UK's hospitality sector sees major cancelations due to rail strikes

By Mehmet Solmaz

BIRMINGHAM, England (AA) - The already struggling British hospitality sector’s hopes for a post-COVID boom in trade have miserably failed with 13 days of rail strikes during December's festive period.

Britain is currently experiencing a wave of industrial action, including those from nurses, postal workers, and university lecturers, sparked by a bitter cost-of-living crisis amid soaring inflation and a deteriorating economy.

After four-day long strikes last week, restaurants and hotels in the UK saw over 30% cancellations and the number is expected to further increase with the strikes on Dec. 24, 26, 27 and five more days in the first week of the new year.

Speaking to Anadolu Agency, Kate Nicholls, the chief officer of UKHospitality, a trade body representing more than 100,000 businesses in the sector, said the situation is grim as she fears the strikes will cost the hospitality sector £1.5 billion ($1.8 billion) during the Christmas and holiday season.

“The numbers are real. They're figures derived from surveys of UKHospitality members and they relate, in particular, to cancellations last week, into this week and over the Christmas period that is directly attributable to the rail strikes and the travel disruption,” Nicholls said.

According to the advisory firm Mazars, restaurant closures are already higher than during the COVID-19 crisis with a 60% higher rate than the 2020-21 period.

The sector usually makes around a third of its annual sales in December, but this has not been the case for the past three years. The businesses are also struggling with a drop in sales due to the cost-of-living crisis that has hit almost everyone in the country.

Nicholls said most of the businesses that are severely impacted by the cancelations are located in city centers, particularly central London. She said “the much-needed revenue would get them through some of the quieter trading periods” had the strikes not taken place.

“There are also other issues that are impacting the health of the sector at the moment and making it much more difficult for businesses, particularly soaring energy bills, (and) the cost of doing business. You're also seeing consumer footfall tailing off because of the cost-of-living crisis. Also, there's an impact of weather that causes disruption, but the level of mentioned cancellations is the ones that are directly attributable to rail,” Nicholls said.

The strikes are expected to cripple rail services, causing travel chaos for those returning from their holiday break after the Christmas and New Year holidays.

Talks between train drivers’ unions and rail companies have not been conclusive yet and the government is asking the unions to back down. Although the government does not directly set pay margins, it still has a significant say in setting the terms for the rail companies.