Corona crisis: two thirds of the hospitality industry will not make it, according to KHN
The fact that hospitality businesses have to keep their doors closed until 20 May is an outright disaster for many of them. If the government does not intervene with an emergency plan, two thirds of hospitality businesses will have to close by 1 July, fears Koninklijke Horeca Nederland (KHN).
The hospitality industry is flexible, as shown by the numerous initiatives to stay afloat. From vouchers to takeaway, and from using trolleys to dining in a themed-room restaurant and even dining in a two-person greenhouse. But however you look at it: for most businesses, operating at a 1.5-metre distance is simply not viable. Turnover would then amount to one third of what you can normally achieve.
There is therefore widespread grumbling in the hospitality industry about the corona measures as the closure continues. This week, furious hospitality tycoon Laurens Meyer said that if the government did not come to their aid soon, he would reopen the doors of his pubs on 1 June.
5,000 hospitality entrepreneurs
KHN chairman Robèr Willemsen previously expressed his concerns: ‘The government will have to introduce additional support measures. As long as these have not been promised, preparing for hospitality at a 1.5-metre distance simply makes no sense for a great many businesses.’ Recent KHN research into the consequences of the mandatory closure among nearly 5,000 hospitality entrepreneurs showed that if action is not taken soon, two thirds will not make it to 1 July. But so far there has been no sign of additional government support (more clarity, an earlier reopening date, more money). ‘We feel abandoned by the cabinet, which says it wants to help entrepreneurs,’ KHN told Misset Horeca.
According to KHN, the urgency is not getting through at all in The Hague. Its members are advising businesses to reopen their doors, as Laurens Meyer plans to do, but KHN is not doing so. However, the need for swift intervention is undeniable.
Plexiglass is the new gold
Meanwhile, various hospitality entrepreneurs are desperately looking for possibilities for their businesses in the 1.5-metre society. Rein Rambaldo of design agency De Horeca Fabriek is receiving a constant stream of calls. He is already busy drawing up plans for various clients. And if anything is clear, it is that in the new hospitality reality we will all soon be eating and drinking behind plexiglass. This material appears to be the new gold, costing hundreds of euros per linear metre. ‘Many hospitality businesses are having designs made, but because there is so much uncertainty, they have not taken the next step. I am afraid the screens will be unaffordable if they actually start buying them,’ Rambaldo told RTL Z.
And that means yet another very bitter pill for hospitality entrepreneurs who already have hardly any financial reserves…
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