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HOSPITALITY businesses in Henley reported an uptake in trade during the Henley Literary Festival.
While some business owners reported that footfall fell in the week due to poor weather the majority reported an above-average increase in sales at the weekends.
The annual festival, which hold events across the town centre, ended on Sunday.
Lorraine Hillier, who owns the Hot Gossip coffee house in Reading Road said she thought the festival was “brilliant” for the town.
She said: “There was definitely an increase at the weekend because the literary festival brings people into the town. So getting extra footfall from that was brilliant.
“It was not as good in the week but I don’t blame the lit fest, I blame the weather. It was a shame. I had Andrew Pierce here before he spoke at the town hall. He came in for a coffee and he was lovely.
Miss Hiller said that she had enjoyed attending the festival herself. “I went to see Anton Du Beke myself on Sunday and I loved it,” she said. “It’s nice to be in close proximity with people you usually see on the telly and you have a chance to meet people afterwards.”
Keti Maglakelize, who owns the Geo Cafe in Friday Street, said: “We definitely had an increase in sales and we had new customer traffic. I think they were not locals, so I think it was definitely the festival. It was probably one of the best weekends we have had.”
Rodolfo Martins, of Berries coffee shop in Hart Street, said: “Last weekend was actually very very strong for us. It was quite a nice weekend.
“We normally get a nice lot of people in on the weekend anyway but we were slightly busier than normal. I think I’m sure it was from the festival. Every festival in the town always brings more people in. They always walk down past her on their way to the go to the river or see the bridge.”
Andrew Oxley, manager of The Relais Hotel in Hart Street said that the hotel’s bar and café had been busy with festival goers.
He said: “People who are attending talks at Phyliss Court or the town hall walk past and come in and we have also been very fortunate to have a few of the authors staying.
“You find the people trying to do the earlier talks tend to come into the deli and the people attending the evening talks have been going to the bar.
“It has been busier during the weekend than during the week, but I think that's due to the weather.”
Rebecca Benson, who owns the Cheesy Grape in Market Place, said: “It is always a really good week, especially if we get the end of the summer as well and people can sit outside. We always see an increase.
“A few of our bookings were booked by people wanting lunch before their talks and we had people in afterwards as well.
“The festival is brilliant, I think anything that brings people into Henley is positive and always helps local business.”
Cam Parke, who is a supervisor at the Bull on Bell Street pub, said: “We had a few more people come in as we are the first pub as you come into Henley from Phyllis Court, and on Wednesday and Thursday when it is usually quieter in the evening, we had a few more people in for dinner.”
But some businesses further out of the town centre that they had not necessarily felt the benefit of the festival.
Andrew Cryne, who runs the Anchor pub in Friday Street, said: “I think the festival is excellent in relation to what it brings to Henley but we haven’t seen that much footfall. We have had a few people in from the train station but more over the weekends that during the week.”
Mark Denman, who works as a barman at the Row Barge in West Street, agreed. He said: “It has been about the same because we are a bit of a back street boozer. The festival doesn’t really tend to make a difference.”
The town’s booksellers also said that there had been an increased “buzz” around reading. Jonathan Jackson, deputy manager at Oxfam in Duke Street, said that the shop’s takings had been up by more than 20 per cent during the festival.
He said: “We definitely noticed an increase in footfall and takings. Obviously a lot of book people in the town is great for us.
“We have a window display on the theme of the festival and we have books from the different authors that they have previously written as we get the list of authors beforehand.
“I think it’s a great festival it started small but it’s huge now.”
Emma Downes, the manager of the Bell Bookshop in Bell Street, said that the festival had been the “icing on the top” of what is already a busy publishing season.
She said: “We have done very well, as usual. We do sell all the books at the events so it’s a very busy time for us.
“The festival always creates a buzz which is hard to maintain for nine days, but it does. It just makes reading more visible and more tangible for everyone and it creates excitements around buying hard copies rather than ebooks.”
14 October 2024
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