tenants have <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0278431904000842">voiced concern</a> over high rent and unsustainable beer costs. This is because financialisation places less emphasis on what consumers would expect pubs to do – sell food and drink – and more on growing property values in pub estates and boosting share prices. This has put enormous financial pressures on tenants. During lockdown, tenants have complained of being <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/jun/25/pub-group-owned-by-billionaires-demanding-rent-amid-covid-19-crisis">charged full rent</a> by their pubco despite their inability to trade.</p>
<h2>Socially distanced pints</h2>
<p>When they reopen, pubs will be operating at a reduced capacity as a result of the one-metre-plus social distancing rule. Estimates suggest that pubs will lose about <a href="https://beerandpub.com/2020/06/25/al-fresco-pubs-sector-welcomes-plan-to-increase-outdoor-serving-spaces-as-pubs-face-30-reduction-in-capacity/">30% of trading space</a>, which will limit customer numbers and reduce revenues. </p>
<p>Patrons are also likely to be anxious about returning to pubs. This anxiety surrounds getting to grips with online booking systems, cashless payment apps and table service, as well as the virus itself. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1278367828635193344"}"></div></p>
<p>In addition, while the UK government has introduced legislation enabling alfresco drinking and dining, this will not help everyone. Beer gardens, terraces, and parking lots are not universal across the industry. This variability contributes to the unique charm of pubs, but it also places uneven constraints on how they can successfully adapt to social distancing. </p>
<p>Finally, and most unpredictable, is the British weather. The success of outdoor trading depends on favourable weather conditions not dampening spirits.</p>
<h2>What comes next?</h2>
<p>These challenges will erode the profitability of pubs and exacerbate tensions with indebted pubcos. There are several likely outcomes. One is that social distancing will transform the place of pubs in our society. New rules and regulations will change how we access and experience pubs and interact with one another in them. </p>
<p>Smaller pubs may be particularly at threat. Pubcos have prioritised the ownership of medium (10-24 employees) and large (25 or more employees) premises at the <a href="https://www.ons.gov.uk/businessindustryandtrade/business/activitysizeandlocation/articles/economiesofalesmallpubscloseaschainsfocusonbigbars/2018-11-26">expense of smaller ones</a> (fewer than ten employees). Social distancing is likely to amplify this trend, as consumers begin to favour more spacious venues. This will reinforce the growing concentration of larger pubs in urban areas and the relative decline of smaller pubs in outer-city, suburban and commuter belt areas.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/345272/original/file-20200702-111368-1sb0d1f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/345272/original/file-20200702-111368-1sb0d1f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/345272/original/file-20200702-111368-1sb0d1f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/345272/original/file-20200702-111368-1sb0d1f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/345272/original/file-20200702-111368-1sb0d1f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/345272/original/file-20200702-111368-1sb0d1f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/345272/original/file-20200702-111368-1sb0d1f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Signal Box Inn, Cleethorpes, Lincolnshire. Small pubs have a particular charm, but social distancing may lead customers to prefer larger venues.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/cleethorpes-lincolnshire-uk-march-29-2019-1391161835">LizCoughlan/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The rate of pub closures is almost certain to increase. A combination of unprofitable pubs and persistent debts will inevitably result in pubcos increasing the practice of selling off pub premises.</p>
<p>Financialisation has transformed the industry in recent decades. It looks like coronavirus will now do the same. Social distancing will impact where pubs are, who visits them, and how they are experienced. “Super Saturday” may not be the saviour pubs are hoping for. It will probably be the start of a new period in which the industry begins to look and feel very different.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/141725/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Liam Keenan received PhD funding from the Economic and Social Research Council. </span></em></p>The rise of big pub companies has led to focus on profits and share prices.Liam Keenan, Lecturer in Economic Geography (T&S), Newcastle UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1393022020-05-28T20:03:23Z2020-05-28T20:03:23Z4 ways our streets can rescue restaurants, bars and cafes after coronavirus<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/337926/original/file-20200527-20245-1k18lfg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=36%2C54%2C5844%2C3935&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/melbourne-australia-june-9-2019-auction-1433525984">Nils Versemann/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>As Australia re-opens, the bars, cafes and restaurants that give life to our streets face a tough ask: stay open and stay afloat with just a fraction of the customers. </p>
<p>From June 1 in Victoria, for example, the limit will be <a href="https://www.dhhs.vic.gov.au/restaurants-and-cafes-covid19">20 patrons</a>, with 1.5 metres between tables or four square metres per patron. If that goes well, it’ll be 50 patrons from June 22 – if they can be seated the required distance apart. Many smaller businesses won’t be able to do that.</p>
<p>With the <a href="https://theconversation.com/whatll-happen-when-the-moneys-snatched-back-our-looming-coronavirus-support-cliff-138527">Jobkeeper package due to expire</a> in September, the next couple of months is a critical window for traders to find new ways to seat patrons. Fortunately, street space can help a lot with this. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/we-cant-let-coronavirus-kill-our-cities-heres-how-we-can-save-urban-life-137063">We can't let coronavirus kill our cities. Here's how we can save urban life</a>
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<p>Here are four proven ways to quickly reconfigure street space. We might even find them nice enough to keep. Have your say in the poll at the end of this article.</p>
<h2>Footpath trade</h2>
<p>Footpath dining already gives many iconic streets their character. Even two or three tables outside a small bar in the evenings can give life to a street.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/337866/original/file-20200527-141291-2vzdal.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/337866/original/file-20200527-141291-2vzdal.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/337866/original/file-20200527-141291-2vzdal.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=906&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/337866/original/file-20200527-141291-2vzdal.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=906&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/337866/original/file-20200527-141291-2vzdal.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=906&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/337866/original/file-20200527-141291-2vzdal.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1139&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/337866/original/file-20200527-141291-2vzdal.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1139&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/337866/original/file-20200527-141291-2vzdal.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1139&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Chairs on the footpath are part of the experience of dining out in Crossley Street, Melbourne.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/avlxyz/14446029331/in/photolist-8xLNes-sxhj1q-3Bv5m-3BuV6-b3osgF-o1xFee-3UJB6o-5nU31w-HzjaH4-3BuMK-aJ7r9-rKCgXU-4z3amC">Alpha/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Putting out tables sounds simple, but the permit process is the real hurdle. It can take weeks or months of waiting and uncertainty while a small team assesses <a href="https://www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/business/permits-and-approvals/hospitality-businesses/Pages/outdoor-cafe-permits.aspx">a long list of details</a>.</p>
<p>Councils could employ more assessors to fast-track the process, but there is another option. In the post-COVID environment, it may be time to trust traders and embrace more of the informality we see in <a href="https://www.cntraveler.com/gallery/worlds-best-cities-for-street-food">cities with great street food</a>. Councils could trial a system where dining is permitted by default in front of each establishment, subject to a few simple rules.</p>
<p>Traders must understand that their permits depend on not blocking thoroughfare. Disability access in particular must be maintained. </p>
<p>However, many footpaths are wide and quiet enough that dining tables could be up and working well in a matter of days.</p>
<h2>Parklets</h2>
<p>One roadside parking space in front of a café or bar might mean one or two customers – assuming they come to that business. A car park can instead become a “parklet” with space for six to eight people, while looking a lot more inviting. Put two or three parking spaces together and you’ve got a miniature dining area or a parklet.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/parking-isnt-as-important-for-restaurants-as-the-owners-think-it-is-74750">Parking isn't as important for restaurants as the owners think it is</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>The parklet idea came out of San Francisco. Examples from there show how diverse and successful these can be. From <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/sfplanning/7658385712/">weirdly sculptural</a> to <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BIVmUTsjx4O/?utm_source=ig_embed">classically European</a> to <a href="https://groundplaysf.org/projects/museum-of-craft-and-design-parklet/#tab1">high-end and polished</a>, they all add character to the places where they spring up.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/337863/original/file-20200527-141291-fwn60o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/337863/original/file-20200527-141291-fwn60o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/337863/original/file-20200527-141291-fwn60o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=768&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/337863/original/file-20200527-141291-fwn60o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=768&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/337863/original/file-20200527-141291-fwn60o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=768&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/337863/original/file-20200527-141291-fwn60o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=965&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/337863/original/file-20200527-141291-fwn60o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=965&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/337863/original/file-20200527-141291-fwn60o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=965&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Noriega Street Parklet outside a bakery in San Francisco.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/sfplanning/8457445876/">Photo: Matarozzi Pelsinger Builders & Wells Campbell photography/San Francisco Planning Department/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In Melbourne, Moreland Council has one long-term parklet <a href="https://www.google.com/maps/@-37.7664466,144.948792,3a,75y,41.48h,80.3t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sOTmRT3TuGVh2sr3lvNzP5Q!2e0!7i16384!8i8192">in Brunswick</a>. Its simple, neat design fits plenty of patrons and includes a bit of greenery. <a href="https://theconversation.com/people-love-parklets-and-businesses-can-help-make-them-happen-87172">Perth</a> and <a href="https://www.cityofadelaide.com.au/business/permits-licences/parklets/">Adelaide</a> have examples too, but the potential seems to be mostly untapped in Australian cities. </p>
