Fylde coast hospitality sector hit hard by cancellations as Government announcement sparks customer fears

Hoteliers and bar owners are calling on the Government to act decisively and to extend support for hospitality businesses left in the lurch by the half measures so far announced in the wake of rising cases of the new Omicron variant of coronavirus.

The Prime Minister has implemented a “Plan B” to stem rising case loads and protect the NHS from being overwhelmed, This involves working from home, Covid passports for large venues and mask wearing in shops and public transport.

But warnings from him and top medics about not going out unless necessary rising numbers of Omicron cases has resulted in members of the public cancelling nights out.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak is coming under increasing pressure to produce a fresh rescue package for the hospitality sector as Christmas festivities have been scaled back despite no Government imposed lockdown having been so far made.

Claire Smith from hoteliers association Stay Blackpool said this weeks announcement had wrecked people’s plans and was “worse than last year”.

She said last year businesses had been locked down before December and were getting financial support from the Government, but this time businesses had been expecting to trade throughout the vital festive season and had taken on staff and paid for goods and services which now could leave them massively out of pocket.

She said: “It is horrendous. The announcement has come at exactly the wrong time. It is having a most serious impact without a shadow of a doubt on bookings.

“For example at Number One St Luke’s we were fully booked for Christmas Parties. When Boris made his first announcement, instantly people started cancelling.

“ Many big businesses are thinking they are doing the right thing by cancelling their Christmas parties, while staff are worried that if they go out now and are with someone who later tests positive, that will mean a ten day isolation period which will ruin their family Christmas, so they are pulling out too.

“Many people come to Blackpool for parties and stay over, so you have not only got parties being cancelled for the venues, hotel bookings are being cancelled too.

“The indecision of leaving it to individuals is a cop out - its having the same impact as shutting us down.

“He’s putting it all on the businesses. It’s almost as if he thinks if he doesn’t make any decision he doesn’t have to give us any financial support.

“I think the Government cannot take this middle road - either carry on as normal or shut us down and give us the support.

“It’s not good enough. People cannot run business like this. Its very scary.

“People have spent a lot of money thinking they are going to recoup it. They have ordered the food and drink, bought the crackers, hats and party poppers and now they are going to be out of pocket.

“It is a worse situation than last year, at lest then people knew what they were doing.”

She said their staff were also worrying whether they would have jobs over the coming weeks and how they were going to pay for their Christmas.”

Michael Williams from Blackpool BID and the Winter Gardens said: “The recent Government announcement advising people to stay at home is having an impact on reservations within the hospitality sector as some guests are understandably nervous about being in crowded places.

“Some businesses are only just recovering from the enforced lock downs in 2020 and early 2021 and any further restrictions on businesses will inevitably have a detrimental effect.

“I would urge the government to once again suspend business rates, cut VAT in the hospitality sector, reintroduce the furlough scheme and use its cultural recovery fund to help venues that genuinely need support.

“We have faced these challenges back in 2020 during the initial lock down but this time the Government already has all the tools in place that it needs to manage this impact and prevent permanent closures.”

George White from the Number 10 Alehouses in St Annes and Blackpool said no-one wanted to see another lockdown but the feares over the new variant were hitting trade.

He said: “The current mixed messaging from the Government is causing considerable financial damage to businesses like mine and our industry as a whole.”

“We have seen a large number of bookings cancelled at our Blackpool venue and trading is considerably down at both venues.

“At the moment it feels like death by a thousand paper cuts. Yes we are open and able to trade but we are currently losing money at a time which is usually our busiest of the year.

“I don’t think anybody wants to see another lockdown because of the negative impact that has on people’s mental health and economic damages they cause but how long can we carry on like this?

“We need urgent financial help from the Government before businesses like mine and others, through no fault of their own, go out of business.”

Suzanne Taylor, chairman of Lytham Business Partnership, said: “We have noticed it a little quieter since the news broke about the Omicron variant - but of course that is understandable.

“People are still preparing for Christmas at home and we hope they continue to find shopping local the preferred option in the current circumstances.”

Fylde MP Mark Menzies believes support for pubs, restaurants, cafes and hotels is vital as venues face a flurry of cancellations in the face of the Omicron variant.

Advice from the Chief Medical Officer to be cautious about social occasions have led to Christmas parties being cancelled placing pressure on a sector already badly hit by the Covid pandemic.

Mr Menzies believes financial help will be essential to help venues weather another challenging winter.

He said: “I know how much hospitality businesses in Fylde will have been relying on a busy Christmas to make up for lost time over the past two years,

“They will have got their stock in, made their plans and budgeted for the festive season.

“All that has now changed and it is important Government plans change too.”

Mr Menzies has reached out to hospitality businesses in Fylde to gauge the scale of the challenges they face but already understands the difficult December facing many.

He said: “Even before the Chief Medical Officer gave his advice I was hearing about cancellations.

“But in the last 24 hours things for many businesses will have gone from bad to worse.”

Mr Menzies believes a package of help from the Government may now be necessary to keep companies afloat.

“I am already talking to Ministers about this, making clear the needs of businesses in Fylde, many of which are family owned.

“For many the money they make now is crucial to surviving January and February.

“I have no doubt that in the coming weeks they will need our support and the Government needs to deliver a plan to help sooner rather than later.

“That is the message I will be making clear. The Government showed with furlough and business rate relief it can make a difference.

“We need a similar effort now to protect this trade which is vital for Fylde’s economy.”

Blackpool South MP Scott Benton said: “The omicron variant is a concern and the Government have brought in additional measures to control its rapid spread.

"People are being asked to take reasonable precautions, but the Government have been clear that this does not mean cancelling events such as trips to Blackpool or Christmas meals with family and friends.

"However, if the situation worsens significantly and further restrictions are introduced then I believe business support must follow.”