Talent leaving the industry was highlighted as a key challenge across the board at Aspire’s Leaders of Luxury conference.

Forbes Travel Guide chief executive Filip Boyen said London’s top-20 luxury hotels each had between 65 and 70 vacancies on average.

Ten Lifestyle Group founder Alex Cheatle said the company had hired 50 staff in the past month and was seeking 50 more worldwide. 

“It's pretty tough,” he said. “Pretty much everywhere there's a shortage.”

He added: “[There are] some great people are out there [who] are a bit nervous about coming back and we're trying to show them we've got financial security, we've got a high-quality blue-chip client base, and we're completely committed to creating a great work environment. 

“But I think there's a bunch of people out there who have been quite badly burned and are a little bit worried.”

Helen Brocklebank, chief executive of Walpole, said booking values had increased by 30% on average, with a trend emerging for “buying a better, bigger, more interesting, more unforgettable holiday”.

She said: “The frustration that I'm hearing from our members is that the commercial opportunity has never been better and it's not that customer demand isn’t there. But your ability to deliver the opportunity is really compromised by a whole load of stuff that you've got no control over, like not having enough staff and a skill shortage.”