‘The last 48 hours have been catastrophic’ – Manchester restaurants report a huge spike in cancellations
Restaurants fear another tough Christmas ahead as Omicron concerns rise - with some establishments fearing they may not survive 2022 if cancellations continue
A number of pubs, restaurants and bars in Manchester are reporting a dramatic spike in cancellations as the new Omicron variant raises concern amongst the public.
As news of Christmas party cancellations spread, some Manchester operators say they fear they may not survive into the new year without the large takes that the festive season typically brings.
Manchester’s nighttime economy adviser Sacha Lord told Sky News this morning that the ‘last 48 hours have been catastrophic for the industry’.
“December is the time when people have a good time, you know they can take up to 25% of their annual turnover in December and sadly at the eleventh hour it’s been smashed away from them,” he said.
Responding to a number of cancellation reports coming out of the city’s hospitality sector, Lord laid the blame at the door of Jenny Harries, head of the UK’s Health Security Agency, who on Tuesday advised the government that people should limit their social contact ‘a little bit’ in the run-up to Christmas to ‘help to keep the virus at bay’.
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Sacha Lord. Credit: Darren Robinson Photography
He later added in a statement: “Whilst is it highly important that individuals follow Government guidelines to limit the spread of the new variant, they should not make any rash decisions about cancelling their Christmas plans.”
“If the hospitality sector is not supported and closes in December, it will be the final nail in the coffin for many of our beloved venues. This festive period was supposed to help these businesses reach back to pre-pandemic levels and boost revenues for the first time in months.”
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The government has officially rejected this advice and Prime Minister Boris Johnson has urged people not to cancel their Christmas parties, as has GM Mayor Andy Burnham – but as Lord put it this morning, it seems that ‘bad news spreads a lot quicker than good’.
“It’s yet another blow. A less busy than expected December might be the final straw for a lot of hospitality business,” said Mary Ellen McTague, owner of The Creameries restaurant in Chorlton.
“We’ve had two years of closures, unpredictable business, rising costs etc etc.
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“I honestly don’t know how much more we can take.”
'I think what we would hope is that the consumers listened to the Prime Minister who came out very strongly'@UKHospKate of @UKHofficial on whether Omicron will deal a death blow to the hospitality sector
Following nearly two years of struggles through lockdowns, tier restrictions and closures caused by staff illnesses, many operators have been counting on a good Christmas – not just to help see them through to the next year, but make up for trade lost to date.
Many businesses have installed extra safety procedures – such as PPE for staff, perspex screens, hand sanitiser points and more rigorous cleaning schedules – at their own expense, and there is a hope amongst some that this, combined with ‘green light’ government messaging, will reassure customers to honour their bookings.
Ultimately, though, the sector is now calling on people to at least let restaurants know if they are no longer going to attend – with some advising that people should be prepared to ‘at the very least lose their deposits’ if they pull out of a booking.
“We have had reports from multiple Manchester-based clients that they have seen particularly large bookings start to cancel,” said Abi Dunn of Manchester-based hospitality recruitment consultants Sixty Eight People.
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Credit: Unsplash
“This is very sad actually and I truly hope this is the minority. The message from the operators will be clear – if you feel you have no choice but to cancel, then please let the venue know immediately.
“Customers should expect at the very least to lose their deposits and shouldn’t be questioning this. The industry have spent months preparing for Christmas and for many operators a successful December will be key to survival.”
Elsewhere, City Pub Group chief executive Clive Watson said that some bookings had made the choice to postpone to next year instead of cancelling – a welcome move for hospitality businesses already on the knife edge.
“We’ve had some larger parties call up and not cancel – but postpone until January or February,” he told Sky News.
“But from what we can see, smaller work parties and friends meeting up before Christmas is still fine.”
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Add hotel / venues to that list @Sacha_Lord – at least 50% of our Christmas parties, conferences and groups for December all cancelled this week. Soul destroying.
The cancellations also appear to be having a knock-on effect across wider industries, with local photographers reporting booking cancellations and hoteliers saying that they’ve seen huge conferences, Christmas parties and other groups pull out of bookings too.
“At least 50% of our Christmas parties, conferences and groups for December all cancelled this week. Soul destroying,” said Scott Brown, the Director of Sales for Melia and Innside hotels in Manchester and the north of England.
Speaking at a Downing Street press conference this week, the PM said: “We don’t want people to cancel such events.”
“What we are doing is trying to take a balanced and proportionate approach to the particular risk that seems to be posed by Omicron – certainly is posed by Omicron – focused, in particular, on measures at the border.”
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Speaking to Mail Plus this morning, CEO of UK Hospitality Kate Nicholls said: “I think what we would hope is that […] consumers listened to the Prime Minister who came out very strongly yesterday afternoon, to say that the government measures on booster jabs on testing on masks were efficient and to recognise the investments that hospitality has made in ventilation, caffeine and sanitation.
