Going to a restaurant is becoming a luxury – News

“Over the past five years, food services have become more expensive by 65 percent, accommodation services by 52 percent. It is clearly among the record holders of domestic inflation,” Petr Dufek, Chief Economist of Banca Creditas, told Novinka.

According to him, the pace of price increases in the HORECA area (part of the hotel industry and various types of catering activities, editor’s note) gained a significant momentum after the end of the first lockdown during the coronavirus pandemic. . “Over time, pro-inflationary factors have also been added – such as expensive energy, rent and rising costs of raw materials and labour,” he said, adding that passive domestic and foreign visitors entered the inflationary game. too.

If we go deeper in time, the increase in prices in the supply sector looks even more impressive. “Year-on-year prices for catering services in October rose 6.9 percent, compared to 2015 with 95.6 percent, so restaurant price increases are not just about consumer sentiment, but the hard reality of the years finally,” said analyst at Akcenta in his October inflation report Miroslav Novák.

According to XTB Chief Economist Pavel Peterka, a large part of this growth happened last year, when prices in the food service sector rose by tens of percent.

“Price increases in restaurants also affected ‘Czech gold’. Draft beer continues to increase in price across the country and beer brands. The comparison with bottled beer is interesting, which, according to CZSO data, has increased in price on average by about two crowns over the past three years. In October, the average price was 13 crowns,” he told Novinkám.

The two crown increase compared to January 2022 in the price of bottled beer represents a percentage jump of 18.3 per cent. However, over the same period, the price of draft beer rose by 13 crowns or 32.4 percent on average. In October, the average price of one pint was 53 crowns, according to CZSO data. But the customer usually pays even more for a pilsner. For example, in Prague, a price of almost 70 crowns is not unusual at all.

“Draft beer became more expensive in absolute terms, in percentage terms and in relative terms compared to bottled beer much faster. Beer from kegs and tanks has long been a low-margin product to attract customers, who often spend more money on food and other reinforcements, where the margin tends to be much lower. interesting However, the difficult situation in action forces some pubs to increase the price of beer and increase the margin in order to maintain the financial stability of their own operations,” said Peterka.

In the last three years, however, several things in the hospitality industry have become more expensive at the same rate. For example, the price of the daily menu in October jumped 27.6 percent compared to the beginning of 2022, goulash with a side dish is more expensive by 31.5 percent, and the price of two cases of wine even increased by 33.3 percent.

The operator of several restaurants and a member of the Association of Small and Medium Enterprises and Craftsmen of the Czech Republic, Luboš Kastner, admitted to Novinka that inflation in the gastro sector does not fall below seven percent. According to the gastro price index from the company Dotykačka, prices rose by 26 percent from January 2022 to August 2024.

According to Kastner, the increase in the cost of labor is largely behind the increase in prices. “Wage costs make up a third of the business’s income. “Because of low unemployment and the cost of living, upward pressure on wages in our industry is the main reason for general price increases,” he said.

“Increases in the price of some raw materials, such as butter, continued low unemployment and labor market inefficiencies, as well as pressure on wage growth from the state, are likely to cause inflation in our industry to harass below seven percent by the end of the year,” he said.

However, the increase in prices affects the entire service sector, and not just the supply sector. Accommodation services have already been mentioned. For example, one night in a three-star guest house was almost a quarter more expensive in October than in January 2022, based on data from the statistical office.

In the last three years, the price of a male hairdresser has increased by around a third, which has also exceeded the increase of almost 28 percent for a female hairdresser. Culture is also more expensive, although price growth is lower. For example, a ticket to the theater was about a fifth more expensive in October compared to the beginning of 2022.

“The general increase in prices has affected the entire service industry. In addition to cost factors, the opportunity can affect the situation when a customer who is used to constant price increases for almost everything in recent years turns a blind eye even to price increases that may not be driven primarily by cost factors. Even workers and entrepreneurs in services pay​​​​​​higher prices everywhere and logically expect a higher salary, or the economic output of the institution,” said Peterka.

Together with Dufek, however, he noted that the increase in the prices of services does not apply only to the Czech Republic. “We see that the European Central Bank in the Euro Zone and the American Central Bank (Fed) see price developments in this region as a threat,” he said.

“The situation in the Czech Republic is not so special in this respect. Consumers in Hungary and Poland felt the price shock even more in restaurants. Hotel prices rose even faster in Croatia,” Dufek concluded.