<p>And the benefits are significant. A recent <a href="https://www.perth.wa.gov.au/news-and-updates/all-news/hampden-road-parklet-trial-a-great-success">parklet study</a> in Perth found a 20-35% increase in local footfall, and 89% community support.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/people-love-parklets-and-businesses-can-help-make-them-happen-87172">People love parklets, and businesses can help make them happen</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/337512/original/file-20200526-106828-kcrrj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/337512/original/file-20200526-106828-kcrrj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=346&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/337512/original/file-20200526-106828-kcrrj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=346&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/337512/original/file-20200526-106828-kcrrj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=346&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/337512/original/file-20200526-106828-kcrrj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=434&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/337512/original/file-20200526-106828-kcrrj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=434&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/337512/original/file-20200526-106828-kcrrj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=434&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Grandview Hotel Parklet in Brunswick.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Google Streetview</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Again, a bit of sanctioned informality may be the best way to get parklets working quickly. Each trader could be allowed to use, say, one or two parking spaces outside their business if some simple criteria are met. </p>
<p>If we decide the approach is worth keeping, San Francisco shows how to go from pop-ups to something bigger and better. The city’s first parklet was a roll of astroturf, a park bench and a tree in a pot. It <a href="https://gehlpeople.com/projects/parklets/">lasted just two hours</a>. Now there are <a href="https://sf.curbed.com/maps/mapping-all-51-awesome-san-francisco-public-parklets">over 50</a> parklets, a <a href="https://groundplaysf.org/wp-content/uploads/Parklet_Manual_UPDATE-November-2019.pdf">“how to” manual</a>, a <a href="https://groundplaysf.org/wp-content/uploads/Parklet-O-Matic-2018_upload.pdf">clear application process</a> and <a href="https://groundplaysf.org/wp-content/parklet-impact-study/">case studies</a> of the benefits.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/337513/original/file-20200526-106848-m5w9b2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/337513/original/file-20200526-106848-m5w9b2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/337513/original/file-20200526-106848-m5w9b2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/337513/original/file-20200526-106848-m5w9b2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/337513/original/file-20200526-106848-m5w9b2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/337513/original/file-20200526-106848-m5w9b2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/337513/original/file-20200526-106848-m5w9b2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/337513/original/file-20200526-106848-m5w9b2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">This parklet popped up for a day on Park(ing) Day 2009 in San Francisco.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/tomhilton/3933593835">Tom Hilton/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/a-day-for-turning-parking-spaces-into-pop-up-parks-65164">A day for turning parking spaces into pop-up parks</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Road closures</h2>
<p>Roads are wide open spaces. Put bollards at the ends of a street that doesn’t need full vehicle access, carry out tables and chairs, and you’ve got a huge new seating area. It has been done and works well.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/337869/original/file-20200527-141307-jrw646.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/337869/original/file-20200527-141307-jrw646.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/337869/original/file-20200527-141307-jrw646.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/337869/original/file-20200527-141307-jrw646.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/337869/original/file-20200527-141307-jrw646.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/337869/original/file-20200527-141307-jrw646.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/337869/original/file-20200527-141307-jrw646.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/337869/original/file-20200527-141307-jrw646.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Meyers Place (above and below right), Melbourne, is closed to through traffic and open for pedestrians and dining.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/avlxyz/36767246200/in/photolist-eCLnmn-dcaLKi-Y216W5-L9Vje5-Y1ZKkW-Y1ZLtN-Ykpanq-UnxexJ-xga8V4/">Alpha/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/337872/original/file-20200527-141303-qox50j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/337872/original/file-20200527-141303-qox50j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/337872/original/file-20200527-141303-qox50j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/337872/original/file-20200527-141303-qox50j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/337872/original/file-20200527-141303-qox50j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/337872/original/file-20200527-141303-qox50j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/337872/original/file-20200527-141303-qox50j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/337872/original/file-20200527-141303-qox50j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Before full closure.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/avlxyz/20518589881/in/photolist-eCLnmn-dcaLKi-Y216W5-L9Vje5-Y1ZKkW-Y1ZLtN-Ykpanq-UnxexJ-xga8V4/">Aplha/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Of course, closing a street permanently is quite a process. I worked with the community to pedestrianise a Melbourne laneway called <a href="https://www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/SiteCollectionDocuments/green-your-laneway-case-study-meyers-place.pdf">Meyers Place</a>. Negotiating the legalities took about 18 months. Emergency, bin collection and disability access requirements had to be met. </p>
<p>The restaurants can now put tables on the former road space, surrounded by trees and murals under a <a href="https://www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/community/greening-the-city/urban-forest-fund/funded-projects/Pages/meyers-place.aspx">green wall</a>. The thing is, we started out by closing the street for just two weeks. Businesses rolled out temporary tables and chairs, astroturf and potted plants. The lane went beserk with activity; we went from tentative support to heavy pressure for a permanent pedestrian space.</p>
<p>We took our inspiration from a much larger closure in Ballarat Street, Yarraville. It was also temporary and got removed, but was <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-12-16/yarraville-pop-up-park-becomes-permanent-after-singing-protest/5970092">brought back permanently with funding from traders</a> and overwhelming community support.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/337515/original/file-20200526-106866-1upcl90.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/337515/original/file-20200526-106866-1upcl90.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/337515/original/file-20200526-106866-1upcl90.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/337515/original/file-20200526-106866-1upcl90.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/337515/original/file-20200526-106866-1upcl90.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/337515/original/file-20200526-106866-1upcl90.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/337515/original/file-20200526-106866-1upcl90.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/337515/original/file-20200526-106866-1upcl90.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Ballarat Street, Yarraville, was transformed with strong community support.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shareable.net/sharing-cities-why-ownership-governance-and-the-commons-matter-more-than-ever/">Darren Sharp/Shareable</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Parking lot conversions</h2>
