A national self-catering association has joined a local glamping retreat in accusing the Government of 'unfairly penalising' their sector following the latest measures to further tighten COVID restrictions.

The owners of Winchcombe Farm Holidays in Upper Tysoe have refunded more than £16k worth of bookings since the PM's Rule of Six announcement last week – with more pay-outs predicted amidst an increasing climate of nervousness among holidaymakers.

But persistent guideline revisions and rising infection rates are continuing to take their toll on bookings as cancellations pour in.

Alistair Handyside MBE, Executive Chair of The Professional Association of Self-Caterers, said this week: "The rule of six is inconsistent across the UK, with children included in the Six in England, but not in Scotland or Wales.

It has caused mass cancellations at half term, which is the last chance for many self-caterers for bookings before Christmas, and denies families much-needed holidays, and depriving much-pressed small businesses of income.

"Why can groups of more than six fly away on holiday, and come back and mix in the community, but not holiday together in England? Self-catering is the safe sector for holidays, you can choose exactly who you share it with."

The latest blow comes against a backdrop of huge spring and summer losses for the couple's business – losses they hoped their latest building project would help to recoup.

Ben's Burrow, which was built by Steve during lockdown, was finally unveiled to guests this week, marking Winchcombe's fifth and largest five-star lodge to date.

Sleeping up to nine – including two in an adjoining self-contained studio apartment – it was designed with families travelling with grandparents, teenagers, carers or nannies in mind.

Jo Carroll, who runs the glamping site with her partner Steve Taylor, said: "The Rule of Six is having a devastating effect on our business. We have five luxury holiday lodges – three now of which sleep more than six people.

"We've cancelled thousands of pounds worth of bookings so far and expect to cancel many more since Boris's announcement on Tuesday, extending this for a further six months. It is just the latest blow for many large self-catering providers, after a terrible year, where we've already lost half of the main summer season."

She added: "We worked tirelessly during lockdown to build Ben's Burrow, hoping it would give us the boost we needed when we were allowed to reopen and so try to pull back a terrible year but this ruling will greatly compromise the commercial viability of the property."

Jo and Steve, who established their glamping business just over two years ago on the foundations of their former privately-run nursery, now have five lodges - including Warwickshire's only tree house - for guests on their farm.

The entrepreneurs received emergency support from the Government's Hospitality Grant Scheme following closure in March, but while this covered all their basic utility bills – plus free business rates for this year – they fell into the 10% of workers who didn't qualify for any personal financial help.

While the couple continue to navigate their way through ever-changing guidelines for their industry, Jo can't help but feel frustrated by what she believes are confusing messages to the public.

"We are the only sector where the guests can choose exactly who they want to share their space with. You cannot do that in a pub, restaurant, hotel or on an aeroplane," she said.

"And I think people are further confused about how they are allowed to behave in different parts of the UK. We need to be acting as one country on this, yet there are different rules wherever you go so we are getting cancellations from all over the UK. The situation is completely farcical in my opinion.

"And then you have this ludicrous situation where you can have a wedding reception with 15 guests who have a great time together all day but cannot stay together on the night in self-catering accommodation. Yet you can have breakfast with five different people, lunch with another five different people and dinner with yet another five different people."

Jo did however welcome the Chancellor's announcement yesterday to extend the VAT reduction for the hospitality sector until March 2021 and said this would help them through a very uncertain winter.

Winchcombe Farm Holidays is certified by both Visit England and The AA as a COVID-confident holiday location and has stringent procedures and risk assessments in place to ensure the safety of guests and staff.

Measures include later check-in, the removal of all non-essential and fabric furnishings from the properties, including rugs, as well as books, games and toys and the welcome baskets now only contain single-packaged items.

Jo added: "The housekeeping regime between guest stays is rigorous but essential in the current climate. It includes dishwashing the entire contents of the kitchen and treating carpets and soft furnishings with virucidal disinfectant mist, with our housekeepers changing their PPE each time they enter a new room.

"We've had to double up on staff, spend a fortune on PPE and extend check in times, so we can complete the level of sanitary clean that is required to make us compliant."

"There's obviously a huge cost implication, however, it's better to be able to open again and welcome in guests than remain closed."

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