A leading British hotelier has warned an increase in the minimum wage for 18-year-olds will have disastrous consequences for the hospitality industry.

Alex Polizzi, of The Hotel Inspector fame, told The Telegraph's Travel Expert podcast that the Labour proposition would stop hotels from being able to hire young staff.

She said: 'They are now talking about putting up the minimum wage for 18-year-olds to the same level as 21-year-olds, which will be another disaster.'

In its manifesto last year, the Labour Government pledged to look into narrowing the gap between the 18-20-year-old rate of the National Minimum Wage and the National Living Wage.

It aimed to put forward recommendations on achieving a single adult rate in the years ahead – rather than a separate, lower wage for the youngest group.

But for some, this could decrease the chances of 18-year-olds being hired.

Ms Polizzi told the podcast: 'As far as I'm concerned, I will never be able to employ an 18-year-old again, because why would you employ someone fresh out of school at the same price as someone who has been out in the world for three years?'

The Polizzi Collection includes three hotels: The Star in East Sussex, Hotel Tresanton in Cornwall and Hotel Endsleigh in Devon.

It comes after Brits have been warned of a 'flashing red light' on jobs this week as figures showed vacancies at a 12-year low outside Covid. 

With less than a week until Chancellor John Healey delivers the Budget, official data has demonstrated the fragile state of the market for workers. 

Although unemployment dipped in the three months to August, payroll numbers were still down 66,000 over the year to September. 

And the analysis showed they had dropped 21,000 to 691,000 in the three months to September.

That was the biggest decline since the three months to March, and the headline figure was the lowest since July to September 2014 apart from during the pandemic.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the fall was mainly due to smaller firms who were struggling to cope with higher staff costs.

It sparked calls for Labour to reverse the increase in employers' National Insurance.

This, along with raising the minimum wage and more workers' rights, has been blamed for weighing down recruitment.