Category Archives: Pubs & Bars

Over the Christmas period, Vianet have reviewed their data taken from circa. 8,500 sites throughout December. The insight taken from pubs and bars across the UK demonstrates a downturn for festive trade as the coronavirus pandemic continues to threaten the hospitality industry with restrictions.

A downturn in dispensed volume was evident across the UK throughout the festive period in 2021 when compared with the volumes dispensed in 2019.

Tighter restrictions in Scotland & Wales have had more of a negative impact on festive trade, revealing a greater downturn in dispensed volumes than seen in England.

Click on the report below for the PDF view.

The festive season is upon us, and the end of another challenging year to say the least. We’d like to take this opportunity to thank all our partners for their custom and co-operation this year, as well as our employees. We wish you all and your families a very Merry Christmas and all the best for 2022.

Don’t forget, out of hours and during the times we are closed, there is installation guides, troubleshooting guides and training support available 24/7 through our SmartAcademy Training Platform.

Vianet’s Customer Experience Team’s open hours over the Christmas period to support you are as follows…

SMART ZONES – HOSPITALITY, PUBS & BARS HELPDESK

SMART MACHINES – VENDING, COFFEE SERVICE & UNATTENDED RETAIL HELPDESK

This year is more important than ever to the Great British Pub and the EURO 2020 Tournament has had a huge effect giving a well needed boost to the on-trade, despite restrictions being in place throughout.

Vianet has been providing invaluable data insights to pubs and restaurants throughout the EURO 2020. Sign up for the more in-depth report from Oxford Partnership here.

If you’d like to find out more about Vianet’s Data Insight and Beer Monitoring solutions – please don’t hesitate to contact our team.

With EURO 2020 landing this week, how is your pub preparing for the major sporting events?

Vianet can provide the key insight needed as we navigate our way through the remaining lockdown restrictions on hospitality and beyond.

Vianet’s Draught Beer Monitoring and Data Insight can help you to not only monitor your beer volumes during your busiest periods, like EURO 2020, but also give you the insight needed to provide quality service, reduce wastage, and maximise your profits when it matters most.

Football Tournaments, like the Euro’s, are always a big event to look forward to in the on-trade, and this year this is probably more important than ever to the Great British Pub. Restrictions are set to remain in place until June 21st, which covers the first 6 group stage games for the UK, but with the weather on-side and some sunshine the investment made into outside spaces should reap the rewards.

Vianet’s Draught Beer Monitoring and Data Insight can help you to not only monitor your beer volumes during your busiest periods, but also give you the insight needed to provide quality service, reduce wastage, and maximise your profits when it matters most.

Maximise your Event Profit Opportunity through Data Insight

Vianet’s insight services ensure that you are prepared for key events and that each event is successful and profitable. Vianet’s insight allows clients to view like for like / year on year event data comparisons, and it can also benchmark against the industry. Whether looking at insight by individual site, a particular trading session, day of the week or looking at a complete national pub operator versus the industry, the insight proves that you cannot action what you do not know.

Vianet are also able to access all calendar events and sporting events by volume. The insight technology digs even deeper when it comes to product range. Vianet’s platform can show a national picture, or you can have the added advantage of seeing data from individual areas or outlets, how effective your team are at the busiest times and the insight will even show the weakest links in your operational chain, by pub, product or the person serving.

Unlock your post-pandemic profit potential. Find out more about Vianet’s Insight Services

Contact Vianet today – sales@vianetplc.com +44 (0) 1642 358800

We are proud to announce our full line up and itinerary (see below) ahead of our very first webinar next week, ‘Power Through The Pandemic: The Value of Data Insight in a Global Pandemic’.

In this virtual event, Vianet & guest speakers will cover how data insight can help businesses in our sectors, can improve their operational efficiencies and face the challenges encountered in such an unpredictable climate.

The future is more uncertain than ever, and businesses need to be tactical in utilising resources and data insight to power through the on-going global pandemic.

