As the UK battles through some of the heaviest snowfall it has seen in recent years, and braces itself for conditions to worsen as Storm Emma and The Beast from the East continue to cause chaos, Best Western Great Britain is counting the cost for the UK hotel industry.
The hotel brand, which represents over 250 independently owned and managed properties, estimates that cancellations in the last 48 hours have cost its member properties nearly £90,000 in lost bookings revenue and that the overall cost of the weather to the UK hotel industry could be in excess of £4million for the last two days – a figure that is expected to increase as the weather continues to impact areas this weekend.
Andrew Denton, Director of Communications at Best Western Great Britain, commented: “It’s been an unpredictable and pretty devastating week for the industry as the weather has impacted most of Britain this time, rather than being concentrated in one area. All week our hotels and staff have been actively helping guests and people in their communities to stay warm and out of the worst of the storms.
“Best Western Moffat House Hotel in Scotland helped Radio 1 DJ Greg James and his team this week, as their Sport Relief challenge came to an end and they were snowed in due to the weather. Our team at Best Western Tiverton Hall Hotel in Devon have also been working hard to support staff, guests and members of the community who are stuck as the local area has come to a complete stand still. We have helped visitors from Australia find places to stay after they have been stranded due to travel cancellations.
“The cost of the cancellations is secondary to the safety of our staff and guests but it goes to show what impact extreme weather can have, particularly on small and medium sized independent businesses which find it harder to absorb losses like these.”