Covid in Scotland: New restrictions 'will wipe out' hotel footfall

Gleneagles HotelGleneagles

Gleneagles last week announced it will close until 31 January

The Scottish Tourism Alliance has warned moving 11 local authorities to level four will force many hotels to close until next year.

The latest Covid restrictions, which take effect from 18:00 on Friday, include a new law banning non-essential travel between council areas.

The STA said hotels faced loss of trade in the lucrative build-up to Christmas and uncertainty on future restrictions.

The first minister said the measures are necessary to drive down infections.

A number of major hotels, including the Old Course Hotel in St Andrews, have already confirmed they will close.

Gleneagles, which hosted the 2014 Ryder Cup, has already announced it will not reopen until February, while Trump Turnberry is not taking any overnight bookings online until then.

'No option'

STA chief executive Marc Crothall has had several calls with hoteliers and hotel associations since First Minister Nicola Sturgeon's announcement on Tuesday.

He said: "All, regardless of which tier they are in are faced with a situation where their footfall is largely wiped out due to the travel restrictions and the fact that alcohol can't be served in the majority of hotel restaurants which means that they are not able to offer an experience in line with customer expectations.

"This is leaving many with no option but to close, some for the three week period, many for beyond that period and well into the new year.

"There's obviously a great deal of uncertainty around what tier these hotels might go into after the three-week period when restrictions are reviewed, coupled with the fact that businesses are losing what would have been a significant amount of income in the run up to the festive period."

He expects many to close over the next couple of days until the end of January as the costs of remaining open, with trading at "such an unviable level", are simply too high.

'Desperate time'

Mr Crothall said his members have had a surge of cancellations as guests are unsure of what will or won't be possible.

He added: "It would seem highly likely that most will close for at least the next few months."

Describing the situation as "the most desperate time for our industry" since the start of the pandemic, he said his members hoped to have more clarity on the Scottish government's support package by Thursday.

On Tuesday the first minister said there were grounds for "continued and significant concern" about levels of the virus in all of the council areas that would be moving to the highest tier of restrictions.

Ms Sturgeon added: "The infection rate in all of these areas remains stubbornly and worryingly high.

"At these levels, we simply do not have the assurance we need that hospital and ICU services will be able to cope as we go deeper into winter."

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