Cost of living: Blackpool hoteliers 'frightened' over energy bills

Hoteliers in a popular resort have said they could be forced to shut for the winter over soaring energy costs.

"Frightened" bed and breakfast owners on Blackpool's Hornby Road said they had already lost customers over rising prices or were "constantly looking" for ways to cut down electricity usage.

The government has announced plans to introduce a cap on wholesale energy bills for businesses.

An energy price cap for households was unveiled earlier this month.

The Department for Business, Energy and Industry said earlier energy bills would be cut by around half their expected level this winter under a support package, which will fix gas and electricity prices for all firms for six months from 1 October.

Sarah Mort, landlady of the Alondra Hotel, told BBC North West Tonight her energy bills had almost doubled in the last 12 months.

"This time last year, bearing in mind we were very, very, very busy, we were paying between £402 and £460 per month," she said.

"Now it's between £720 and £800 a month. That's just electric."

Desperate to cut the bills, Ms Mort said she had been making extra checks around her lodgings when her guests had gone out for the day, listening for the sound of televisions or fans that might have been left on.

She said most of the rooms had electric heating, meaning her patrols would increase in winter.

"I'm praying for good weather so that I can put towels outside, rather than putting them in my dryer," she added.

"You're just constantly looking for ways to cut how much electric you use."

Ms Mort said her husband, who also used to run the B&B, had been forced to find another job so they had an additional income.

Changes have also had to be made across the road in the Hornby House Hotel.

Co-owner Heng Kian Chua said he would stop serving breakfasts: "Most B&Bs they don't charge much on, it's part of the service".

"I mean £5 for breakfast, you get a full English, cereal, tea, coffee, orange juice, toast, for £5.

"So the power to cook that, hot plates, it's not viable."

He said the support package announced by the government was a "temporary relief" for six months.

Mr Chua said his current contract ends in November and his renewal quote has gone from £4,000 to about £13,000.

"We'll have to see what happens at the end of the six months, we're hoping they'll extend it until the wholesale price stabilises," he added.

Next door at The Newholme Hotel, Damien Bailey said rising costs had forced them to increase their prices.

"A lot of regular customers don't like it, so a lot of them have said, 'Well, we are not coming'," he said.

"It's just affecting business big time."

The first instalment of the government's £400 energy rebate for domestic properties will start to arrive in the next few weeks.

However, some of the B&B owners said they could miss out on that payment because they are on business tariffs, despite their business being their family home.

Mr Bailey said living on-site made things "difficult", adding: "We will probably go back over to a gas fire in our personal area because it's a small area.

"We are going to obviously have to turn the gas and electric off when no-one is in."

Some of the Hornby Road hotels said they may have to close down through the quieter winter season and perhaps even permanently.

Speaking ahead of the government's business support scheme being announced on Wednesday, Ms Mort said unless they "get some help like we did during Covid", some hotels may not be able to renew their leases.

She said she "loves" her job but if things continued, she would be forced to go and "find somewhere else to live and go out and do some other sort of job".

Under the Energy Bill Relief Scheme wholesale prices are expected to be fixed for all non-domestic energy customers at £211 per MWh for electricity and £75 per MWh for gas for six months.

Prime Minister Liz Truss said the government understood the "huge pressure businesses, charities and public sector organisations are facing with their energy bills".

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