Data from HM Revenue and Customs showed that in April 2020, 1,650,000 employees in the hospitality industry were furloughed as hotels, bars, and restaurants were forced to pause trading. Sadly,

many hotel businesses were unable to recover from such a drastic loss of business and were forced to close their doors for good.

This loss of business had a huge impact on the UK economy as, according to The Financial Times, “The hospitality sector is the UK’s third-largest private sector employer, accounting for 10 percent of employment and 5 percent of national gross domestic product.” With restrictions on travel, uncertainty over the future, and many people facing a personal hit to their finances due to furlough payments and job loss, hotel bookings were drastically impacted.

For the hotel businesses that managed to weather the storm and adapt to changing restrictions, limited staff, and dwindling bookings, the fight to survive continued. However, despite the sheer determination and sacrifices made by countless business owners and their staff, forecasts have predicted it could take four years for the UK hotel industry to return to 2019 pre-pandemic levels of business, let alone to recover fully.

However, all is not lost…