The travel industry has also been subject to changing restrictions in recent weeks. Heathrow airport warned of “high cancellations” on Friday and said that passenger numbers were now 60pc below pre-pandemic levels.

The letter from hospitality companies called for the Government to step in to provide aid, including extending a reduction in VAT until at least the end of next year, suspending business rates for all hospitality businesses for the first quarter of next year, and providing new grants to compensate for a lack of trade due to the Plan B move.

It comes amid growing frustration at the lack of support for businesses alongside the new Covid restrictions. Liberal Democrat MPs have written to Paul Scully, the small business minister, calling for an urgent hospitality summit. 

Lobby groups including the Confederation of British Industry, the British Chambers of Commerce and the Institute of Directors, meanwhile, are expected to redouble efforts to secure aid for firms at a conference call on Monday with the Business Secretary, Kwasi Kwarteng. 

The groups are working on a coordinated response after being told this week that the Treasury would demand evidence of harm before extending support.

The BCC on Friday wrote to Rishi Sunak, the Chancellor, after it emerged the Treasury would not automatically compensate businesses for loss of trade in the wake of the new restrictions. The group warned that city centres will be “hit hard” by a move to home working.

The British Beer and Pubs Association also wrote to the Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, to ask for taxpayer help. Tens of thousands of people cancelled their bookings at some of the UK’s largest pub operators on the day the Plan B measures were announced. 

Emma McClarkin, head of the BBPA, said: “Without these trading weeks it is difficult to see that the whole sector will survive without additional support.”