The hospitality industry comes out of the crisis after two years of the pandemic and is looking straight into the next one. In addition to enormously increased energy costs, restaurants and hotels are now facing further problems: many reservations have not been made so far.
Neuss (dpa / lnw) – In many restaurants, the reservation situation in the important Christmas business falls short of expectations. This is the result of a nationwide survey by the German Hotel and Restaurant Association (Dehoga), in which 235 North Rhine-Westphalian restaurateurs and hoteliers also took part.
40 percent of those surveyed rated their booking or reservation situation as bad. Also around 40 percent as satisfactory. More than two thirds of the restaurants and hotel operators stated that this year’s business was worse overall compared to 2019.
But there is reason for hope: “The trend to reserve and book at shorter notice was already established before Corona. Reservations are now being pushed back further than was previously the case,” says the President of Dehoga North Rhine-Westphalia , Patrick Rothkopf. That’s why you rely on the “late decision-makers” for private and company celebrations.
The industry expects an additional impetus from government energy cost aid for companies and private individuals. “We’re noticing both: on the one hand, the fundamental desire to go out and want to meet up before Christmas, and on the other hand, a reluctance to consume, which is due to the external conditions with the war in Ukraine, the explosion in energy costs and inflation,” said Rothkopf.
Quick help would give security back to both business and private individuals and would calm the situation down a bit. However, pre-corona sales could no longer be achieved even then. The President of Dehoga NRW emphasized that this meant a drop in sales for the third year in a row for the NRW hospitality industry.
In addition to increased energy prices, the hospitality industry is also concerned about higher food prices. Geese in particular are scarce and expensive this year. The causes are both the bird flu and the effects of the Ukraine war. That’s why around 76 percent of the restaurants want to adjust their goose range by the end of the year. In addition to price adjustments, the roast goose is often replaced with game, beef or duck.