<p>Outside our inner suburbs, the areas dedicated to parking get bigger. But Copenhagen offers an example of how big an opportunity a large car park can be.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/337517/original/file-20200526-106862-1ns92u3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/337517/original/file-20200526-106862-1ns92u3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/337517/original/file-20200526-106862-1ns92u3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/337517/original/file-20200526-106862-1ns92u3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/337517/original/file-20200526-106862-1ns92u3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/337517/original/file-20200526-106862-1ns92u3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/337517/original/file-20200526-106862-1ns92u3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/337517/original/file-20200526-106862-1ns92u3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Kødbyen in Vesterbro, Copenhagen, has become a hub for fine dining, galleries and nightlife.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/thewavingcat/14234836548/in/album-72157645151442172/">thewavingcat/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">CC BY-NC-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In the city’s former meatpacking district, you can find anything from high-end seafood to a craft beer pub that pumps heavy metal and barbecue smoke. The central car park serves as a giant dining area – when the weather’s good, chairs and benches come out and hundreds of locals turn up. This is super-simple stuff, mostly involving folding chairs and benches, plus lots of people. It’s adaptable, fun and very popular.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/freeing-up-the-huge-areas-set-aside-for-parking-can-transform-our-cities-85331">Freeing up the huge areas set aside for parking can transform our cities</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>The concept seems to work too in Melbourne too. “Welcome to Thornbury”, a popular hub for food trucks and outdoor dining, used to be a car factory. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/337883/original/file-20200527-141316-1y905ty.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/337883/original/file-20200527-141316-1y905ty.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/337883/original/file-20200527-141316-1y905ty.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/337883/original/file-20200527-141316-1y905ty.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/337883/original/file-20200527-141316-1y905ty.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/337883/original/file-20200527-141316-1y905ty.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/337883/original/file-20200527-141316-1y905ty.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/337883/original/file-20200527-141316-1y905ty.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Welcome to Thornbury’, the former site of a car factory, is now a drive-in food truck park.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://welcometothornbury.com/">Welcome to Thornbury</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>We can start right now (and probably should)</h2>
<p>Community engagement with Melbourne’s new <a href="https://www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/parking-and-transport/transport-planning-projects/Pages/transport-strategy.aspx">Transport Strategy 2030</a> indicates <a href="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/hdp.au.prod.app.com-participate.files/5815/7077/4789/Community_engagement_summary_-_Transport_Strategy_2030_-_September_2019.pdf">broad support</a> for reallocating street space to people.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/move-away-from-a-car-dominated-city-looks-radical-but-its-a-sensible-plan-for-a-liveable-future-116518">Move away from a car-dominated city looks radical but it's a sensible plan for a liveable future</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Now is the time to press ahead, because of what’s at stake – not just jobs and profits, but our collective identity and sense of place. Food and drink are a big part of city life and how we spend our time. The places we gathered with friends, nurtured romances and celebrated milestones are where memories live. Doing nothing could mean these experiences are replaced by numbing “For Lease” signs.</p>
<p>Luckily, taking action isn’t very risky. We can give our hospitality sector a boost right now by allowing businesses to trial a set of proven approaches. Everyone will then have a chance to experience the changes and decide what they’d like to keep.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/kebab-urbanism-melbournes-other-cafe-makes-the-city-a-more-human-place-112228">Kebab urbanism: Melbourne's 'other' cafe makes the city a more human place</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<style>
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<iframe class="qp_iframe" src="https://www.poll-maker.com/frame2951023x0f562899-87" seamless="seamless" frameborder="no" style="border:0; background:transparent; width:100%; height:550px;" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<div id="qp_foot2951023" style="width:100%; padding:5px; text-align:center;">Created with <a href="https://linkto.run/e/SQ9DIYU8">Poll Maker</a></div><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/139302/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Thami receives funding from the European Commission and the Australian Research Council. </span></em></p>Distancing rules will make life very difficult for smaller bars, cafes and restaurants. Our streets can be modified quickly to help save an important part of the life of cities and their economies.Thami Croeser, Research Officer, Centre for Urban Research, RMIT UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1391172020-05-28T02:14:33Z2020-05-28T02:14:33ZHow to stay safe in restaurants and cafes<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/337832/original/file-20200527-141295-1rt7jiw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=1%2C20%2C997%2C643&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/asian-man-woman-sitting-separated-restaurant-1723055608">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Now we have fewer cases of COVID-19, and restrictions are lifting, many of us are thinking of rejuvenating our social lives by heading to our local cafe or favourite restaurant. </p>
<p>What can we do to reduce the risk of infection? And what should managers be doing to keep us safe? </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-cafes-bars-gyms-barbershops-and-other-third-places-create-our-social-fabric-135530">How cafes, bars, gyms, barbershops and other 'third places' create our social fabric</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>COVID-19 is an infectious disease <a href="https://www.health.gov.au/news/health-alerts/novel-coronavirus-2019-ncov-health-alert/what-you-need-to-know-about-coronavirus-covid-19#:%7E:text=The%20virus%20can%20spread%20from,your%20mouth%20or%20face">spread</a> directly from person to person, carried in droplets from an infected person’s breath, cough or sneeze. If the droplets come into contact with another person’s eyes or are breathed in, that person may develop the disease. </p>
<p>Those droplets can also fall onto surfaces, where the virus can survive <a href="https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMc2004973">for up to 72 hours</a>. If someone touches these surfaces, then touches their face, they can also become infected.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/7-questions-answered-on-how-to-socialise-safely-as-coronavirus-restrictions-ease-139109">7 questions answered on how to socialise safely as coronavirus restrictions ease</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Eating out has led to several clusters</h2>
<p>We know people around the world have become infected while eating out.</p>
<p>Back in late January and early February, <a href="https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/26/7/20-0764_article#tnF1">three clusters</a> of COVID-19 cases in China were connected to dining in a single restaurant. A total of 10 people became ill over the next three weeks.</p>
<p>The air-conditioning had apparently carried contaminated droplets from an infectious diner to nearby tables. This prompted the researchers to recommend restaurants increase their ventilation and sit customers at tables further apart.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/we-know-how-long-coronavirus-survives-on-surfaces-heres-what-it-means-for-handling-money-food-and-more-134671">We know how long coronavirus survives on surfaces. Here's what it means for handling money, food and more</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>In Queensland, more than 20 people connected with a <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/triplej/programs/hack/coronavirus-covid-19-infected-noosa-sails-restaurant-stayed-open/12097336">private birthday party</a> at a Sunshine Coast restaurant contracted the virus. Four were staff, the rest guests. We don’t know the source of infection.</p>
<p>Other outbreaks have been linked with restaurants in <a href="https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2020/04/14/authorities-investigate-cluster-coronavirus-cases-tied-kona-restaurant/">Hawaii</a>, <a href="https://la.eater.com/2020/5/4/21246555/morning-briefing-restaurant-news-los-angeles-covid-19-coronavirus-restaurant-cases-list">Los Angeles</a> and a <a href="https://www.muswellbrookchronicle.com.au/story/6759018/victoria-virus-cases-up-11-caution-urged/?cs=7">fast food restaurant in Melbourne</a>.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/kGQEuuv9R6E?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Here’s how the coronavirus can spread in a restaurant.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The path to infection</h2>
<p>Let’s consider the risk of infection from the moment you arrive at a restaurant or cafe.</p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/337856/original/file-20200527-141312-107a019.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/337856/original/file-20200527-141312-107a019.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=443&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/337856/original/file-20200527-141312-107a019.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=443&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/337856/original/file-20200527-141312-107a019.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=443&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/337856/original/file-20200527-141312-107a019.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=556&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/337856/original/file-20200527-141312-107a019.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=556&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/337856/original/file-20200527-141312-107a019.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=556&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Wes Mountain/The Conversation</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>When you open the door, you may have to put your hand on a door handle. If that handle has been touched by a person while infectious, they may leave behind thousands of individual virus particles. If you then touch your face, you run the risk of the virus entering your body and establishing an infection.</p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/337857/original/file-20200527-141299-mwgex5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/337857/original/file-20200527-141299-mwgex5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=491&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/337857/original/file-20200527-141299-mwgex5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=491&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/337857/original/file-20200527-141299-mwgex5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=491&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/337857/original/file-20200527-141299-mwgex5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=618&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/337857/original/file-20200527-141299-mwgex5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=618&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/337857/original/file-20200527-141299-mwgex5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=618&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Wes Mountain/The Conversation</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>If you avoid the doorknob trap, you may pick up the virus when you take your seat at the table, by touching the chair or the tabletop. Again, if you touch your face, you are risking infection. Similarly, you risk exposure by touching the menu or the cutlery.</p>
