Rail strikes: Hospitality warns of 'devastating' impact on trade

Hospitality businesses are seeing Christmas bookings cancelled and party sizes reduced due to rail strikes this week.

Maurice Abboudi, executive director at K10, which has four sushi restaurants in the city of London, said he was budgeting for a 20-25% decrease in sales.

Members of the RMT union will walk out on 13, 14, 16 and 17 December and on 3, 4, 6 and 7 January in an ongoing dispute over pay and working conditions, meaning only around 20% of rail services will run.

Abboudi told The Caterer: “It’s absolutely devastating. We’re trying to plan ahead and give people holidays, but it’s very difficult to manage. If this goes on for another year, it’s going to have a devastating effect on a lot of people.

“We’re hoping that [this] week will still be busy with Christmas parties and people still coming in but there will be an effect on trade.”

Abboudi added that on days where there were both tube and rail strikes his restaurants saw around an 80% drop in sales.

The late-night hospitality sector is estimated to lose over £2b in revenue due to the industrial action, according to the Night Time Industries Association (NTIA).

RMT members from Network Rail voted to reject the latest pay offer from company bosses on Monday, meaning strike action from 6pm on Christmas Eve until 6am on December 27 and into the new year will go ahead.

“The government cannot ignore the escalating situation any longer,” said Michael Kill, chief executive of the NTIA.

“Our sector is one of the hardest hit by the rail strikes, first to close and last to open during the pandemic. The current circumstances are critically impacting businesses and will require a government intervention and further support for businesses at the sharpest end of this crisis.”

Network Rail said the strikes were “deeply frustrating” and urged passengers to only travel by train “if absolutely necessary”.

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