Data is vital to identifying trends, requirements and adapting to change, giving you insight on your business that can make all the difference to running efficiently during unpredictable times. Data Insight gives businesses the opportunity to look back at their performance and sales in key periods and see what can be adjusted to maximise profit and minimise loss.

We have been very fortunate to welcome on board some fantastic partners and guest speakers to deliver this event to you.

If you wish to register to attend our FREE event, please sign up here. We look forward to delivering this to to you all on Tuesday!

WEBINAR ITINERARY FOR TUESDAY 8th DECEMBER 2020 @ 12pm GMT:

12pm – Mark Parry – Sales Director – Vianet

Welcome & Introduction

12.05pm – Tim Knight – UK&I National Vending Manager – PepsiCo International

How might we be using data over the next 5 years?

12.15pm – Ross MacDonald – Managing Director – The Upton Group

Post-COVID operations in the Vending sector

12.25pm -Craig Brocklehurst – Chief Operating Officer – Vianet

Data Insight during the pandemic in the Hospitality Sector

12.30pm – Alison Jordan – CEO – Oxford Partnership

The Power of Dynamic Market Data in a Pandemic and beyond

12.45pm – Neil Tooth – Audit Manager – Punch Pubs

Punch Pubs experiences using the Beer Monitoring System & iDraught

12.55pm – Q&A

Again, if you wish to register to attend our FREE event, please sign up here.

At Vianet, we are proud to announce the launch of our very first webinar:

Power Through The Pandemic: The Value of Data Insight in a Global Pandemic

In this event, Vianet and their guest speakers will discuss how data insight is key for businesses to plan and navigate their way through this challenging climate.

The future is more uncertain than ever, and businesses need to be tactical in utilising resources and data insight to power through the on-going global pandemic.

Data is vital to identifying trends, requirements and adapting to change, giving you insight on your business that can make all the difference to running efficiently during unpredictable times. Data Insight gives operators the opportunity to look back at their performance and sales in key periods and see what can be adjusted to maximise profit and minimise loss.

Vianet and special guests look at how Data Insight is the key ingredient in ensuring stability and efficiency in your business moving forward as we navigate this ongoing pandemic for the longer term.

One of this event’s host speakers will be our Managing Director, Rob Little. Our guest speakers from globally recognised brands will be announced shortly, as well.

We would love for you to join us on Tuesday, 8^th December for this informative session on data insight in the current times.

To sign up for our webinar, please access the event below:

https://vianet_power_through_the_pandemic.eventbrite.co.uk/

Hawthorn, the community pub company, has signed a new partnership with intuitive software and insight platform, Vianet, following a successful trial of its iDraught platform. The £350,000 investment will see iDraught rolled out across Hawthorn’s Leased and Tenanted estate, and will help Hawthorn identify key areas for attention and development through estate-wide coverage, as well as providing its Partners with retail support as pubs begin to reopen.

The Vianet iDraught software enables pub companies to intelligently monitor all aspects of their bars to ensure the very best in returns. The platform works to maximise profits in the draught beer category, and has proven capability in delivering end-to-end solutions for its customers with over 13,500 pubs connected and 220,000 unique points of capture.

With Vianet’s 20-years of experience spanning across more than 300 on-trade partners, the iDraught tech will benefit Hawthorn’s Pub Partners by capturing data through tap-to-till reconciliation to monitor shrinkage and minimise loss, planning and management to significantly improve margins, and monitoring line-cleaning and delivery to provide them with the best pint possible and remove waste. Partners will also benefit from a dedicated account team and support from a cellar management trained ABCQ (Award in Beer & Cellar Quality) team.

Andrew Parker, Managing Director of Leased and Tenanted Operations said:

“Working to successfully re-open our Leased and Tenanted businesses following the 15-week lockdown, we have found the Vianet information incredibly insightful. The new iDraught technology has really opened our, and our Partners’, eyes to using this data in a more forward-thinking manner for the future, and we’re looking forward to making the most of our partnership once our pubs are back up and running.”