<p>When the waiter comes to take your order, they will likely enter your breathing space. This is usually considered to be a circular zone of about <a href="https://theconversation.com/coronavirus-why-should-we-stay-1-5-metres-away-from-each-other-134029">1.5 metres</a> around your body. </p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/337858/original/file-20200527-141316-bc23sc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/337858/original/file-20200527-141316-bc23sc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=639&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/337858/original/file-20200527-141316-bc23sc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=639&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/337858/original/file-20200527-141316-bc23sc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=639&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/337858/original/file-20200527-141316-bc23sc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=803&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/337858/original/file-20200527-141316-bc23sc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=803&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/337858/original/file-20200527-141316-bc23sc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=803&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Wes Mountain/The Conversation</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>If the waiter is infected but not yet showing symptoms, you may be exposed to droplets containing the virus on their breath or the breath may contaminate the tableware in front of you.</p>
<p>Now, your food is delivered and there’s good news. The virus <a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwjl1cOhotPpAhUC63MBHS5pAt4QFjANegQIBxAB&url=https%3A%2F%2Fapps.who.int%2Firis%2Frest%2Fbitstreams%2F1274400%2Fretrieve&usg=AOvVaw2XBucHbnVtIWNHQnwm8cmV">is <em>not</em> transmitted</a> through food.</p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/337859/original/file-20200527-141295-gk5awp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/337859/original/file-20200527-141295-gk5awp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=454&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/337859/original/file-20200527-141295-gk5awp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=454&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/337859/original/file-20200527-141295-gk5awp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=454&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/337859/original/file-20200527-141295-gk5awp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=570&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/337859/original/file-20200527-141295-gk5awp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=570&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/337859/original/file-20200527-141295-gk5awp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=570&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Wes Mountain/The Conversation</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But wait. The air-conditioning can help the virus travel through the air from the infected person at the next table who has just choked on a crumb and is coughing uncontrollably.</p>
<p>Later, on a quick trip to the bathroom, you again open yourself to the risk of infection by touching the door and other surfaces. However, this trip allows you to take one very important step to prevent infection. You wash your hands with soap, taking care to hum Happy Birthday twice as you scrub and rinse. </p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/337860/original/file-20200527-141283-10hk8sp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/337860/original/file-20200527-141283-10hk8sp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=589&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/337860/original/file-20200527-141283-10hk8sp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=589&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/337860/original/file-20200527-141283-10hk8sp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=589&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/337860/original/file-20200527-141283-10hk8sp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=740&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/337860/original/file-20200527-141283-10hk8sp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=740&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/337860/original/file-20200527-141283-10hk8sp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=740&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Wes Mountain/The Conversation</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Unfortunately, you fail to dry your hands thoroughly. Wet hands <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1757177418815549">are much more likely</a> to pick up microbes, so you may recontaminate your hands as you open the door and go back to your table.</p>
<p>When you go to pay your bill, you may be worried that cash may be a source of infection. While there were concerns about this initially, there is no evidence to date of any cases linked to handling money. Just in case, you use your credit card, but inadvertently transfer the virus to your finger as you type in your PIN.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/you-dont-need-to-worry-about-spreading-the-coronavirus-with-cash-137865">You don't need to worry about spreading the coronavirus with cash</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>On your way out the door, you not only pick up more virus from the doorknob, but transfer some of the ones on your hand in return, ready for the next unwary diner.</p>
<h2>How can I protect myself?</h2>
<p>There are some simple (and familiar) things you can do to protect yourself as venues reopen.</p>
<p>Keep washing and drying your hands, thoroughly and regularly. If you don’t have access to soap and water, use alcohol-based hand sanitiser. Wash or sanitise after handling money, touching surfaces, before eating and after visiting the bathroom. Avoid touching your face, including wiping your eyes or licking juice off your fingers. If you must touch your face, use hand sanitiser first. </p>
<p>Maintain a distance of at least 1.5 metres from other people, unless they are people you share close contact with.</p>
<p>Sit outside if you can. Direct transmission is <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.02.28.20029272v2">much more likely</a> indoors.</p>
<p>Finally, think about using a credit or debit card with a contactless transaction, rather than having to enter a PIN.</p>
<p>To avoid infecting other people, stay home if you have any symptoms or suspect you might have been in contact with a person who has tested positive.</p>
<h2>What should cafes and restaurants be doing?</h2>
<p>Regulations about the number of patrons allowed in cafes and restaurants vary between states and territories. But there are certain common rules of thumb. </p>
<p>First, tables need to be spaced at reasonable distances. This allows patrons to be outside others’ 1.5-metre breathing zones and also takes into account the potential effect of air conditioning. </p>
<p>While COVID-19 doesn’t appear to be spread through air conditioning systems, they do boost air flow. This means droplets may travel a little further than 1.5 metres. This spacing will also reduce the number of people in the venue at the same time.</p>
<p>Some venues <a href="https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3050085/coronavirus-hong-kong-restaurants-install-physical">overseas</a> are using plastic screens to separate diners to try to reduce the risk of person-to-person spread. This should not be used as a substitute for correct distancing if there is sufficient space. </p>
<p>Tables and chairs need to be sanitised, <a href="https://www.qld.gov.au/health/conditions/health-alerts/coronavirus-covid-19/industry-and-businesses/resources-and-fact-sheets-for-industry/covid-19-cleaning-and-disinfection-recommendations">using a chemical sanitiser such as diluted bleach</a>, between patrons.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/337833/original/file-20200527-141283-1qoeyg9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/337833/original/file-20200527-141283-1qoeyg9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/337833/original/file-20200527-141283-1qoeyg9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/337833/original/file-20200527-141283-1qoeyg9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/337833/original/file-20200527-141283-1qoeyg9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/337833/original/file-20200527-141283-1qoeyg9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/337833/original/file-20200527-141283-1qoeyg9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/337833/original/file-20200527-141283-1qoeyg9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Social distancing is important and will limit the number of people in a venue.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/singapore-mar2020-social-distancing-rules-practice-1684328626">from www.shutterstock.com</a></span>
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</figure>
<p>Cutlery and tableware cannot be left ready on the table. They must be stored to prevent contamination in the kitchen and brought to the patron with their meal. Afterward, they need to be cleaned and sanitised as usual. </p>
<p>Disposable cutlery should never be left out for self-service; it should only be provided with food or on request. </p>
<p>All frequently touched surfaces must be regularly sanitised – including door handles, refrigerator and freezer doors, taps, light switches, hand rails, PIN pads and touch screens.</p>
<p>Staff must maintain safe distances from patrons at all times and must <em>never</em> be allowed to work if they have respiratory symptoms or are suspected to have had contact with a COVID-19 positive person.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-lower-your-coronavirus-risk-while-eating-out-restaurant-advice-from-an-infectious-disease-expert-138925">How to lower your coronavirus risk while eating out: Restaurant advice from an infectious disease expert</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>We need to be vigilant</h2>
<p>Coronavirus cases in most states and territories are now very low. So, the chance of coming into contact with an infectious person is unlikely and is why restrictions are now gradually being lifted. </p>
