WORST TRADING PERFORMANCE IN LIVING MEMORY ACCORDING TO LATEST SURVEY
12 January 2022
WORST TRADING PERFORMANCE IN LIVING MEMORY FOR HOSPITALITY WITH HALF OF BUSINESSES TRADING DOWN MORE THAN 50% ACCORDING TO LATEST SURVEY
Hospitality Ulster has published the latest trading survey that covers the vital Christmas period which shows that the hospitality sector here experienced its worst trading performance in living memory.
The organisation has expressed its disappointed that the grant support, due to the sector for restricted opening and closure - over what should have been a busy period – has been delayed.
Hospitality leaders are now calling on the Executive to provide the crucial grant assistance stating that financial support and a dedicated recovery strategy is now vital as the industry is in a period of market failure and businesses face potential collapse across Northern Ireland.
The recent Hospitality Ulster member survey showed:
- Almost all members have been negatively affected by the government messaging on limiting contacts and the additional restrictions introduced on the 22nd December and brought into force on the 26th December 2021 as a consequence of the emergence of the Omicron strain of the virus.
- At least 1 in 2 members have seen sales fall by more than 50% in the week commencing 27th December 2021.
- The extent of the impact continues to widen and deepen. For example, more than twice as many members are reporting a drop in beverage and food sales of more than 50% in the week commencing 27th December 2021 compared to the 15th November 2021, which is when the COVID pass was first introduced to Northern Ireland.
- The deterioration over the New Year when the restrictions came into place are particularly striking in terms of the significant increase in the share of members reporting sales down by over 70%.
- Around 1 in 5 members report beverage and food sales down by more than 70% in the week commencing 27th December 2021 compared to the same week in 2019.
- This is even higher for accommodation sales with 44% of hotels reporting that sales were down by over 70% for that week, reflecting a significant down turn also in food and beverage sales.
Colin Neill, Chief Executive, Hospitality Ulster said:
“This has been the worst performance for the hospitality sector in living memory. The trading position has continued to deteriorate and the last seven to eight weeks has possibly been the worst period in the entire pandemic. This should have been the time of year that trade is swift, but it has almost ground to a halt due to the restriction and fear of the spread of the Omicron variant.”
“Time is of the essence as further debt is building in the early months of the new year. In normal circumstances a good Christmas period would have taken care of the vast majority of the bills, however this was not the case last year, and certainly not the case this year. It is evident that financial support and a dedicated recovery strategy is now vital as we are in a period of market failure, facing the potential collapse of many businesses.”
“Whilst it is disappointing that the latest financial support package has been delayed, we are in regular contact with government officials and are hopeful that the much needed financial assistance will be distributed to business owners across the hospitality sector in the next couple of weeks.”
“We will meet with the Economy Minister to highlight the need to include hotels in the latest round of financial support, as many are food and beverage led, and are suffering the same impact of market failure. We are also working with Government officials to secure additional financial support for nightclubs that are now legally required to close.”
“As soon as the infection rate peaks, the Executive must make the decision to remove the punitive restrictions and support the industry as it rebuilds over the coming months and years.”
Thank you for taking the time to complete this short weekly trading survey. Being able to demonstrate the reality on the ground was a significant factor in securing the latest support for the industry. HU would encourage everyone to complete the survey so we can continue to make the case to decision makers.