Welcome to the 1.5-metre economy: this is what going out after coronavirus will look like
Are you also going crazy from being forced to stay at home, and can’t wait to have a beer somewhere or go out for a bite to eat again? Or even more than that: get away for a weekend, book a hotel… IF it becomes possible again, things will no longer be the same as before coronavirus. Welcome to the 1.5-metre economy.
The hospitality industry will remain closed until 28 April 2020 anyway. What will the situation be after that? Will the one-and-a-half-metre economy become the new reality for the hospitality industry, for example because the government imposes that rule, or simply because guests need it? The chance is quite high; realistically speaking, experts told AD that the so-called 1.5-metre society will continue for two years.
One to two years…
Even when the Netherlands’ ‘intelligent lockdown’ ends, the rule requiring one-and-a-half metres of distance will remain. That would make the 1.5-metre society a reality already. “Until there is a vaccine, we will have to live with this,” says Jan Kluytmans, a medical microbiologist at Amphia Hospital in Breda. In the most positive scenario, that will be one year. But two years would be more realistic. That is why the cabinet is urging various sectors to think about the new way of working.
Going out for drinks on a terrace—how?
“If you have to keep one-and-a-half metres apart, that will be the end of cafés as we know them,” says Kluytmans. “Opening the terraces? Well… If hospitality customers behave themselves, it might be possible. But hospitality often involves alcohol too. Just try enforcing those rules.” Nevertheless, some entrepreneurs are already cautiously preparing for this new reality. Raymond van ‘t Hooft, owner of Barça in Amsterdam, has even created a test layout in his restaurant.
“We created a test layout over the past week and arrived at around 45 people we can seat under the one-and-a-half-metre rule. We assumed around 2–3 people per table, who live at the same address and can prove this by means of checks using an Extract from the Population Register and ID. We also took one-and-a-half metres between passers-by into account in the test layout,” he told hospitality trade magazine Entree Magazine.
Hospitality with distance
Merlet in Schoorl is even reopening a little earlier; on 24 April, the hotel and restaurant kitchens will reopen ‘intelligently’. This means that the four-course menu by chef Jonathan Zandbergen of Michelin-starred restaurant Merlet must be eaten not in the restaurant itself, but in the hotel room. Daily specials from grand café Bourgogne will also be delivered to the room door. Guests will have breakfast in their rooms too.
“The most important thing will be that guests do not come into contact with other guests and staff. But we are convinced that we can still spoil our guests without the usual detailed explanation of the dishes and wines. We are simply doing that in a different way now,” the owners said in an interview with Misset Horeca.
A summer without festivals?
Large-scale events, such as festivals and concerts, can no longer be organised on a grand scale in a 1.5-metre society. In a marquee that would normally accommodate 3,800 people, there would only be room for 700 if the required distance were observed. And even then, there is a great deal of risk of indirect contact… It is not yet known what will happen to all the summer festivals. The organisation behind Pinkpop (this year from 19 to 21 June) is cautiously optimistic and is assuming for now that the event will go ahead. But for now, we mainly have to wait and see what the government’s new measures after 1 June will be…
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