<p>However, we musn’t become complacent. We need to continue to take precautions to reduce the risk of infection via our cafes and restaurants. It only takes one instance of carelessness to start the viral ball rolling again.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/as-restrictions-ease-here-are-5-crucial-ways-for-australia-to-stay-safely-on-top-of-covid-19-138000">As restrictions ease, here are 5 crucial ways for Australia to stay safely on top of COVID-19</a>
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</p>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/139117/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lisa Bricknell does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>As restaurants and cafes re-open, here’s what you can do to limit the chance of coronavirus transmission.Lisa Bricknell, Senior Lecturer in Environmental Health, CQUniversity AustraliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1387772020-05-21T01:27:03Z2020-05-21T01:27:03ZCoronavirus has turned retail therapy into retail anxiety – keeping customers calm will be key to carrying on<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/336288/original/file-20200520-152311-19f7yjo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=18%2C0%2C6023%2C4021&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">www.shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>So you finally hit the shops and cafes after weeks of lockdown. </p>
<p>After disinfecting your hands, following the arrows around the shop or to your table, taking care to avoid others where possible and, in some cases, providing your contact tracing details – how enjoyable was the experience, really? </p>
<p>The return to shopping and eating out has certainly come as welcome relief in those countries lucky enough to be opening up. The malls are open! You can book your favourite restaurant! Goodbye home cooking, hello table service!</p>
<p>And for the retail and hospitality industries, among the <a href="https://www.stats.govt.nz/news/hospitality-hit-hard">hardest hit</a> during the COVID-19 pandemic, the return to trading couldn’t come fast enough.</p>
<p>The return to normal trading, however, could still be a way off.</p>
<p>The new economic reality will have a profound impact on retail. Some of the routines developed during lockdown, such as cooking and baking at home or foregoing daily takeaway coffees, may continue post-pandemic if money is tight.</p>
<h2>Shopping as a sensory experience will change</h2>
<p>As well as the public spacing, tracing and hygiene rules, customers may also notice an absence of certain favourite experiential elements. Is a trip to <a href="https://www.meccabeauty.co.nz/coronavirus.html">Mecca Cosmetics</a> as enjoyable when you can’t sample the products? Will <a href="https://www.theedge.co.nz/home/scandal/2018/11/peter-alexander-shares-why-his-stores-always-smell-so-nice.html">Peter Alexander</a> still smell like a cosy bedroom or the disinfectant used to clean the store? </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/336292/original/file-20200520-152315-18ajye4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/336292/original/file-20200520-152315-18ajye4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/336292/original/file-20200520-152315-18ajye4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/336292/original/file-20200520-152315-18ajye4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/336292/original/file-20200520-152315-18ajye4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/336292/original/file-20200520-152315-18ajye4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/336292/original/file-20200520-152315-18ajye4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">The food and atmosphere may be great, but scenes such as this food hall in Italy are over for now.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">www.shutterstock.com</span></span>
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</figure>
<p>As consumers, our senses play a major role in how much we enjoy retail experiences. Retailers have long employed the art of <a href="http://belzludovic.free.fr/nolwenn/Kotler%20-%20Atmospherics%20as%20a%20marketing%20tool%20%20(cit%C3%A9%20171)%20-%201973.pdf">store atmospherics</a> to encourage us to stay and spend.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/new-zealands-covid-19-tracer-app-wont-help-open-a-travel-bubble-with-australia-anytime-soon-139026">New Zealand's COVID-19 Tracer app won't help open a 'travel bubble' with Australia anytime soon</a>
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<p>Atmospherics – such as scent, music, touch, temperature and crowding – all help create an engaging <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/mar.20709?casa_token=repmJksdARYAAAAA%3AOFpnzkc6IOLZ1nWB1GHKx0ElBKCyoEOXcoXbOmaNnpqs76M1tdIysILxhKiYTWTAlebSikYi72pFi8r1Vg">sensory experience</a> for shoppers and patrons. Research suggests customers will <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Robert_Donovan/publication/248766608_Store_Atmosphere_An_Environmental_Psychology_Approach/links/5a38c3ef0f7e9b7c48700249/Store-Atmosphere-An-Environmental-Psychology-Approach.pdf">stay longer, spend more</a>, <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/mar.20709">feel better, and be more satisfied</a> in a retail environment they find pleasing to their senses. </p>
<p>The new COVID-19 environment has changed all that. </p>
<p>Will shoppers now prefer a reassuring freshly cleaned smell? The Hyatt hotel chain’s <a href="https://hbr.org/2018/04/inside-the-invisible-but-influential-world-of-scent-branding">“seamless”</a> scent (evocative of home and comfort) was an integral part of its brand experience. But the rival Hilton chain has just announced its <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com.au/how-hilton-hotels-will-be-cleaned-after-coronavirus-2020-4?r=US&IR=T">CleanStay</a> initiative in partnership with the manufacturer of Lysol disinfectant.</p>
<h2>Keep the noise down and don’t touch</h2>
<p>In New Zealand, tips on how to <a href="https://thespinoff.co.nz/society/14-05-2020/siouxsie-wiles-toby-morris-simple-rules-to-play-it-safe-at-alert-level-two/">stay safe</a> under its COVID-19 <a href="https://covid19.govt.nz/alert-system/alert-level-2/">alert level 2</a> include restaurants and bars turning down the music volume. Raised voices, it seems, generate a wider <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/14/moist-breath-zone-covid-19-new-zealand-song-takes-drool-out-of-school">“moist breath zone”</a> that may increase <a href="https://www.marketwatch.com/story/speaking-causes-airborne-virus-transmission-coroanvirus-study-gives-more-insight-into-the-diseases-rapid-contagion-2020-05-14">viral spread</a>. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/denied-intimacy-in-iso-aussies-go-online-for-adult-content-so-whats-hot-in-each-major-city-138122">Denied intimacy in 'iso', Aussies go online for adult content – so what's hot in each major city?</a>
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<p>Reduced sound levels might help anxious consumers <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11747-018-0583-8">relax</a>, but what will the atmosphere be like in a painfully quiet pub or restaurant? It <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0148296306000282">could influence</a> customer perceptions of the establishment, which in turn affect financial returns. Studies have found people bought more drinks in a bar when the music was <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.2466/pms.99.1.34-38">louder than usual</a>. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.retail.org.nz/media/talking-shop-newsletter/coronavirus">Retail guidelines</a> in New Zealand recommend consumers only touch and try on merchandise they intend to buy. In the US, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/30/business/macys-reopening-stores-coronavirus.html">no touch retailing</a> seems increasingly likely. </p>
<p>Such measures confound conventional retail theory, which suggests the more consumers touch, sort through, sample and try on, the more they buy. The removal of <a href="https://www.meccabeauty.co.nz/booking?">testers</a> for products such as cosmetics, for example, significantly changes the shopping experience. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/336295/original/file-20200520-152338-1nqykjr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/336295/original/file-20200520-152338-1nqykjr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/336295/original/file-20200520-152338-1nqykjr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/336295/original/file-20200520-152338-1nqykjr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/336295/original/file-20200520-152338-1nqykjr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/336295/original/file-20200520-152338-1nqykjr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/336295/original/file-20200520-152338-1nqykjr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Sampling makeup and trying on clothes have long been part of the department store experience. How will consumers take to no-contact shopping?</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">www.shutterstock.com</span></span>
</figcaption>
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<h2>Don’t stand so close to me</h2>
<p>Retailers in countries entering winter will also need to think quite literally about the atmosphere in their stores. Warmer temperatures tend to create a <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09593969.2013.781050">relaxing environment</a> that encourages shoppers to linger. And physical warmth can even <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S105774081300096X">enhance</a> the perceived value of products. But poorly ventilated or air-conditioned indoor spaces have been <a href="https://thespinoff.co.nz/science/18-05-2020/siouxsie-wiles-toby-morris-a-note-on-noisy-places-and-covid-19/">identified</a> as potential hot spots for the spread of COVID-19. </p>
<p>Will warmer stores subconsciously affect the way shoppers react? Restaurateurs and retailers will be hoping not. </p>
<p>Paradoxically, the advice to keep our <a href="https://covid19.govt.nz/covid-19/how-were-uniting/physical-distancing/">distance in public</a> can lead to perceived crowding – a <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0148296304000360">psychological state</a> based on the number of individuals in a store, the extent of social interactions and the configuration of merchandise and fixtures. Higher levels of <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1057740800703238">perceived crowding</a> can lead to less positive emotions and decreased satisfaction. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/heres-how-to-stay-safe-while-buying-groceries-amid-the-coronavirus-pandemic-138683">Here's how to stay safe while buying groceries amid the coronavirus pandemic</a>
