The Island's hospitality trade has been hit hard by cancellations for the second successive winter.
There is a familiar narrative across the industry, with large group bookings either cancelled or dramatically downsized in the face of Covid-19 concerns.
To date, 1,576 cases of the Omicron variant of the virus have been recorded across the UK.
The Isle of Wight remains Omicron free as of today (Wednesday), despite the new strain becoming more prominent nationwide.
Chequers Inn, Rookley
Mark Holmes, who oversees operations at Rookley's Chequers Inn, Long Island in Newport, The Birdham in Bembridge and Niton's White Lion, says people are cancelling every day:
"We had such a good December lined up, but after hundreds of cancellations we'll be lucky to get half our bookings fulfilled.
"We employ between 60 and 70 people, and if things don't change we may have to make drastic choices unless the Government reintroduces some form of Furlough scheme.
"This is a massive week — The scaremongering doesn't help — and by Sunday we'll know how people are feeling and whether or not our season can be salvaged."
Mark and his team have also had bookings for next summer cancelled in recent weeks.
The Beer Garden Pavilion at Newclose Cricket Ground
Nikki Price, manager of Newclose Cricket Ground, has seen booking numbers cut in half.
She told IW Radio:
"We've been hit this week by a party of 70 being cancelled, others being reduced and a noticeable drop in trade throughout the day.
"We struggled to find staff for the busy summer, meaning two of us had to work all the time, but now we've taken on extra workers and are losing trade — it's a difficult situation to manage."
Toto, Newport
Newport's Toto is another eatery which has seen a reduction in numbers, the popular Italian restaurant seeing activity dwindle in recent weeks.
Theo, manager of Toto, said:
"We've had tons of cancellations, with several of those from company bookings.
"We may lose a number of staff either due to restrictions or another lockdown."
The Rex, Ventnor
Abdel Kaissan, owner of The Rex in Ventnor, said:
"We are now open for just four days a week because of a lack of trade and difficulty in finding good staff — we only have one chef at the moment.
"There have been cancellations, I think the whole industry has been hit."
Will Myles, managing director at Visit Isle of Wight, has urged the Government to take note to ensure the hospitality industry survives, he said:
"We hope the English government are taking note of the extreme pressure being put on the hospitality trade, who once again face a seasonal deficit.
"They will need assistance and support."
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