2023 has proved to be a difficult year for most businesses given the ongoing cost-of-living crisis, meaning that many have seen a huge loss this year.

Pubs are no exception to this, with many in Reading claiming that this Christmas they have seen a significant fall in business.

Assistant Manager at The Last Crumb Carlos Cruz said that his pub has seen a reduction in Christmas bookings compared to the following year.

“If we compare to last year there is a big reduction in bookings,” he said.

“Maybe it is because of the cost-of-living crisis as people just don’t have the money at the moment to go out to eat.”

Mr Cruz said that his pub hasn’t had that many Christmas bookings and that companies often start the booking process but then don’t finish it because they realise they cannot afford a staff party.

“We do still have some bookings,” he said. “We had larger bookings for the run-up to Christmas. Locals come for Christmas bookings as well as corporate parties.”

The Last Crumb wasn’t open on Christmas Day, but they were open on Christmas Eve and served a number of tables.

The Manager at The Lyndhurst Dishon Vas agreed that this festive season has been somewhat quieter than the previous year.

“It’s been okay,” he said. “But honestly it is a lot quieter, my pub is almost completely empty right now. Some days have definitely been harder.”

Mr Vas did say that November was particularly hard this year, but that they did see business pick up a bit in December.

He also said that they were only partially booked for Christmas Day and that Christmas Eve is unusually quiet.

He said: “On Sundays, we get fewer bookings anyway so I’m not that surprised. But we also haven’t had that many walk-ins, mainly just people who work in offices coming in for drinks.”

However, some pubs in Reading have reported a fairly busy Christmas period.

Duty Manager at The Allied Arms Dylan MacDonald said that their pub has been busy with Christmas dos.

“We’ve had a lot of people playing pub golf which we do usually get around Christmas,” he said.

Unlike the two previous reports, Mr MacDonald said that last weekend was the busiest weekend they had all year.

“We’ve got a fair few Christmas bookings,” he said. “People also just rock up rather than calling ahead.”

The Allied Arms isn’t open on Christmas day, but they are expecting a fair amount of people on New Year's Eve.