Eight out of ten hospitality firms are crime victims

The hotel and catering industry is the biggest victim of business crime in the UK.

A survey conducted by the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) has revealed that 83% of hotels and caterers have been crime victims in the last year and nearly half say their trading has been disrupted as a result.

The BCC quizzed 3,000 businesses in one of the largest ever investigations into the cost of business crime.

The trade tops the list of industry sectors affected by crime, with the transport and retail sectors the next most likely victims, while financial services and agriculture are the most crime-free.

The most common crime against hotels and restaurants is burglary, with 42% of businesses saying they have been victims.

Damage to vehicles is the next most common incident, with 40% falling victim, followed by structural damage (39%) and theft by employees (32%). Other common crimes blighting the trade include fraud, graffiti and assault.

Two out of every five hotels and restaurants say trading has been disrupted by crime, while a third say it has affected staff morale and led to higher insurance costs.

"Small firms are also reluctant to report crime, as there's a perception that the police can't do anything about it," said a BCC spokesman.

Yorkshire and Humberside reported the highest levels of business crime, while the Eastern region was the lowest.

The average cost is £5,000 per incident and the total cost of business crime to the economy is £18.8b a year.