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Two years of rail strikes have cost the hospitality industry more than £5bn, with travelers facing more disruption this weekend, figures show.
The latest round of strike action, which began yesterday, will cost the struggling industry almost £400m, the hotel group said last night.
It comes as rail passengers across the UK face four days of travel chaos over a 22-month pay dispute over driver pay and conditions.
Members of the militant rail union Aslev, which works for six companies, went on strike today, leaving some areas without services.
Chiltern, TransPennine Express and Northern will not run any trains, while Great Western Railway, LNER and Heathrow Express will have reduced services.
Strikes took place yesterday on Avanti West Coast, East Midlands Railway, West Midlands Railway, CrossCountry and London NorthWestern, crippling services across the country.
More train operators are set to strike on Monday. The overtime ban today, Monday and Tuesday will cause further disruption.
Aslev general secretary Mick Whelan said the union was striking because “dishonest” train operators refused to negotiate due to “political dogma”.
But hospitality bodies urged Mr Whelan to consider the wider implications as they said the latest strike was expected to cost the industry £387m.
The British Hotels Association said strikes in 2024 have cost businesses nearly £750 million, with the impact since 2022 totaling £5 billion.
The industry is already struggling to recover after the coronavirus pandemic, with the cost of living crisis causing pubs to close at record rates in parts of the country.
Kate Nicholls from Hospitality UK said: “The hospitality industry continues to suffer collateral damage in this dispute, providing a great service to the UK, employing millions of people, investing billions of pounds into the economy and more A variety of service delivery methods are at risk.”
Michael Keel of the Nighttime Industry Association said: “Industry action is taking its toll and exacerbating the challenges facing the sector.”
Aslev said he hoped to meet with train companies and ministers to break the deadlock and claimed the government did not want to resolve the dispute.
But last night a government source dismissed Whelan’s claims and said Aslev had received an offer for the train driver to work 35 hours, four days a week, and would be paid £65,000 a year.
The source added: “Given that we have resolved our national disputes with all other railway unions, Aslev’s continued strike action isolates them within the railway unions.”
A Department for Transport spokesman said: “Aslev is the only rail union to continue striking, targeting passengers and preventing its members from voting on pay proposals.”
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