The UK government will be relaxing the lockdown rules further from July 4, 2020, though with continued restrictions in place including social distancing.

The new rules will affect English hotels, bed and breakfasts, pubs and restaurants, as well as theatres, cinemas and galleries.

The Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, said that in the case of restaurants, indoor service would be table service only, and interactions between guests and staff should be kept to a minimum.

The relaxation is still nearly two weeks away, and government sources warned that the situation could change once again if there was new evidence of new infections,

Hotel chains are already welcoming the announcement, and we will be detailing their reactions below.

Stephen Cassidy, Managing Director, UK and Ireland, Hilton, said: “We are looking forward to opening our hotels and welcoming back guests. We know that expectations will be different, with cleanliness and hygiene more important than ever. To ensure our guests have peace of mind and confidence, we will be implementing Hilton CleanStay – an industry-leading programme which will give guests an even cleaner and safer stay, across all of our 150 hotels in the UK.”

Jane Pendlebury, the CEO of Hospa, said that,

“Having a definite opening date means hospitality can finally see a way forward – with the relaxation of the social distancing rule a huge relief for hoteliers and others in the industry.”

“Of course, safety is paramount and our priority is opening safely, for both guests and staff, but this offers the industry, if not exactly an open door to a return, then certainly a workable margin. No doubt there’ll be muted celebrations in hotels all around the country as we look to start moving forward again.”

Joss Croft, CEO, UKinbound commented, “Today’s announcement that pubs, restaurants, hotels and attractions can officially open on the 4^th July will come as a huge relief to businesses across the tourism and hospitality industry, who have earned very little revenue since the beginning of March.  Reducing social distancing from two metres to one will also ensure that many more businesses will be able to viably reopen at the start of next month.”