Scott West, Client Director at Vianet, said:

“We have worked with Hawthorn for a number of years and couldn’t be happier with their feedback. Their trial of the iDraught solution has opened up the entire Hawthorn Leased and Tenanted estate to the very best in data collection and, as a result, maximised profits in the draught beer category.”

Trevor Jenkinson, Hawthorn Pub Partner at The Needles, Derby, said:

“During the trial, I used iDraught on a daily basis to check my sales by product against the previous year, and to order in my following week’s stock as I can just replace what we have sold.

“I am now also 100% confident in my line cleaning as the system identifies that the correct amount of solution has been used to enable a maximum clean. I can give the stock taker the actual pints lost figure as it measures these exactly.”

This new partnership is one of many ways Hawthorn has worked to support its Partners through lockdown. The community pub company has already pledged £9.4million in CAPEX spend in Q3 investments in order to prepare its pubs for a post-Covid environment, as well as committing £250,000 in matched investments through its Pub Partner Investment Fund, launched in October last year, to help improve outdoor spaces across 100 of its sites.

Hawthorn’s ongoing support has been met with positive feedback from Partners. During the first lockdown, 97% of Partners & Operators said the PubCo had met or exceeded expectations, and KAM Media’s recent Licensee Index saw Hawthorn outperform its peers across a wide range of categories, including COVID-19 support (9.2/10), quality of BDM (8.8), and likelihood to recommend the company to other publicans (8.3).

About Hawthorn

Hawthorn, the community pub company, was established in 2014, and owns more than 700 leased, tenanted and operator managed community pubs across UK villages, residential neighbourhoods, towns and city centres. Hawthorn is proud to serve its communities, and its ambition is to be the UK’s number one community pub operator.

Hawthorn is not your typical pub company, and is passionate about its people and pubs. It empowers its teams to give the Partners the support they need to deliver best in class service, and meet the needs of the communities they serve. Hawthorn is always seeking to add to its growing portfolio, by identifying and acquiring community pubs that deliver substantial and growing returns. For more information, please visit: www.hawthornpubs.co.uk

Saturday 4^th July was a momentous day for the hospitality sector as ‘Super Saturday’ benchmarked the welcome reopening of pubs, bars and restaurants across England. After an unpredictable and unsettling time for the industry, the pandemic we’ve been quarantined in for the last 3 months has presented all kinds of challenges for businesses in the hospitality sector.

Sanitisation is essential to preventing the spread

As we move forward and businesses begin to reopen to the public, it is vital a clear message of safety and cleanliness is prominent in every outlet to ensure and promote measures are in place to provide a clear message of safety and protection for staff and customers in every outlet, as well as crucially, doing everything we can to prevent a second wave of the virus.

What is Vianet’s Smart Shield Sanitisation Service?

Vianet’s Smart Shield team have a nationwide engineer team ready to sanitise and disinfect your business, eliminating all envelope viruses including COVID-19, flu and up to 99.99% of bacteria from your premises.

Smart Shield’s accredited product is a preventative sanitisation service utilises eco-friendly, naturally derived, mild surfactants and a natural fermentation extract to produce an environmentally responsible and sustainable sanitiser and disinfectant. The solution does not need to be rinsed, even on food contact surfaces.

What do our existing Smart Shield customers say?

Last week, our Smart Shield team were out and about across the country, helping premises prepare for their grand re-openings.

We attended the Sun Inn in Blackpool, delivering our Smart Shield COVID-19 Antiviral Sanitising Service in the premises to create a safe environment for the return of their customers. Dave Wise, Landlord of the Sun Inn said “It was a no brainer for us to sanitise the premises ahead of our reopening. The safety and wellbeing of our patrons and staff is our priority and we want to offer customers the safest environment possible to return to.”

Another premises sanitised with Smart Shield last week in preparation for their reopening Super Saturday was Tong Park Cricket Club in Esholt. Their whole cricket club including bar areas and toilets are fully sanitised and COVID-19 free thanks to our Smart Shield Sanitisation Service.

