Train strikes 'expected to cost hospitality £2.5b'

UKHospitality has estimated that train strikes could cost the hospitality sector £2.5b between summer 2022 until the end of strike action taking place this week.

This week's action is set to cost the sector £200m, while action pre-Christmas cost the industry £1.5b in lost sales, the BBC reported and UKHospitality confirmed. The trade body previously said that the rail strikes could cost hospitality £1.5b a day.

UKHospitality chief executive Kate Nicholls said: "Hospitality is facing a New Year hangover as rail strikes delay the return to work and make our town and city centres ghost towns for yet another week. This piles further misery on commuters, visitors and tourists as well as hard pressed hospitality workers and businesses already vulnerable due to the loss of vital pre-Christmas sales.

"The sector has struggled to recover from Covid and these protracted rail strikes since May have made that bounce back much tougher. Enough is enough, this needs to end now."

Union RMT continues its strike today, with further action taking place this weekend on Friday 6 and Saturday 7 January, adding up to a total of four days of rail strikes this week, shutting down most rail services across the country.

Operators were hit hard by the train strikes scheduled in the run-up to Christmas, with some reporting that a fifth of their festive bookings were cancelled. One Indian fine dining restaurant in London said walkouts were costing the business around £4,000-£5,000 a day in lost trade, while a City-based sushi group said takings last month were 45% down on strike days.

Photo: Shutterstock / Chrispo