Because of inflation and the energy crisis
Christmas business in gastronomy is lagging behind the pre-crisis level
12/05/2022, 5:49 p.m
After the economically bad Corona period, the gastronomy was hoping for a profitable end-of-year business this year. Instead of getting into a buying mood, many Germans want to tighten their belts even further. A good 60 percent of companies are already feeling the effects of this.
Restaurateurs and hoteliers in Germany complain about poor Christmas and New Year’s business. A good 60 percent of the companies report that their important year-end business is worse than in 2019, as the industry association Dehoga announced in a survey of 2820 companies. In November, there was a nominal drop in sales of 8.5 percent compared to the pre-Corona year 2019. For January to November 2022, the companies recorded losses of 8.0 percent. In addition, bookings and reservations for December are mixed. One third described the situation as good, satisfactory or bad.
“However, we also know that guests book much more quickly these days,” said Dehoga President Guido Zöllick. “There is still hope that Christmas and New Year’s business will pick up.” Rising energy costs are still the biggest challenge for 89 percent of companies, followed by high food (81 percent) and labor (68 percent) costs. 41.9 percent are concerned about the coming year because they fear slipping into the red.
The gas and electricity price brake decided by the federal government is a suitable measure to relieve consumers and companies, explained Zöllick. However, the reference value for the companies in the sector should be the consumption of 2022 and not 2021. Because last year, hotels, restaurants or pubs were in lockdown from January to May. Due to the corona-related closures, the consumption values for gas and electricity in 2021 were up to 35 percent below those of 2019, explained the head of the German Hotel and Restaurant Association (Dehoga). High inflation of ten percent and expensive energy are having a negative impact on private consumption. Because of the loss of purchasing power, many Germans want to tighten their belts.