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<p>Shoppers may simply choose not to enter. If they do, they might feel on edge or even <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11747-011-0284-z">overwhelmed</a> if they are trying to keep a safe distance from others. When <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/798618.pdf?seq=1">personal space is invaded</a> or when <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/27507577?seq=1">personal space zones</a> are relatively large, it can lead to intolerance or even leaving. </p>
<h2>The customer is always right</h2>
<p>Ultimately, if retailers and hospitality service providers want customers to return in greater numbers the goal will be to minimise the perceived risks of infection. Emotionally taxing environments can <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Lewis_Carbone/publication/266277275_Managing_the_Total_Customer_Experience_Managing_the_Total_Customer_Experience/links/55929abc08ae16f493ee285f.pdf">negatively affect</a> consumer behaviour, so managing the emotional component of the retail or dining experience becomes an even more crucial part of the overall value offered. </p>
<p>Adapting so-called <a href="https://theregister.co.nz/2018/10/04/setting-stage-retail-theatre/">“retail theatre”</a> to include sanitation, hygiene, and keeping consumers calm will create a new kind of <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/310826729_Comfort_in_brick_and_mortar_shopping_experiences_Examining_antecedents_and_consequences_of_comfortable_retail_experiences">psychological comfort</a> for the COVID-19 age. But how far will some go to give themselves an edge over competitors? </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1260909481757736969"}"></div></p>
<p>From <a href="https://www.marketwatch.com/story/mannequin-mates-panda-pals-and-greenhouse-get-togethers-this-is-the-new-eating-out-that-respects-social-distancing-2020-05-15">pool noodles, mannequins and glass boxes</a> to <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/as-it-happens-tuesday-edition-1.5575410/u-s-company-makes-bumper-tables-to-keep-restaurant-patrons-apart-during-covid-19-1.5575413">inner tubes</a>, will these innovative adaptations draw in the crowds or make people run in the opposite direction?</p>
<p>How readily customers become comfortable with the etiquette of post-pandemic shopping will dictate how effectively retail and hospitality can provide that vital sense of well-being. In time, the words “retail” and “therapy” may again sit comfortably in the same sentence.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/138777/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>What if lingering in a shop or restaurant is the last thing on your mind? COVID-19 is rewriting the rules of retail.Jessica Vredenburg, Senior Lecturer (Assistant Professor) in Marketing, Auckland University of TechnologyMegan Phillips, Senior Lecturer (Assistant Professor) in Retailing, Auckland University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1346652020-03-27T06:04:50Z2020-03-27T06:04:50ZMyGov’s ill-timed meltdown could have been avoided with ‘elastic computing’<p>These past few weeks have shown the brittleness of Australia’s online systems. It’s not surprising the federal government’s traditionally slow-moving IT systems are buckling under the pressure.</p>
<p>On Sunday, the federal government announced it <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/22/australian-jobseekers-to-get-550-increase-as-part-of-huge-coronavirus-welfare-package">would double unemployment benefits</a> as part of its coronavirus rescue package. But when MyGov’s online services crashed, thousands of desperate Australians felt compelled to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/mar/23/queues-at-centrelink-offices-and-mygov-website-crashes-ahead-of-coronavirus-shutdowns">disobey social distancing rules</a> – forming long queues outside Centrelink offices across the country. </p>
<p>With widespread <a href="https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/412489/coronavirus-what-you-need-to-know-about-school-and-uni-closures">school and university closures</a>, IT services are now the contingency plan of the education sector. For many, they’re the main means of interacting with the outside world. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, these services are only as good as their design. And unless designers prepare for extreme circumstances such as this pandemic, they’re destined to fail. </p>
<h2>MyGov’s failure outlined</h2>
<p>This week, Australia’s <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-03-23/mygov-website-down-centrelink-massive-queues-coronavirus/12080558">welfare system ground to a halt</a> as thousands of people anxiously tried to register for promised federal government support. </p>
<p>According to the 2016 census, the number of Australians working in hospitality makes up <a href="https://www.hospitalitymagazine.com.au/18741-2/">6.9% of the population</a>. Thus, we can estimate about 1.75 million people were affected by sector-wide hospitality service closures. </p>
<p>Economists estimate additional coronavirus measures to #flattenthecurve could see the <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-03-26/coronavirus-pandemic-impact-on-australian-unemployment-rate/12089906">unemployment rate double to more than 11%</a>. This would represent 2.8 million Australians – more than 22 times the number of users MyGov can support at any one time.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-internet-is-surprisingly-fragile-crashes-thousands-of-times-a-year-and-no-one-is-making-it-stronger-120364">The internet is surprisingly fragile, crashes thousands of times a year, and no one is making it stronger</a>
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<p>As of Sunday evening, the online government portal (which people were directed to to access additional welfare) was able to cope with about <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/mar/23/incompetence-attack-mygov-website-did-not-crash-because-of-ddos-cyber-assault-as-stuart-robert-claimed">6,000 people at one time</a>. This is a mere 0.3% of the expected number of Australians affected. </p>
<p>By mid-Monday, the amount of users MyGov could support increased to 55,000 or 3.1% of those affected. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/mar/24/newly-unemployed-australians-queue-at-centrelink-offices-as-mygov-website-crashes-again">By Tuesday, this figure rose to 123,000 users</a>, or 7.5%.</p>
<h2>But why was the system poorly provisioned?</h2>
<p>Having a large number of users access an online portal at once has many costs. Maintaining computer servers that allow this much load is expensive for any business, let alone a government <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-03-25/warning-of-economic-crisis-australia-avoids-full-virus-lockdown">facing the threat of an economic crisis</a>. </p>
<p>The IT industry has solved this problem through cloud computing. This involves having a set of computers owned by companies such as Amazon or Google, and “renting” their storage and processing power as needed. </p>
<p>To understand this, think of Elton John on tour. He doesn’t own stadiums in every city. When he needs to perform, he leases them as needed. He also selects a venue of the appropriate size, as needed. </p>
<p>The same concept applies in computing. The IT industry now has the capacity to rent appropriately-sized computing resources as needed. Furthermore, systems can be designed to automatically increase leased storage and processing power when required. This is called “elastic computing”. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-we-need-to-improve-cloud-computings-security-85481">Why we need to improve cloud computing's security</a>
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<p>Had MyGov and Centerlink used elastic computing, the failures this week could have been prevented. Even the government’s <a href="https://www.dta.gov.au/our-projects/secure-cloud-strategy">Secure Cloud Strategy</a> doesn’t mention using or supporting elastic computing strategies. This is despite last year’s announcement that the <a href="https://www.zdnet.com/article/amazon-web-services-scores-australia-wide-government-cloud-deal/">Amazon AWS Cloud</a>, which supports elastic computing, is the Australian government’s cloud computing provider.</p>
<p>In terms of security, cloud computing providers arguably have <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/jul/04/the-medicare-machine-patient-details-of-any-australian-for-sale-on-darknet">better cybersecurity</a> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/nov/25/my-health-record-failed-to-manage-cybersecurity-and-privacy-risks-audit-finds">records than our federal government</a>.</p>
<h2>Denial of Service attacks</h2>
<p>In 2016, the federal government showed exactly how poorly they understand users’ needs. The online census was, in simple words, disastrous. <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-08-09/census-2016-will-you-be-fined-if-you-dont-complete-survey/7711744">Many people were unable to login to complete it</a>, and from those who were, many had their session fail and logout prematurely.</p>
<p>But what caused <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-08-09/abs-website-inaccessible-on-census-night/7711652">#censusfail</a>?</p>
<p>The system designers failed to anticipate everyone would login at once, on the same night. The number of users competing for access at one time (allowing for different time zones across the country) was up to a quarter of the population. Given Australia has about <a href="https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/australia-population/">25.4 million people</a>, this means about 6.3 million people were trying to complete the census at the same time. </p>
<p>The system was not designed to cope. In computing, when a server has more users than it can service, the impact is the same as a <a href="https://www.cloudflare.com/learning/ddos/glossary/denial-of-service/">Denial of Service (DoS)</a> attack, in which normal traffic can’t be processed. And a Denial of Service attack that comes from multiple devices is called a Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack. This is the mechanism many hackers use to prevent online systems from functioning properly. </p>
<p>Services Minister Stuart Robert <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/mar/23/incompetence-attack-mygov-website-did-not-crash-because-of-ddos-cyber-assault-as-stuart-robert-claimed">blamed the recent MyGov crash on a targeted Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS)</a> attack, rather than the website’s inability to handle the amount of people seeking access. He later redacted his claim, saying: “DDoS alarms showed no evidence of a specific attack”.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/hacked-by-your-fridge-the-internet-of-things-could-spark-a-new-wave-of-cyber-attacks-66493">Hacked by your fridge: the Internet of Things could spark a new wave of cyber attacks</a>
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<h2>Not too late</h2>
<p>It was obvious well before Sunday that additional social welfare would be required when COVID-19 left thousands unemployed. The government has no excuse for not organising additional computing resources. </p>
