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Diageo urges governments to provide long-term recovery packages for the hospitality sector

Diageo, the manufacturer of Guinnesshas announced a new global pubs and bars support program to welcome and recover customers after the COVID-19 pandemic. “Raise the bar” is a two-year program that will be available from July 2020.

“Raising the Bar” will provide the company with $ 100 million / £ 79.9 million to support the restoration of key hospitality centers including New York, London, Edinburgh, Dublin, Belfast, Mexico City, Sao Paulo , Shanghai, Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Nairobi, Dar es Salaam, Kampala, Sydney and beyond. This $ 100 million / £ 79.9 million program includes the $ 20 million / £ 16 million community fund announced in the United States on June 12, 2020.

Diageo designed the Raising the Bar program after a global survey of bar owners to find out what they had to open after the lock. Her top priorities include hygiene measures, digital support and practical equipment to change the way their outlets work.

The Raising the Bar program provides targeted assistance in paying for the physical equipment needed to reopen the points of sale. In Great Britain, for example, Diageo will provide the first funds for: "hygiene kits" with high-quality permanent disinfectants, hand-disinfectants of medical quality and a range of personal protective equipment (such as masks and gloves); Helping pubs and bars build partnerships with online reservations and cashless systems; mobile bars and outdoor equipment.

From June 24, 2020, bar owners can register their interest in the "Raising the Bar" program through the DiageoBarAcademy worldwide and MyDiageo in the UK and Ireland. Bar owners receive regular updates on best practice training and resources, and can participate in global surveys to share insights as they rebuild their businesses.

Ivan Menezes, Managing Director of Diageo, commented: “Pubs and bars are at the heart of every community. We launched "Raising the Bar" because so many branches are affected by this crisis and urgently need help to reopen their doors. & # 39; "

“We are calling on governments around the world to provide long-term recovery packages to help the hospitality sector. These companies play a vital role in bringing people together, making contacts and celebrating – something that we all missed so much in this terrible crisis – and to help hundreds of millions of jobs get young people on the employment ladder Offer. "

The United Nations' International Labor Organization has forecast that 436 million companies worldwide will experience serious interference and that one in six young people will be unemployed due to COVID-19. The hospitality sector will be hardest hit as pubs, bars, clubs and restaurants offer hundreds of millions of jobs to full-time and part-time workers.

The impact of COVID-19 on the hospitality sector has been widespread as venues have closed worldwide. When governments begin to simplify lockdown measures, the public wants to come back together to connect with their community and make secure contacts. With access to free digital support, technology, training and equipment, Diageo Bars wants to help reopen their doors.