Insight & strategy Cricket St Thomas Hotel in Somerset commercial outcomes within the business: I think thats why I like working client-side so much, because its an ongoing process of communication you get to see how the insight has spearheaded change and you get to work with the leaders who are implementing that change. Im lucky that I work for a business that puts the customer at the heart of its decision-making. Post-pandemic recovery Almost all sectors of industry felt the impact of Covid-19, but hospitality bore the brunt of it, as McCormick acknowledges. When the pandemic first started, all of our hotels obviously had to close down and we were in survival mode. But then, over time, as the country began to open up again, we have been focused on our recovery. She identifies two main priorities that the company is focusing on in the wake of the pandemic, the first of which revolves around a key point that will be only too familiar to many hospitality operators. We have had a lot of staff shortages because some members of the team returned to live abroad, or they moved to other sectors that didnt have to shut down wholesale, the way hospitality did, such as retail, explains McCormick. Another related issue involves supply chain problems, which is down to an unholy combination of Brexit and coronavirus. This has presented the group with a considerable challenge: Namely, how do we still offer the Warner experience while ensuring that our guests stay safe and healthy? Even more important is re-evaluating the companys customer segmentation and modelling. McCormick outlines the situation: We built a lot of these prior to Covid and, obviously, consumer behaviour has changed considerably in the meantime. Weve actually managed to attract quite a lot of new customers, made up primarily of people who would normally have gone on holiday abroad, but who have not been able to because of the restrictions and so have opted to take a short break within the UK. That has meant we have had to rebuild our 36 Impact ISSUE 37 2022_pp34-37 I&S Warner.indd 36 28/03/2022 15:08