Rural hotels are not the problem – the Government must amend its clumsy curfew policy

It seems the Government has unwittingly just banged another nail into the coffin of the UK hospitality industry.

From today, all pubs and restaurants across the whole of England will be ordered to close at 10pm each and every night – possibly for the next six months – as the authorities try and put a lid back on the rising Covid-19 infection rate.

At face value this might not seem like an especially drastic restriction, but for small hotels and restaurants out in the countryside, the effects could be disastrous. This is why I have written to Downing Street, on behalf of Rural Hospitality and other small business owners, asking that the new rules are rewritten to allow our businesses to survive.

We understand there’s a terrible virus out there, and as hoteliers and restaurateurs we want to do our bit to keep people safe.

But this blanket measure has been ill thought out, and simply does not make sense for a huge number of hospitality businesses. In trying to stop marauding hordes of drunk youngsters piling out of pubs at midnight, the Government has inadvertently – and needlessly – put thousands of livelihoods at risk.

In my letter to the Prime Minister, I highlighted the experience of one couple I know: a Michelin-starred chef and his partner who have recently opened a 20-bedroom hotel in rural Dorset. Their guests are chiefly drawn to this remote bit of countryside by his excellent food, and, accordingly, the restaurant and bar account for around 60 per cent of the hotel’s income.

That revenue stream will be seriously damaged by the new rules. A comfortable dinner normally lasts around two hours. So now in order to clear the restaurant by 10pm and have the opportunity of at least seating all hotel residents, some diners would need to agree to be seated by 6pm on the dot and finished by 8pm – not ideal for a grown-up weekend away.

When you take into account the fact that they, like so many other restaurateurs, have already had to lower their capacity in order to meet social distancing demands, they will now struggle to accommodate their own guests, let alone non-residential diners.

That’s assuming the guests arrive, of course. This Dorset hotel is already seeing cancellations from those who understandably feel that a relaxing break in the country will be undermined by Government-mandated dinner times.

I am seeing a similar trend with bookings at my own hotels: the seven properties in the Pig group, and Lime Wood in the New Forest – none of them with more than 33 rooms. After four months of lockdown with zero income, we were feeling hopeful again, with thousands of bookings stretching all the way into 2021. Now we are fielding calls from nervous customers, and the future is looking more uncertain than ever.

• London's top hotels and restaurants react to the curfew rules

Hospitality is so often the lifeblood of a rural community. Pubs and restaurants are key sources of work, while countryside hotels are often the single largest employer for miles around, and that’s before you take into account the many jobs created through their various supply chains.

If these businesses aren’t nurtured, they will be lost, and the ripple effect could prove devastating for the UK’s rural economy.

And it would be so easy for the Government to do. I have asked for two amendments to be made to the new rules, which could allow the authorities to clamp down on the growing infection rate without killing small hospitality businesses.

Firstly, grant a curfew exemption for hotel residents dining in hotel restaurants, which would allow the required capacity each evening and curb the growing number of cancellations from guests who, understandably, don’t want to be given a bedtime on their romantic weekend break. Even tweaking the rule to make 10pm the ‘last orders’ service cut-off point, rather than ‘kicking out time’, would have no adverse effect on the rate of infection but would make a world of difference to these operators.

Secondly, make an exception for all restaurants with fewer than 100 covers. As hospitality workers, we specialise in looking after people, and that doesn’t just mean making sure they have fun. We know how to keep people safe, following hygiene protocols and fire safety regulations. This is no different.

In the three months since hotels and restaurants were allowed to reopen following lockdown, our eight hotels have welcomed more than 250,000 guests between them. With 1,000 staff, this translates to millions of interactions between individuals and households, yet not a single coronavirus case has been traced back to one of our properties.

The same is true of so many hospitality businesses. We are not the problem, and do not deserve to be punished by this clumsy policy. It’s time the Government focussed on unregulated gatherings and the scrum-like drinking dens paying lip service to the regulations rather than professionally and thoughtfully managed hospitality businesses.