South London landlords facing reduced numbers for Christmas bookings

By Kiro Evans, Local Democracy Reporter

London pubs fear Christmas dinners and traditional Christmas Eve drinks will be cancelled as Omicron spreads.

Landlords are seeing cancelled bookings and smaller parties as people in the capital change their Christmas plans.

It reflects a wider national trend with Brits reacting to rising Covid rates in the run-up to the holiday season.

Bexley pubs told the Local Democracy Reporter Service that the change in tone from the government has seen them take a hit already.

Dave, who did not give his last name, is the events manager for the Lord Hill pub in Bexleyheath.

He said: “People are cancelling for various reasons but there’s lots of it.

“People are jumping into the places that have been cancelled but we’re finding the groups are reducing. So if there’s a group of six, for example, it would be four now.

“So we’ve got whole parties cancelling but the people on the waiting list are taking their spot [but in smaller groups]. It’s having a definite impact.

Dave compares the situation to the early days of March 2020, when the Government implied people should not attend pubs but did not close them down.

He added that ministers should be providing support, he said: “That’s what they should do, not saying ‘do what you can to avoid going out.’”

Ray Johnson, the owner of Robin Hood and Little John also in Bexleyheath, revealed he was facing similar problems.

He said: “None of my bookings have been completely cancelled, but on all of them [the numbers have reduced]. For example I had a booking for 12 but then you get a phone call and it’s ‘apologies, there’s only going to be seven of us.’

“Had one the other day for 14 but then they said there were only going to be eight of them.

“It’s not really [like] Christmas trading at the moment. Yes I’m ticking over but normally we should be having groups coming in from different offices having their little pre-Christmas drink. I’ve got none of that at all – it’s just flat.

“Usually on Christmas eve, it is absolutely packed. Which I don’t think it will be this year. I think a lot of people won’t take the chance as it’s only a tiny pub anyway. I’m not optimistic.”

Louise, who is the bar manager at Next Door Bexley, is fearing the next few weeks where she has heard restrictions could rise.

She said: “We’ve had a couple of cancellations, including Christmas Eve.

“We think this could be damaging for us, especially since we heard a rumour from our wholesaler that the Government will be shutting the pubs on the 27th.”

The Nag’s Head could not confirm if they had seen cancellations, but Greene King, who owns them, said hospitality was creaking under the strain of Covid.

Nick Mackenzie, CEO of Greene King, said: “The guidance from government to limit social interactions and shift to working from home has put our industry into lockdown in everything but name.

“Sales in our pubs in some parts of London are down as much as 70 per cent compared to the same time in 2019.

“As consumer confidence plummets and booking cancellations rise, we urgently need government to act to support the industry now by freezing business rates and removing the existing cap, confirming a longer term reduction in VAT and providing targeted support for those most severely affected by the current situation.