2023-12-15 05:54:00
For almost four years, the hospitality industry has been going through troubled times. We will not repeat the history of the health crisis, successive closures, indebted bosses and economically unemployed employees. There has also been a lot of talk regarding the energy crisis and the phenomenal price increases in raw materials which have further sunk a sector which must now recover. For those for whom it is possible, because the number of bankruptcies has been increasing in recent months. In October alone, there were 209 bankruptcies in the sector, the highest number since 2018.
So what’s wrong with restaurateurs or bar or nightclub owners? The excuse of the energy crisis no longer holds, in the eyes of the general public, and the price of raw materials has returned to a semblance of normality. We asked the question to several bosses from different backgrounds. The floor begins with Jérôme Blanchart, head of the Art Blanc group, which has several restaurants – including Amusoir and Brasseries Georges –, bars, nightclubs, hotels and rooms dedicated to events, in Brussels. and in Walloon Brabant. “The situation is different depending on the profession,” he notes. For clubbing activities, for example, we experienced a big recovery following the health crisis and it is, today, quite stable. For restaurants, the situation is astonishing. They are working better than in 2019 and the question we ask ourselves is how long this will last. The attendance is higher, and the average basket too, even though we know that people are struggling. We tell ourselves that it is not viable for them to continue and that it will eventually calm down.”
Bankruptcies in the hospitality sector at their highest since October 2018
He obviously does not complain regarding it, and finds a main reason for this phenomenon. “Our profession regained meaning during the health crisis. As soon as the lockdown was lifted, people needed to get back into social life, and we are here to bring people together.”
And if he is wary of the backlash, it is also because the profession continues to evolve, particularly with the succession of crises. “The profession has become more and more complex and professional. Getting started without having a lot of baggage is suicidal. We are also dependent on the global context and the slightest change. I think of crises but also of the impact of a Good Move plan which can be direct.”
The big change, for him, is at the personnel level. “The impact of Covid is huge on the way they view their careers. Family balance has become very important and we can no longer find anyone who agrees to work 50 hours a week. The hospitality industry is no longer a target for workers because these are professions where there are many concessions, he says. Faced with this, we must adapt. Staff who work less overtime require changes. We can hire but it is very expensive, or even review the concept. At Brasseries Georges, we no longer close at midnight but at 10:30 p.m., for example.”
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Early closure, students, new options: you have to adapt to survive
An example which is not isolated, in Brussels as elsewhere. Faced with the lack of staff, and its cost, many establishments close during the day while remaining open from morning to evening, without counting those which close on weekends or an extra day during the week because they have to fill to be profitable. “At the Parvis de Saint-Gilles, I no longer open during the day. It costs too much in terms of staff, and, what’s more, you have to find some, regrets Jean Hummler, owner of the Moeder Lambic bars. In the city center, I had to stop indoor service even though we had been doing it for nineteen years. People have to come and order at the bar…”
According to him, there are many causes to explain all these problems. “Our sector reveals everything that no longer works,” he says. Crises happen but the illness is broader than that. You know, I still have three to four years to pay for the eleven months of Covid closure. And I’m far from the only one. Today, bosses have to go through a whole series of things to keep their heads above water: cut back on staff, reduce product quality, call on students, etc.”
What also comes back to us very often are changes in customer behavior. “Before, everything was regulated like clockwork. At 5 or 10%, I might establish each month’s turnover without problem. We had calm days and busy days. Today there are no rules. We can be full on a Tuesday and empty on a Friday. I also observe a reduction in the average ticket. People are more careful, and it’s the same in restaurants. A full room no longer brings in the same thing at all,” says Jean Hummler.
Water soon to be free in restaurants? It’s a categorical no for the hospitality industry: “We are already cash cows, we must not exaggerate”
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