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Lobbyist Dehoga speaks of the “greatest post-war crisis”. The corona pandemic is causing massive sales losses at hotels, restaurants, caterers, and clubs. The situation is particularly dire in cities.
The corona pandemic has triggered a serious crisis in the hotel and restaurant industry. In April and May alone, the loss in sales was nearly eleven billion euros, said the hotel and restaurant association Dehoga on the basis of data from the Federal Statistical Office. In the four months between March and June, the loss of sales was 17.6 billion euros. In the first half of the year, revenue fell almost 40 percent compared to the same period last year.
“After ten years of growth, the industry has posted sales losses of historic proportions since the beginning of March,” said Dehoga President Guido Zöllick. “Our operations were the first to suffer the consequences of the spread of the coronavirus and will be the last in all its forms of operation to be allowed to reopen.”
Grim prospects for trade shows and conferences
The crisis is not over yet, Dehoga said. Although holiday hotels and excursion restaurants, especially those with terraces and beer gardens, were in higher demand, the situation in cities was very bleak. Because trade fairs, conferences and cultural and sporting events are not yet possible, and business travelers and international visitors are lacking.
“The situation of the city’s hotel and conference industry, as well as the catering service for events, is dire,” emphasized Zöllick. The situation in discos and clubs, for which there are still no prospects for opening, is also catastrophic. “The companies have their backs to the wall and fear mass deaths in discos and clubs.”
Association asks for more financial aid
According to the Dehoga survey, sales in the summer months of July and August were still 43.2 percent and 41.8 percent respectively below the previous year’s figures. In early September, nearly 62 percent of the companies surveyed said their very existence was in danger from the crisis. “The corona pandemic plunged the hotel industry into its greatest postwar crisis,” sums up the association.
Now he asks for more help so that existentially affected companies come out of the crisis. In the Dehoga survey, about 65 percent of businesses said that loan and liquidity assistance programs previously offered by the federal and state governments were not enough to survive.
