As the hospitality sector begins to count the cost of the latest Tier 3 lockdown<\/a>, we spoke to one industry figure who says his company will lose \u00a3400,000.<\/p>\n Stuart Procter, COO of Mayfair hotel and restaurant The Stafford, said the latest blow has left his company reeling in a year he\u2019s already had to make 300 redundancies.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m furious. Devastated. I can\u2019t quite believe how this has been handled. You can\u2019t give 48 hours notice for a decision this big, one that will affect this many people. This is people\u2019s lives and livelihoods \u2013 at The Stafford and Norma alone we\u2019ll lose \u00a3400,000.\u201d<\/p>\n Read more: <\/strong>\u2018I just feel like crying\u2019 \u2013 chefs react to \u2018cruel\u2019 Tier 3 restrictions<\/a><\/p>\n The hospitality sector reacted with fury<\/a> when London was placed into Tier 3 yesterday, despite evidence that seems to contradict the government\u2019s focus on the bars and restaurants.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cYou can drop the kids off at school, take the tube work and then go shopping on Oxford Street, but you can\u2019t have a meal in a restaurant, where transmission rates are incredibly low \u2013 where is the sense in that?\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI could understand if the government was saying nobody could go out, that we would have to just stay in and get through the winter. But there\u2019s this idea that we can all mingle with our families for a few days, which is going to spread the virus much more than the hospitality sector ever could.\u201d<\/p>\n Read more: <\/strong>Sadiq Khan: London\u2019s hard-hit businesses need more support in Tier 3<\/a><\/p>\n The lack of communication with the sector \u2013 which has led to calls for a Hospitality Minister to be appointed<\/a> \u2013 has been particularly galling for many business owners, with Procter pointing to the fact no support package was announced alongside the Tier 3 restrictions.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is the third time this has happened, and you can see there\u2019s no plan. Boris didn\u2019t even have the guts to make the announcement himself \u2013 what kind of leadership is that?<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s the unfairness that gets you. I\u2019ve had to get rid of 50 per cent of our workforce this year. That\u2019s 300 people, some of whom have worked here for 30 or 40 years. These are people I\u2019ve worked with day in day out. And more than that, their families will suffer. It\u2019s messing with people\u2019s lives, messing with their mental health.\u201d<\/p>\n Read more: <\/strong>London in Tier 3: What are the rules?<\/a><\/p>\n Procter says he also feels for the people who were booked in over the festive period: \u201cPeople had booked trains, planes. They were coming in for Christmas dinner. The government has made a big thing about \u2018saving Christmas\u2019 \u2013 what about those people\u2019s Christmas?\u201d<\/p>\n As well as the lost revenue, The Stafford and its spin-off restaurant Norma have been left with \u00a310,000 worth of stock that can no longer be sold. Some of it will be sold on through the company\u2019s delivery service<\/a>, although that will cover only a fraction of the lost revenue.<\/p>\n \u201cWe had 100 lobster tails ready to serve \u2013 there\u2019s only so much lobster you can give to the staff.\u201d<\/p>\n Asked what more could be done to support businesses, Procter said the government should look to Germany and France, where \u201chospitality businesses are being given far more support\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n Read more: <\/strong>London moves into Tier 3: what does this mean for travel?<\/a><\/p>\nLack of communication<\/h2>\n
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