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| Hospitality Today | June/July 2016
Guest feedback could
yield a ‘£3.2bn boost
to the UK economy’,
says Barclays report
Improving how the UK hospitality and leisure sector manages and responds to
customer feedback could contribute an additional £3.2bn to the UK economy
over the course of the next decade, according to the Barclays Feedback
Economy report, released last month. A more successful hospitality and
leisure sector has the potential to add an extra £2bn to the UK economy with
the impact on the sector’s large supply chain contributing a further £1.2bn.
This economic benefit will be achieved
by improving how businesses such
as hotels, bars, restaurants, travel
businesses, health spas, sports clubs and
cinemas monitor, manage and respond
to customer feedback. Putting processes
in place to better manage customer
feedback will create a more responsive
sector, attracting more overseas tourists
and encouraging domestic visitors to stay
longer and spend more, increasing spend
per head and benefitting the sector’s wide
supply chain.
Mike Saul (below), Head of Hospitality
and Leisure at Barclays, said:
“The rise of feedback sites has been a
disruptive force within the hospitality
industry over the past decade. Our
research reveals that those working in
the UK hospitality and leisure industry
feel that these faster, easier and simpler
feedback mechanisms are a good thing
for the industry – resulting in more agile
businesses better able to serve the evolving
needs of consumers.
“However, there is even more that the
hospitality industry can do to capitalise
on this opportunity. Our research shows
that being more responsive to customer
feedback could increase the value of the
UK hospitality and leisure industry to the
wider economy by more than £3 billion
over the next decade.”
Leaving feedback - a growing trend
UK co