“So there was no need to cancel Christmas festivities and bookings, and that people could socialise safely.”
Oasis finally confirm ‘private ballot’ ticket information for reunion tour
Daisy Jackson
Oasis have just announced more information about how tickets will be sold through a ‘private ballot’ for their extra reunion tour dates.
The group added two additional shows at Wembley Stadium after their initial 17 gigs across London, Manchester, Dublin, Edinburgh and Cardiff generated huge demand and sold out in a day.
Oasis and Ticketmaster came under fire though for the use of dynamic pricing, which saw ticket prices shoot up by hundreds of pounds by the time people made it through the online queues.
For these additional reunion tour dates at Wembley, ticket sales will look a little different.
They’ll be using a ‘private ballot’, which will give first dibs to those who missed out on the first ticket sale.
You’ll only be invited to register for the sale if you signed into your Ticketmaster account on Saturday 31 August, and joined a queue for a specific show.
And you’ll only receive an invitation if you DIDN’T manage to bag tickets the first time round.
THEN you’ll be able to register for the actual ballot, which still doesn’t guarantee you a ticket but does at least get you into a (hopefully less lengthy) queue.
“Invitations to enter the private ballot will be sent overnight tonight (Saturday) to eligible fans we have been able to identify.
“If you signed into your Ticketmaster UK account on Saturday, 31st August, and were able to join a queue for a specific show, but didn’t get a ticket-then you may be eligible to take part and will receive an email on how to register for the ballot.
“Keep an eye on the inbox associated with your Ticketmaster account, and don’t forget to check your junkmail.
“Once successfully registered, you will be entered into the ballot for a code for access to the final Wembley on sale.
“Due to the demand for the shows and to avoid last week’s long queues, codes will be strictly limited. Entry to the ballot does not guarantee you will receive a code.
“The ballot is only open to invited fans. You must register with the email to which your invitation was sent and which is registered with your Ticketmaster account.
“All other entries will be discounted. If you do not receive an email then unfortunately you will not be eligible for the ballot.
“You will be automatically discounted from the ballot, even if you go through the registration process.”
Featured image: Simon Emmett
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Manchester Airport named UK’s worst in annual Which? survey for third year running
Emily Sergeant
Manchester Airport has officially been declared the worst airport in the UK, according to a new survey by Which?… yet again.
The summer travel season may be drawing to a close now, with hundreds of flights having taken off and landed in our region over the last couple of months, but for any Greater Manchester holidaymakers who are still yet to jet off, an annual ranking by consumer choice group Which? has proved to be pretty grim reading.
That’s because several terminals at the UK’s third largest airport have found themselves at the bottom of the list in Which? latest findings.
Manchester Airport has hit back at the survey and defended itself, saying its own passenger surveys suggest people are “much more positive” about the airport, adding that it was “proud to give people in all parts of the North easy and affordable access to nearly 200 different destinations across the world”.
For its annual survey, Which? spoke to nearly 7,000 passengers to gather feedback about their experiences of flying from UK airports over the last 12 months, and asked them to score the airports across 11 categories.
Manchester Airport has been named the worst in the UK for the third year running / Credit: The Manc Group
Some of these categories including seating, staff, toilets, and of course, the queues we all dread at check in, bag drop, passport control, and security.
And just like in both 2022 and again in 2023, it was Manchester Airport Terminal 3 that ranked right at the bottom, receiving the lowest customer satisfaction score of 37%.
Manchester Terminal 1 ranked one place above that with a score of 40%, while Manchester Terminal 2 was a little further up the the list with a score of 51%, and just saw Luton Airport, London Stansted, and Belfast International Airport sandwiched in between it.
According to Which?, some of the complaints it received about Manchester Airport from passengers who responded to the survey this year was that older people struggled with long walks due to travelators being broken since 2021, difficulties with finding a seat, and “horrendous” queues with people apparently being “corralled like cattle”.
As mentioned though, Manchester Airport has slammed Which?’s findings in a formal statement.
The UK’s third largest airport has hit back at the survey results and defended itself / Credit:
Describing the survey as “disappointing to see”, Manchester Airport’s statement reads: “We understand not every experience is perfect and want all passengers to feel able to raise their concerns directly with us. That is why we speak to them on a daily basis, surveying hundreds of people a month to get in-the-moment feedback from a full range of perspectives.
“That is in stark contrast to Which?, which conducted a tiny and unrepresentative survey of its members six months ago, asking them to recollect airport experiences that could have been as far back in time as April 2023.
“Which? fully understands that its readers form a narrow group of passengers whose views cannot in any way be taken to represent those of the travelling public at large, but chooses to promote its survey findings as if they do.”
Manchester Airport says it’s disappointing see Which? “chase cheap headlines” with its “sensational and over-simplified characterisation of airports” and the different roles they play, adding: “To make matters worse, it has printed inaccurate statements about our facilities and security waiting times that paint a more negative picture than reality.