IN BRIEF || NEWS
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HOTEL RAID ON FOOD PLANNED FOR COMMUNITY The owners of a hotel and brasserie in Shropshire are devastated after the theft of £1,200 worth of food earmarked to start a community food delivery service during the Coronavirus crisis. The Old Vicarage at Worfield, near Bridgnorth, was broken into on 20 March and intruders raided its fridges and freezers of food including chicken, beef, lamb and fish. Owner David Blakstad said: “We just can’t believe this has happened. Times are really tough for us as a business and we have closed our doors to customers in line with government advice. “We were planning to start up a community food service on Monday where we would offer residents nearby to order their meals and we would deliver it to their doors, but sadly we are not going to be able to do this. “The people who have done this have not only stolen from us, but they have taken away the chance for the community to receive this help from us.”
It was planned that from the end of March residents in the village of Worfield and surrounding areas would have the opportunity to select from a daily menu which the venue’s head chef Gavin Allan was putting together. These orders would have been delivered to the door for only the cost of the ingredients, helping those who were self-isolating, or in need of a meal. “It’s heartbreaking, we were trying to pay something back to our community, and now it looks like that is not going to be possible,” said Gavin. Meanwhile, following the closure of pubs, cafes and restaurants across the country, David has warned other businesses to be extra vigilant. “We would never have believed that people could do this,” he said. “But this serves as a warning to other business owners, with people stripping food, and now the alcohol sections of supermarkets and shops, our bars and kitchens are a target.”
Head Chef Gavin Allan and his team
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4 || Luxury BnB || Spring 2020
CANCELLATION POLICIES “UP IN THE AIR” The government is under growing pressure to take steps to address new anti-competitive practices adopted by OTAs after the warnings were issued against travel in the UK. As this issue went to press the hospitality industry was intensely lobbying the UK government for clarification on cancellation terms in regard to bookings via third party agents. The B&B Association has attacked “unscrupulous policies” adopted by OTAs just as restrictions were imposed on the UK in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Association chairman David Weston told Luxury BnB magazine: “The two biggest such agencies, booking.com and expedia, unilaterally informed B&Bs they were immediately invoking a force majeure clause, returning non-refundable deposits to bookers and not paying any of it to the B&Bs, regardless of existing booking policy. B&Bs that assumed deposits that they were legally allowed to keep found they had nothing.” He also cited instances of B&Bs choosing “for moral reasons” to return deposits only to find the OTAs billing
them for the commission on non-existent deposits. “The property owners have zero income on that booking yet are being billed for commission, so they have negative income,” he said. “We have multiple examples of that, and we are putting it all through to government and talking to the Competition & Markets Authority about these practices, particularly the unilateral change in terms and conditions, to establish whether that is an unfair contract term.” He said the association is putting out advice to members as it forms but was unable to offer any firm advice as we went to press hours before it was due to hold meetings to discuss OTA policy with the Tourism Industry Council and Scottish Tourism. “At the moment it is up in the air,” he said. OTAs faced a growing rebellion last month as a Which? Travel investigation warned travellers that in eight out of 10 cases it is cheaper to book directly with the hotel or guest house. The report found guests are paying up to 12% too much by booking with OTAs as opposed to booking direct.
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