<p>Services Australia, co-owner of the MyGov and Centerlink systems, should have increased the number of allowable users on the website at one time, before this need became a national issue.</p>
<p>Until the government adopts elastic computing strategies, essential online services will keep failing under pressure. If events from earlier this week are any indication, it’s safe to say this transition would be better late than never.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/134665/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dr Erica Mealy receives funding from SCRIPT, the Sunshine Coast Regional Innovation Program, which includes support from Noosa and Sunshine Coast Councils and the Queensland Government through the Advance Queensland: Advancing Regional Innovation Grants.</span></em></p>The MyGov website ground to a halt this week as thousands of people tried to access welfare support. As a result, long queues popped up at Centrelink offices across the country.Erica Mealy, Lecturer in Computer Science, University of the Sunshine CoastLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1312862020-02-10T01:28:38Z2020-02-10T01:28:38ZAll these celebrity restaurant wage-theft scandals point to an industry norm<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/314150/original/file-20200207-27519-1x7hc3k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C77%2C3213%2C1849&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Heston Blumenthal at a media event at Dinner by Heston in 2016. The restaurant bears his name but he does not own it. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Tracey Nearmy/AAP</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The latest celebrity-chef-linked wage-theft scandal, with the high-end restaurant Dinner by Heston Blumenthal in Melbourne allegedly underpaying its staff by <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-02-04/dinner-by-heston-underpaid-staff-by-more-than-4-million-dollars/11928746">A$4 million</a>, is the tip of the iceberg for wage exploitation in the hospitality industry.</p>
<p>Blumenthal joins a line of celebrity chefs linked to cases of million-dollar wage theft. </p>
<p>There’s former Masterchef judge George Calombaris’s company underpaying staff by <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-07-31/george-calombaris-breaks-his-silence-about-underpaying-staff/11368212">$7.8 million</a>. There’s Shannon Bennett’s <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-04-09/vue-de-monde-restaurant-staff-underpaid-former-workers-claim/9613110">Vue de monde restaurant</a> accused of forcing staff to work up to 30 hours of unpaid overtime each week. There’s Neil Perry’s <a href="https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/national/2019/10/24/rockpool-wage-theft/">Rockpool Dining Group</a>, accused of “audacious” time-sheet tampering potentially worth up to $10 million in unpaid overtime. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/shocking-yet-not-surprising-wage-theft-has-become-a-culturally-accepted-part-of-business-121038">Shocking yet not surprising: wage theft has become a culturally accepted part of business</a>
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<p>While the Rockpool claim has yet to be adjudicated by Australia’s <a href="https://www.fairwork.gov.au/">Fair Work Ombudsman</a>, it did agree in October 2018 to <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-10-14/neil-perry-restaurant-group-forks-out-$1.6-million-in-staff-pay/10374894">back-pay</a> staff $1.6 million. Perry <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/business/workplace/high-end-chef-guillaume-brahimi-s-restaurant-ripping-off-workers-20181020-p50aw1.html">told Fairfax Media</a> Rockpool had made “a few changes” to better comply with the law. “It’s always hard in restaurants,” he said, “but I believe we would be one of very few, if any, that are complying with it currently.”</p>
<p>Our research, in partnership with <a href="https://www.angliss.edu.au/">William Angliss Institute</a>, suggests he’s right about that. Since mid-2018 we’ve interviewed 180 culinary students, apprentice chefs and mature chefs as part of an ongoing study into mental health and wellbeing in the hospitality industry. </p>
<p>What they’ve told us confirms worker exploitation is institutionalised. In particular it takes three forms: unpaid overtime; not paying correct penalty rates; and making those looking for jobs do free work trials. </p>
<p>Our provisional findings confirm those of the 2018 Senate inquiry into <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Education_and_Employment/AvoidanceofFairWork/Report/c06">corporate avoidance of the Fair Work Act</a>. The inquiry’s final report cited Victorian estimates that 79% of hospitality employers did not comply with the national award wage system.</p>
<p>What we’ve found isn’t just that wage theft is rife. What’s notable is that it is less like burglary and more like daylight robbery. Most staff know they are being paid less than what they are entitled to but accept it as “the norm”. </p>
<h2>Unpaid overtime</h2>
<p>Dinner by Heston, which went into liquidation in December, allegedly underpaid staff by at least A$4 million over four years, according to the administrator’s report <a href="https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/2020/02/05/dinner-by-heston-under-paid-staff/">leaked to the New Daily</a>. The restaurant carries Blumenthal’s name though he does not own it. </p>
<p>Former Dinner by Heston chef William Trist told the New Daily he never worked fewer than 60 hours a week, and sometimes more than 80 hours.</p>
<p>Our findings are in line with this and the other celebrity-linked cases mentioned above. Unpaid overtime is the most common form of wage theft. Many chefs and apprentices told us of working more than 20 hours of unpaid work a week during peak periods.</p>
<p>Expectations of unpaid overtime was described to us an intrinsic part of the hospitality business model. It wasn’t a case of inadvertent compliance due to a complicated award system (as suggested by one-time <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/restaurateurs-call-for-amnesty-to-deal-with-wage-compliance-20190928-p52vrm.html">MasterChef Australia judge Matt Moran</a>).</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/no-a-complex-system-is-not-to-blame-for-corporate-wage-theft-126279">No, a 'complex' system is not to blame for corporate wage theft</a>
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<p>It was clear to both bosses and workers. One apprentice told us their employer justified it in the following terms: “We don’t have the budget for it. So we need to wait until we have the budget and pay you.”</p>
<h2>Penalty rates and entitlements</h2>
<p>The next most common form of wage theft, our research suggests, is not paying penalty rates. The majority of interviewees worked Sunday shifts or overtime or through breaks in exchange for the promise of time off, or accepted as compensation meals that might have been thrown away anyway.</p>
<p>Our interviews also suggest underpayment of entitlements such as superannuation contributions is common. Younger workers in particular were often unaware their superannuation was not being paid correctly until it was too late.</p>
<p>One factor contributing to this is the <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-05-18/hospitality-workers-chase-millions-in-unpaid-superannuation/9772546">cash culture</a> in the hospitality industry. As one apprentice told us: “At my first job I asked them if I could be on the books and they said yes, but I didn’t get any pay slips. When I left that job I asked my former manager if I have a superannuation account or something, and he said no.”</p>
<h2>Unpaid work trials</h2>
<p>Unpaid work trials appear to be common too. Two young chefs told us about being duped by the same Sydney restaurant, being asked to work at least three days for free. Neither were offered a job. “Talking to my classmates,” a culinary student said, “it’s common doing free trials.”</p>
<p>One cultural tradition contributing to owners pulling this stunt is the “<a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1878450X18300155">chef’s sabbatical</a>”, when aspirational chefs do “stages”, working for free in renowned restaurants to learn from esteemed chefs. A “<a href="https://www.theworlds50best.com/stories/News/ten-tips-restaurant-stage.html">stagiaire</a>” may volunteer for up to six months to hone their craft and improve their career prospects.</p>
<p>“I’ve done loads of stages,” one chef told us. She travelled for months in the United States and Britain, working in the best restaurants for free. She accepted it was standard practice in the industry to build a career.</p>
<h2>Toxic culture</h2>
<p>When our research is complete, we hope to be able to better quantify the extent to which industry practices contribute to poor mental health among hospitality workers. </p>
<p>Our provisional qualitative results suggest the effect is significant. Those we’ve talked to have told about the stresses of putting up with wage theft or seeking to address it.</p>
<p>“It was like a mental torture for me,” said one apprentice chef, “working ‘til four o'clock, getting paid 'til one o’clock.” </p>
<p>Another apprentice told us how his boss “went ballistic”, throwing a glass jar at the wall when he asked about his entitlements. “I had a massive anxiety attack.” </p>
<p>This toxic culture is contributing to workers quitting the industry. That’s a problem for a sector facing <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/business/workplace/wage-theft-is-a-business-model-let-s-criminalise-it-20190718-p528c4.html">a shortage of 59,500 chefs by 2023</a> compounded by rising traineeship incompletion rates.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/131286/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Richard Robinson receives funding from William Angliss Institute</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Matthew Brenner does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>High-end restaurant Dinner by Heston Blumenthal has allegedly underpaid staff by $4 million. Our research finds wage theft is accepted as the industry norm.Richard Robinson, Research Fellow/Hospitality Management, The University of QueenslandMatthew Brenner, Sessional lecturer and Research Assistant, The University of QueenslandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1249332019-10-30T14:49:06Z2019-10-30T14:49:06ZAirbnb must face the facts: human trafficking and modern slavery happen in rented accommodation<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/299434/original/file-20191030-17930-1kkzwqv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C8%2C6000%2C3979&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Without a trace. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/woman-sitting-on-bed-room-light-735366892?src=vBvNkwMo405w22ux4_ubLQ-1-5">Yupa Watchanakit/Shutterstock. </a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Researchers estimate that there are <a href="https://www.brookes.ac.uk/about-brookes/news/combat-project-aims-to-tackle-hotel-industry-s-role-in-human-trafficking/">1.1m victims</a> of human trafficking across Europe. <a href="https://news.un.org/en/story/2019/01/1029912">According to the UN</a> almost one-third of human trafficking victims globally are children. Cases of forced criminality, prostitution and labour are <a href="https://www.nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk/what-we-do/crime-threats/modern-slavery-and-human-trafficking">a major issue</a> for the hospitality industry, as it’s thought that more than <a href="https://www.brookes.ac.uk/about-brookes/news/combat-project-aims-to-tackle-hotel-industry-s-role-in-human-trafficking/">93,000 sex slaves and 4,500 labour slaves</a> are exploited in European hotels each year. </p>
