Glasgow and surrounding areas are released from the purgatory of level four restrictions tomorrow.

There will be appointments at the hairdressers from 6am and the return of retail.

We have new daytime opportunities for the two weeks before Christmas, yet it won’t work for everyone. Bars are shut, probably until the spring. Without the chance to welcome diners in the evening, some restaurants will stay closed. Others have chosen to stick to dining at home orders instead of opening their doors.

The lockdown experience has been a reminder that Glasgow sits within a shared hospitality ecosystem. What happens here affects the outlook for the west coast, Loch Lomond, and a network of surrounding suburban hotels and restaurants.

Glasgow Times:

David Tracey is the managing director of Manorview Hotels, a group that includes Boclair House in Bearsden, The Busby Hotel and the Torrance in East Kilbride.

In the absence of international tourists or business travellers, they are taking a local approach to a different kind of festive season: “Usually Christmas would be in full flow and we’d have our party nights and other bookings.

"Two of our hotels will stay closed until the new year. The Redhurst in Giffnock is currently undergoing a refurbishment and is due to reopen at the end of February. The other hotels can sell rooms from Friday night and we can have a daytime offering through the Christmas period under level three restrictions.”

He says the team have become quite skilled at bringing the venues back online and they will be ready for this weekend: “Our big focus will be our family brunch and creating something new in the daytime. Our hotels host a lot of family celebrations and we want to see adults and kids back with us in our restaurants.

“Christmas Day is selling quite well at the moment as a festive meal with a Santa making an appearance from an appropriate distance. I think people will still want to come out and socialise, although in smaller groups. We’re also seeing a lot of overnight bookings, with folk just looking for a change of scenery.”

Glasgow Times:

While international travel takes time to return, hotels take on more of a role in the community and the spaces that they offer will be in demand as we move into next year: “What we are seeing is people around Scotland are keen to get away as much as the regulations allow and that’s led us to renew our focus on service and hospitality. Our properties are well regarded in the local community so I hope that will see us through 2021. We have a lot of weddings on the books so we are hoping the vaccine schedule allows us to be able to deliver on those, which will be a real godsend.”

The hotel industry tends to operate at a frenetic pace as it cycles through the seasons so taking that down a notch has allowed David and his colleagues to have a look at areas of the business.

Glasgow Times:

While events has taken primacy in the past, they are concentrating on customer service and raising the quality of food and drink: “We want to welcome people out of the house after lockdown, focus on the new menus and work on the delivery. There’s a lot of challenges for our industry but we are happy to be able to trade and we want to play our part.”

Meanwhile, Radisson RED Hotel will announce its return with a charity livestream, raising money for The Ben, Scotland’s hospitality and licensed trade charity, featuring Go Radio presenter Stevie Lennon, Jon Mancini and Michael Kilkie. The hotel’s eye-catching and innovative afternoon tea offering was featured in The Best of Glasgow book, available to order online HERE