Yorkshire hospitality businesses hit by wave of cancellations amid Covid fears

Owners say people are pulling out at late notice and staying at home to try and avoid becoming infected ahead of Christmas, after Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned of the rapid spread of the Omicron variant.

Many are concerned about the financial impact of losing this trade, as they often rely on a surge of business over Christmas to help them get through quiet periods at the beginning of the year.

Nicola Moxham, landlady of The Mustard Pot in Chapel Allerton, said she has seen around 800 bookings get cancelled over the last two weeks.

“A lot of the time we’ve already ordered and made the food,” she said.

“UK-wide, there’s also a massive hospitality problem so we booked in chefs for December months ago and said we will guarantee the shifts and then suddenly we’ve had all these cancellations.

“It’s not empty, but we’ve lost loads of bookings. On Friday we’ve got three tables booked and it’s supposed to be the busiest Friday of the year.”

She added: “It should be the busiest month of the year, when we can make some money to kind of get through January, February, March.

Tom Bailey, Owner of the Lazy Lounge bar in Leeds, said everyone who made a booking for this month has cancelled.

“We are in the middle of the business district and 85 per cent of our customers are office workers so the new work-from-home advice has just sent us back into a lockdown again. We have no customers and no support,” he said.

James MacKenzie, owner of the Michelin-starred Pipe & Glass in Beverley, said his business has seen a relatively small number of cancellations, but he is concerned about the coming months.

He said: “As with a lot of businesses, we've just ordered extra stock to see us through the Christmas and New Year period, as in beer, wine and food items.

“You just can't get it over Christmas and New Year, as some suppliers aren't delivering then, so this time of year you have to stock up."

He added: “We’re worried and hoping the Government will announce some measures of support, so we know where we are going forward.”

Other leading chefs and hospitality bosses in the UK have warned the pub and restaurant industry needs urgent financial support to avoid collapses.

Michelin-starred chef Tom Kerridge said one of his restaurants has suffered more than 650 cancellations in the past six days and Fred Sirieux, general manager of Michelin-starred Galvin at Windows in London’s Mayfair, said he has seen a “tsunami of cancellations” which he warned will be “catastrophic” for the sector.

The Government has not offered any additional financial support to affected businesses in the sector.

But the International Monetary Fund (IMF) also said on Tuesday that the Treasury should consider reintroducing a targeted furlough system in the UK due to the impact of Omicron.

Other leading chefs and hospitality bosses in the UK have warned the pub and restaurant industry needs urgent financial support to avoid collapses.