In normal years, December would have be one of the busiest months for hospitality, with thousands flocking to restaurants and hotels throughout Northern Ireland for their Christmas parties.
But with the warning that there might be further Covid restrictions in the days ahead, many hospitality outlets are facing an uncertain few weeks.
In particular, this uncertainty is set to have a massive impact on Christmas parties, which are often booked weeks in advance.
With fears of more restrictions, restaurants and hotels have reported that customers are putting off booking Christmas parties until there's more certainty.
In a statement shared with Belfast Live, Hospitality Ulster has called on the Executive and its Ministers to dial down comments regarding hospitality and socialising this Christmas, as businesses have seen a severe drop in footfall and thousands of bookings cancelled.
Speaking about the issue, Colin Neill, Chief Executive of Hospitality Ulster said: "The past week has been catastrophic for the industry as we have seen a severe drop in footfall and thousands of cancellations for the Christmas period. This will do untold damage to the hospitality sector which relies on trade in the festive months to see them through the lean months of the new year.”
Paula Keane, General Manager of the Ivanhoe Hotel in Carryduff, has said that there have been "quite a few cancellations" recently due to the uncertainty around restrictions.
She told us: "The Christmas parties and party nights are going ahead here, and we're still sticking with the previous regulations where you're only allowed so many in the room, as much for customer confidence as anything else.
"But there have been quite a few cancellations, especially after Robin Swann said that there might be another lockdown over Christmas.
"There was cancellations right after that, because people clearly aren't sure what's happening. When it comes to things like paying deposits or making big bookings, they're not going to commit if they're not sure what the situation will be down the line. So there's been a lot less bookings over Christmas."
She added: "There's a lot of uncertainty. There's customers asking what way the restaurant will be laid out, customers booking at the last minute because they're afraid to book in advance. All you can do is try to assure people that the rules are being followed, but numbers are certainly down big time on previous years. It's hard enough for the industry, because we were bleeding so much money while we were closed, and now we're just trying to recuperate some of that.
"Then what's compounded a lot of this is that, on top of Track & Trace - which is fine - we're having to do Covid passports. You almost have to employ someone now just to take on that role. And with an industry that's already stretched, it's hard going. It feels like the Executive is being harder on the hospitality industry than anywhere else."
Paula said that the hospitality industry has taken lengths to ensure safety, but the uncertainty around Christmas has made things very difficult.
"People are phoning wanting to make a booking but they're asking questions about the weeks ahead and the worst thing for us is that we can't give them firm answers. All this is being thrown on top of us, and we're scrambling to find out what the regulations are, what measures are going to be put in place. So we'll see and we'll do our best. There's no more that we can do than that."
Elsewhere, some restaurants have been meeting the challenges presented by lockdown and Covid regulations by adapting their outlets.
Bob McCoubrey, owner of Mourne Seafood Bar in Belfast city centre, said: "We never really did the turkey and ham Xmas dinners so we haven’t been affected by party cancellations.
He added that the business had seen an uptake of interest in their outdoor seating area, constructed during lockdown in 2020.
He continued: "We have actually picked up some corporate bookings for our outside area as that is seen as a safe option."
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https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiZmh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmJlbGZhc3RsaXZlLmNvLnVrL25ld3Mvbm9ydGhlcm4taXJlbGFuZC9jaHJpc3RtYXMtcGFydGllcy1yZXN0YXVyYW50LWhvdGVsLW93bmVycy0yMjM1ODk1OdIBamh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmJlbGZhc3RsaXZlLmNvLnVrL25ld3Mvbm9ydGhlcm4taXJlbGFuZC9jaHJpc3RtYXMtcGFydGllcy1yZXN0YXVyYW50LWhvdGVsLW93bmVycy0yMjM1ODk1OS5hbXA?oc=5
2021-12-05 18:24:39Z
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