The UK domestic breaks sector faces a knock-on effect as the government moves to increase the number of quarantine hotels available to cope with an expanded travel red list.
Hotels are being contracted by officials to provide exclusive rooms for travellers needing to quarantine on arrival from red list countries, including Nigeria, which became the 11th to be added on Monday.
Properties now operating as quarantine hotels have cancelled room bookings leaving domestic operators to find new hotels for their customers at short notice.
Graeme Brett, of Westoe Travel in South Shields, owner of in-house operator Rail Adventures, said: “So far we have five bookings affected in London. We have rebooked the customers and issued new documents.
“We have upgraded all affected customers into a better hotel.
“We are having to triple check all bookings to make sure the hotel is still operating and bookings are valid.
“This has created a substantial amount of additional work to make sure the customers can travel knowing everything is OK.”
Sheffield Labour MP Olivia Blake has written to health secretary Sajid Javid to demand the government provide more accommodation for families as The Times reported that some are being forced to separate and quarantine in hotels up to 100 miles apart after arriving from South Africa.
She described the situation as “ridiculous” and that she was aware of other examples.
Anyone who breaks the quarantine rule on arrival from a country on the red list faces a £10,000 fine.
Travellers face a bill of £2,285 to spend ten days in a quarantine hotel under government rules.
Those who fail to arrange a quarantine packages before arriving in England could be fined up to £4,000.