Tong Park’s club treasurer, David Young said “The Smart Shield service is a fantastic idea, and the thought of all our members and their families feeling safe in our club is brilliant. We are so pleased to be reopening our doors.”

Craig Brocklehurst, Commercial Operations Director at Vianet said “ This service has been born out of a passion to help the hospitality industry get back on its feet and trading. Smart shield can be automatically scheduled to be carried out every 30 days giving reassurance to our customers that protection is in place so they can focus on re-building their business”

Smart Shield is suitable for sanitising any premises or business

The Smart Shield product isn’t just limited to the hospitality industry though. Smart Shield is flexible and the product is suitable for just about any environment or surface, whether that be a restaurants and kitchens, commercial property, office space, etc. Interested to find out more about our nationwide sanitsation service? Contact us today at smartshield@vianetplc.com

Decommissioning your cellar dispense equipment

Now the government has forced pubs to close to the public it more important than ever to ensure the cellar dispense system is properly cleaned and decommissioned in the correct way. It could be a few weeks or even 6 months or more before you trade again, therefore it is imperative you are able to serve good quality beer as soon as possible upon re-opening, there will be no time for delays.

If the recommended process in not followed it may result in damage to the equipment which renders it unusable. It may them be necessary to have equipment replaced which could be costly and delay the reopening of your business. Also by following the recommended process it will save money, things such as turning off the cellar cooling and beer coolers will reduce the electricity used during closed periods.

Vianet data can help your business

Remember if you have a manager, someone who cleans the lines for you or you are a multiple operator by using the data provided by Vianet on their web site you can ensure the correct process is followed giving you the best chance of re-opening without a hitch.

Decommissioning Process

Disconnect all keg and cask lines.
Clean every line, regardless of which brand of beer line cleaner you use insure you follow the manufactures instruction regarding dosage and soak times.
Once all of the lines are clean empty the cleaning bottle, push up all of the cellar buoy plungers so they cannot seal.
Empty every line until air comes out of each tap.
Cask lines that are not pump assisted simply remove that tap connect from the bucket and up the hand-pull several times until water stops coming out.
DO NOT leave water in the lines, this can damage or taint the line.
Clean the keg connectors preferably with alcohol spray, once cleaned ensure they cannot touch the floor.
Turn of the power to the cellar cooling and any beer coolers. (Leave the cellar cooling on of you have any stock that is un-tapped and has plenty of shelf life left on it).
Turn off all cellar gasses and any air compressors.
Clean all tap nozzles and put them back on to prevent them getting lost.

Recommissioning process

48 hours before you re-open

Turn the cellar cooling back on (sooner if you have stock delivered).
Turn on the beer coolers and ensure the liquid level is correct and they work.
Turn on the cellar gas and any compressors.

This will allow you time to get someone out before you re-open if something is wrong. Once you are happy the beer coolers and gas system is working correctly they can be switch back off until 24 hours before you open.

24 hours before re-opening

Clean all beer lines following the line cleaning manufactures instruction for the brand you use.
Flush the lines through with plenty of fresh water.
Clean the keg connectors, preferably with alcohol spray.
Check the Kegs are still in date before reconnecting the keg couplers.
Remove clean and replace all nozzles.

2019’s Rugby World Cup tournament saw an average downturn in volume of -0.64% in Leased & Tenanted pubs and -0.39% in Managed houses compared to the average weekend pints poured. The lack of uplift overall was undoubtedly due to the timings of the matches which saw the majority of England games played early morning at 9am or earlier.

Looking at pubs that opened early for the games the uplift was slightly more favourable with an average uplift of 6.53% in Leased & Tenanted and 3.12% in Managed houses. Keeping with the sites that opened early, biggest volume increase came when England played South Africa in the Final with Leased & Tenanted pubs demonstrating an uplift of 31.85% and Managed houses of 21.78%.

Overall the Rugby World Cup didn’t have a significant impact in pub trade, however, an uplift was evident from the Quarter Final stage with the Final being the biggest impact game.