HOSPITALITY bosses have warned that 11 Scottish council areas being moved into level 4 lockdown restrictions for three weeks will lead to traders “seriously considering if their businesses have a future at all”.

Nicola Sturgeon has announced that Glasgow, Renfrewshire, East Renfrewshire, East Dunbartonshire, West Dunbartonshire, North Lanarkshire, South Lanarkshire, East Ayrshire, South Ayrshire, Stirling and West Lothian will be placed in level 4, the toughest set of rules, from Friday until December 11.

The restrictions will mean that pubs, restaurants and cafes will be forced to close their doors , while non-essential retail businesses will also have to close.

READ MORE: Tier 4 means pubs and restaurants 'could axe thousands of jobs'

Loch Rannoch Hotel in renovation by Glasgow interior design agency Bell & Swift

The Herald:

GLASGOW-based interior design company Bell & Swift has won the appointment to refurbish the historic Loch Rannoch Hotel in Highland Perthshire.

The plan is to bring the landmark hotel up to date with investment in the bedrooms, public spaces and spa. The work is under way, ahead of the hotel’s reopening next spring.

READ MORE: Glasgow firm secures brief for interior overhaul of landmark hotel

Vaccine news boost easyJet bookings

The Herald: EasyJet has unveiled a new 'weather radar for ash' system

EasyJet’s bookings jumped by 50 per cent last week on positive news about a coronavirus vaccine, providing a brief respite during a pandemic which pushed the airline to a £1.27 billion annual loss - the first in its history.

With air travel at very low levels for more than eight months, easyJet has been forced to take on more debt, tap shareholders for cash and sell dozens of its aircraft to boost its finances.

Chief Executive Johan Lundgren cautioned that while the positive vaccine news was a boost, it was still “early days” and he said he could not forecast when travel would pick up.

“There is no visibility really beyond the quarter, because this is all down to the travel restrictions,” he said.

That makes him more downbeat than larger competitor Ryanair which forecast a return to 75-80% of pre-crisis traffic by next summer on the vaccine news.

Positive news about the Pfizer vaccine at the start of last week sent easyJet shares rocketing by 45%, with bookings up 50% on the the previous week. Mr Lundgren said that momentum continued this week following news on a Moderna vaccine on Monday.

READ MORE: Ryanair chief defends refund record as airline slumps to loss

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