Operational Update - 15th May 2020

Although the light at the end of the tunnel might still be somewhat distant, I think right now it is important to share with you some of the operational plans and actions we are taking to ensure that we help you come out the other side. We have put these together with input from so many of you, so thank you to all those of you who have contributed.

We remain focused on two key areas to help your sites:

Drive footfall to increase revenue

Increase profitability by reducing costs.

Times and Sunday Times Media partnership with support by Chase Distillery:

The Epicurean Club has partnered with the Times to be their UK hotel partner. This will involve coverage across all their titles and publications. At the moment the Times are featuring 'places to bookmark' for stays in the future BUT hopefully soon will be encouraging people to book when our sites are taking bookings. All people who book through the Times will receive a complimentary cocktail from Chase Distillery (they will be sending you the stock and details for this). The redemption process (and ordering more Chase GB gin should you run out) will be very simple.

Epicurean Passports and #epicthankyouNHS

· Aim for passport is to drive multi-night, multi-site stays with enhanced value for guest.

· By buying passports early, guests can show support to what we all hold dear - our Great British pubs and inns - as well as getting great value breaks.

· For each passport purchased a night will be donated to the NHS as a thank you 1,000 nights (£100k+value) given back as a thank you.

· All passports will have value add from our partners (e.g. free jacket for £1,000 passport / complimentary use of a Volvo for at least the duration of the passport / etc.)

· Passports will be £250/£500/£1,000 - the greater the value, the better the partner offers.

· Monetary passport can be used across all sites in Epicurean Collection

· Itineraries will be created to link sites together with suggested experiences; driving longer stays.

We've designed this as a new product to encourage longer stays (aimed at people who might have gone abroad for a week plus). We are offering people vouchers (passports) to be used for multi-site stays and longer staycations across our inns, and keeping them spending within the Collection. All we need from you is the commitment to offer 7 nights free over the next 12 months to NHS workers (7 x 150 = 1,050 room nights, helping us to market this really effectively). Once launched, we will pair you with 7 NHS staff who you can then arrange a mutually agreeable time for them to stay. We want to sell well over 1,000 passports, get national media coverage of this scheme and ensure our brand partners add unbelievable value to the offer to help drive bookings. To be a part of this you will need to be able to offer live-booking for your rooms.

PMS/Booking systems:

We're all looking to reduce our costs so we've negotiated free access for the next 6 months to 'Inn Style' booking and PMS system. It's one of the market leaders (and I know some of you use this already), connects directly with our booking platform and also connects direct to the major OTAs like booking.com and Expedia. If you are shelling out any money to average booking platforms or cannot connect directly to us then I suggest this could be a big cost saver, in terms of no fees and also bookings we can drive if your site is live-book.

Epicurean Marketplace:

We're working on using the collective buying power of the Collection to negotiate better prices, support products and value-add on core products needed to run your sites - from beer, wine, kitchen oil, chemicals, insurance etc. Hold fire for more info and we'll be in touch soon to share the results and help you re-open with lower costs.

If you need any information about the above or do not want to be part of any of these campaigns please contact the Club asap.