Almost half of catering companies recorded falls above 40% in January and a third of accommodation companies had losses above 60%, still associated with the pandemic, according to a survey released today by the sector association.
According to the most recent survey by the Associação da Hotelaria, Restauração e Similares de Portugal (AHRESP), “the year 2022 started worse than 2021 for catering, similar and tourist accommodation companies”: “After two years of a pandemic, with various restrictions on activity, the over-indebtedness of companies is now added to the price increases of energy, fuel and raw materials”, he maintains.
Faced with this “perfect storm”, the association demands that the Government come forward with an “action plan to guarantee the viability of companies” in the sector.
Speaking of a “still very dramatic scenario” for the activity, AHRESP says that the drops in billing “result, in large part, from the direct effects of the peak of the fifth wave of the pandemic”.
According to the survey, 78% of restaurant and similar companies and 37% of accommodation companies had already had infected workers and 51% and 19%, respectively, had to close for no less than seven days for this reason. .
“As a result of this environment – stresses AHRESP – the survey revealed, once again, an increase in insolvency intentions, even doubling in restaurant companies”: “Today, 31% of restaurant and similar companies are even considering closing definitively. The situation is less serious in accommodation, with 8% of companies mentioning this intention”, he emphasizes.
The association also notes that “one of the concerns felt in recent times has been the notorious difficulty in hiring professionals for these sectors”, with 90% of catering companies that had the need to hire new employees referring to “strong difficulties” in getting them to work. lo, especially for the functions of professional kitchen and table/counter.
These difficulties were also recorded in accommodation, with the survey showing that 78% of companies had difficulties in hiring, especially for cleaning, kitchen and reception functions.
“Very relevant” is still, for the association, the fact that 52% of the catering companies and 28% of the accommodation companies mentioned that they had to postpone investments because they had difficulties in hiring human resources.
Analyzing in more detail the results of the survey, it appears that in January this year 43% of companies recorded billing breaks above 40% compared to January 2021 and for the month of February, 26% of companies estimate to record billing breaks above 50%, compared to February 2021.
In February 2022, in view of billing estimates, 41% of companies said that they will not be able to bear the usual costs (personnel, energy, suppliers and others) and 31% of companies are considering going into insolvency if they are not able to bear all the costs .
For catering companies, the three priority measures for the relaunch of the economy are the temporary application of the reduced rate of VAT on food and beverage services (85%), non-refundable support for the treasury and reduction of companies' indebtedness ( 66%) and the IRC reduction (43%).
In the tourist accommodation sector, 29% of companies recorded revenue drops above 60% in January compared to January 2021 and, in February, 26% of companies estimate to record revenue drops above 50% compared to February 2021.
In February 2022, in view of billing estimates, 20% of companies say that they will not be able to bear the usual costs (personnel, energy, suppliers and others) and 8% are considering going into insolvency.
In January, 32% of companies did not register any occupancy rate and 21% indicated an occupancy rate of up to 10%, with 24% of companies indicating that the occupancy rate of January this year was lower by more than 60% compared to January 2021 .
Considering the reservations already confirmed for February, March and April, the main issuing markets will be Portugal (referred to by 60% of companies), Spain (43%), France (32%) and Germany (31%).
Asked about what would be the three priority measures for the relaunch of the economy, the accommodation companies highlighted the reduction of the IRC (52%), non-refundable support for the treasury and reduction of companies' indebtedness (50%) and financial mechanisms to new investments and requalification of companies (42%).
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