Hospitality industry resilient to ‘arctic’ weather

The total cost of the disruption to Britain is estimated to cost around £1.2bn each day.

But hospitality businesses situated within major cities have seen no ill effect of the freezing temperatures that have prevented many people from travelling to work and schools over the past few days.

And while businesses in smaller towns and villages have seen their fair share of snowfall, many have seen trade continue as normal, if not slightly higher.

“We’ve had a lot of snow and have had some cancellations, but as we are in a village some people here don’t want to try and venture too far, so they come to us instead,” said a spokesperson at The Star Inn at Harome, North Yorkshire, one of the worst hit areas of the UK.

Similarly, Town & City’s The Litten Tree in Worksop has seen a 62 per cent like for like increase in sales in just one day, after becoming a refuge for those ‘trapped’ in the town and seeking hot meals.

A staff member at Cote in Horsham, which saw almost two foot of snow fall yesterday, told BigHospitality: “We had a few cancellations the first day it snowed, but our main problem has been from staff who live out of the area not being able to get to work as the buses aren’t running. Otherwise we’ve pretty much been running as normal.”

Airport hotels​

Business at many airport hotels has not increased significantly over the daily average since several airports across the UK were forced to temporarily close. Despite a surge in demand for rooms, which more often than not could not be met, hotels near the country’s major airports said their occupancy levels were fairly high anyway.

“We pick up 60-80 rooms on a daily basis anyway as we get a lot of walk-in business,” explained Raj Shah, commercial director of the Sofitel Hotel at London Heathrow.

“Yesterday, we probably got an additional 10-15 per cent bookings from people whose flights were cancelled before were became fully booked and had to stop selling early.”

The Arora International, located near Gatwick airport which has now reopened after a two-day closure, is also running at full occupancy, although it’s had to turn down many requests for rooms. On Wednesday night, for example, a travel operator trying to accommodate stranded passengers called up asking for 400 rooms, and was offered 20 in return.

In Doncaster, Sheffield, the Ramada Encore Doncaster also said its occupancy will likely stay high as Robin Hood Airport is expected to remain closed for a number of days.

Other hotels near Edinburgh airport told BigHospitality that higher walk-in bookings are being balanced out by more cancellations, as many pre-booked travellers have been unable to get into Edinburgh.

Supplies​

All hospitality businesses have had to face a potential disruption in daily deliveries. However, most operators we spoke to said they generally stock up for several days so they have not yet faced any major disruption in supplies.

“We’ve not had a problem with suppliers – everyone’s been able to get here so far,” said Craig Grierson, restaurant manager at Edinburgh restaurant Ondine.

In cases where it is particularly challenging to get deliveries through, hotels have started to create contingency plans, which could include laundering their own linen in washing machines in the premises, or even sending out staff to try and get some basic supplies.

The resounding feeling from all hotels in particular was an appreciation for the resilience of their staff in doing everything in their power to keep the hotel running and look after guests. Where necessary and possible, some staff have been staying overnight in their hotels, while others have opted to stay at the homes of colleagues living nearby.

Car pools have also become more common over the past few days, as colleagues band together to get into work. And of course, those who do make it in have usually volunteered to work overtime to cover for missing colleagues.

Have you had a difficult time coping with the snow? Have you had to close your business because staff can’t make it into work? Let us know by posting a comment below.​