<p>Hotels, motels, hostels and bed and breakfasts have long coordinated with organisations including the <a href="http://ethics.unwto.org/en/content/protect-children-campaign">UNWTO World Tourism Network on Child Protection</a>, <a href="https://www.ecpat.org.uk/">Every Child Protected Against Trafficking (ECPAT)</a> and the <a href="https://www.tourismpartnership.org/blog/itp-launches-principles-on-forced-labour/">International Tourism Partnership (ITP)</a> to address modern slavery and human trafficking. Organisations in the hospitality industry are <a href="https://www.antislavery.org/what-we-do/past-projects/staff-wanted-initiative/">running awareness campaigns</a>, <a href="https://www.brookes.ac.uk/microsites/combat-human-trafficking/the-toolkit/toolkit-material/?langtype=2057">building toolkits</a>, <a href="https://www.ecpatusa.org/blog/hotel-anti-trafficking-posters">displaying signs</a> and <a href="https://www.ahla.com/issues/human-trafficking">training staff</a> on what to look for and how to respond – as well as coordinating with <a href="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/594970e91b631b3571be12e2/t/59c9b6bfb07869cc5d792b8c/1506391761747/NoVacany_Report.pdf">law enforcement</a> and anti-trafficking organisations. </p>
<p>Yet reports of <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-england-kent-48343959/on-the-front-line-in-the-fight-against-the-county-lines-drug-trade">gang-related drug dealing</a> and “<a href="https://uk.reuters.com/article/airbnb-trafficking/exclusive-airbnb-vows-to-tackle-sex-trafficking-in-rental-homes-idUKL8N1Q6597">pop-up brothels</a>” in accommodation rented online have added a new dimension to these issues. Sharing economy platform Airbnb now has <a href="https://press.airbnb.com/update-on-the-airbnb-community/">7m listings in more than 100,000 cities</a>, making it larger than the eight biggest hotel groups combined. As the company readies for its initial public offering (IPO) in <a href="https://press.airbnb.com/airbnb-announces-intention-to-become-a-publicly-traded-company-during-2020/">2020</a>, the legal grey areas in which its hosts operate are escalating concerns about transparency and accountability – especially in relation to human trafficking and modern slavery. </p>
<h2>Accountability on Airbnb</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.airbnb.co.uk/help/article/1379/responsible-hosting-in-the-united-kingdom">Airbnb’s position</a> is that it has “no control over the conduct of hosts and disclaims all liability”. Hosts <a href="https://digitalcommons.law.msu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1256&context=king">bear responsibility</a> for abiding by the laws in their own countries, and by the standards set out by the company itself. But <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13032917.2017.1283634">my own research</a> into Airbnb has found that, in practice, the question of responsibility goes far beyond who is legally liable. </p>
<p>According to Airbnb, hosts are responsible for meeting legal requirements in their countries – such as <a href="https://www.airbnb.co.uk/help/article/1522/responsible-hosting-in-dubai">collecting tax</a> or installing <a href="https://www.airbnb.co.uk/help/article/2478/what-should-i-know-about-fire-and-carbon-monoxide-safety-when-i-travel">fire or carbon monoxide monitors</a> and adhering to <a href="https://www.airbnb.co.uk/terms/nondiscrimination_policy">anti-discrimination</a> laws. In practice, this means <a href="http://www.benedelman.org/publications/airbnb-guest-discrimination-2016-09-16.pdf">discrimination</a> is permitted if regulations <a href="https://www.wired.co.uk/article/airbnb-china-uyghur-muslim">allow</a>, are absent or do not <a href="https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/does-the-federal-fair-housing-act-apply-your-rental-property.html">apply</a> to smaller owner-occupied buildings. Indeed, Airbnb in the US is immune to discrimination lawsuits due to its <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/02/technology/federal-judge-blocks-racial-discrimination-suit-against-airbnb.html">terms of use</a>. </p>
<p>What’s more, some self-identified hosts on host forums appear confused regarding their obligation to adhere to – or their rights to ignore –<a href="http://www.frmjournal.com/news/news_detail.airbnb-lets-may-be-unsafe-due-to-lack-of-regulation.html">compliance</a> issues such as <a href="https://airhostsforum.com/t/collecting-airbnb-occupancy-tax-strategies/28604">tax collection</a>, <a href="https://airhostsforum.com/t/accessible-category-in-listing-is-useless-or-is-it-me/24122">guest accessibility</a> and <a href="https://airhostsforum.com/t/is-it-discrimination-if-i-say-i-dont-accept-anyone-under-the-age-of-18/6039/2">age discrimination</a>, given that most are not licensed accommodation providers. </p>
<p>Local, regional and national authorities often lack the will or the resources to <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/inside-airbnbs-guerrilla-war-against-local-governments/">fight</a> or <a href="https://www.irishtimes.com/business/personal-finance/why-the-new-airbnb-regulations-are-unlikely-to-work-1.3929969">enforce</a> existing regulations or innovate <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14649357.2019.1599612">new laws</a> to catch up with the latest developments. </p>
<h2>Risky business</h2>
<p>On Airbnb, it only takes a few clicks to make a booking, and the use of key lockboxes, smart locks and keypads has reduced the need for face-to-face interactions between hosts and guests. Airbnb’s former global head of trust and risk management, Nick Shapiro, <a href="https://medium.com/@AirbnbCitizen/taking-a-modern-approach-to-combating-modern-slavery-227db96d732b">explained that</a> the company applies risk analysis by trawling through photos on the platform, to check for signs of exploitation. But it remains unclear how guests not on regulatory, terrorist or sanctions watch lists can be identified as risky, or at risk. </p>
<p>Background screening and risk analysis is only carried out in the US and, in general, Airbnb hosts receive no education on how to spot exploitation and trafficking. Indeed, on <a href="https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Help/Use-of-Airbnb-for-Sexual-Trafficing/m-p/626236#M146479">independent forums</a> hosts display a variable degree of understanding regarding their responsibilities – and Airbnb’s – in relation to modern slavery and human trafficking. </p>
<p>In 2019, <a href="https://www.wttc.org/about/media-centre/press-releases/press-releases/2019/we-have-an-opportunity-to-halt-human-trafficking/">Airbnb joined</a> a World Travel & Tourism Council task force on trafficking. Yet by and large, Airbnb does not coordinate with bodies such as ECPAT, join global campaigns or raise awareness among hosts or guests. There are calls for Airbnb to ensure that hosts around the world undertake training to recognise signs of children at risk, and <a href="https://www.nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk/what-we-do/crime-threats/modern-slavery-and-human-trafficking">report incidents to police</a>. </p>
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<p>Hiring practices within the Airbnb ecosystem can also result in exploitation. For example, property management companies <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/1369118X.2017.1294194">often hire women of colour and migrant women</a> to clean houses. Often, these women are vulnerable, earn a low income and lack labour rights – they tend not to be unionised, as trade unions are unwilling to support a model which can increase the overall cost of rents and eats into <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/22/business/economy/labor-unions-amazon.html">the number of full-time hospitality jobs</a>. </p>
<p>While many businesses across the hospitality industry have made reforms and <a href="https://www.antislavery.org/what-we-do/past-projects/staff-wanted-initiative/">been involved in campaigns</a> to identify practices that lead to exploitation, no official Airbnb global programme currently exists across all the countries it operates in.</p>
<h2>Making change</h2>
<p>The European Union <a href="https://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-19-3990_en.htm">has already demonstrated</a> that it can push Airbnb for change in relation to consumer protections. And the company has shown that it can exercise control over hosts to meet regulations, by making <a href="https://www.airbnb.co.uk/help/article/2509/in-what-areas-is-occupancy-tax-collection-and-remittance-by-airbnb-available">bilateral agreements</a> with tourism authorities to collect various taxes. </p>
<p>Meanwhile, other companies in the sharing economy are raising the bar: ride-sharing platforms <a href="https://www.uber.com/newsroom/fighting-human-trafficking/">Uber</a> and <a href="https://blog.lyft.com/posts/2019/1/18/helping-raise-awareness-to-prevent-human-trafficking">Lyft</a> recently announced that they would teach drivers how to spot traffickers and their victims in some regions. So there is clearly scope for action on the issues of trafficking, exploitation, slavery and discrimination, by platforms such as these. </p>
<p>The lead up to Airbnb’s IPO provides an opportunity to pressure-test the company’s resolve to increase its transparency and accountability throughout the 191 countries it operates in. Measures could include releasing registers of hosts to authorities, increasing transparency through annual reporting, signing the <a href="http://www.thecode.org/about/">code of conduct</a> for the Protection of Children from Sexual Exploitation in Travel and Tourism and adding pictures of Airbnb properties to databases that help police track down traffickers. </p>
<p>It’s time for Airbnb to follow the <a href="http://www.respect.international/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Sex-Trafficking-in-the-Tourism-Industry-Carolin-L-et-al.-2015.pdf">hospitality sector</a>, and take a more proactive stance against modern slavery and human trafficking.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/124933/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michael O'Regan does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Airbnb now has 7m listings in more than 100,000 cities, making it larger than the eight biggest hotel groups combined.Michael O'Regan, Senior Lecturer in Events and Leisure, Bournemouth UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.