“Our costs have risen by 20 to 25 percent, which is too much to pay off our debts from the corona period on time. We therefore prefer to take matters into our own hands, we will close our doors from 1 July,” says Mathilde van der Ploeg, co-owner of Nett Soulfood & Drinks in Apeldoorn.
Cost
The costs of just about everything have risen, from purchasing a carton of milk to a bottle of wine, emptying rubbish containers and personnel costs, explains Van der Ploeg.
She uses organic products and they are much more expensive than the ‘regular’ variety, she says. “As a result, we now have to charge 15 euros for a sandwich for lunch and 10 euros for soup. It’s not that customers think the prices are too high, we could raise our prices even further, but we don’t want that, there is a border, you also have to stand behind what you sell.”
Quits
When Nett started it was a different story. “But now we’re breaking even, that’s not what you’re doing it for”. In addition, Van der Ploeg and her partner received too much corona support during the corona pandemic, and now that they actually work for nothing, repaying that support on time will be difficult, says Van der Ploeg.
The corona debt will be repaid, but she and her partner will then do something completely different. “My partner is going to sell furniture, I have no idea yet. In any case, it won’t be anything different in the hospitality industry, you will continue to run into high costs.”
The vast majority stop themselves
Figures from the Chamber of Commerce show that Van der Ploeg is no exception. In the first quarter of this year, 2337 catering establishments closed, of which only 177 went bankrupt.
The vast majority of catering companies, 92 percent, were closed because the owners themselves gave up. In recent years, the catering industry owners have largely stopped themselves.
energy costs
Karen Sikkema, owner of Wintertuin Experience in Baarn, is also calling it quits. The catering industry in the Wintertuin will close on 10 July. Sikkema does want to keep the Escape Room open though.
The problem for Sikkema is its high energy bill. Wintertuin Experience is located in a former botanical greenhouse. It is a beautiful building, but heating costs are high in winter. And in the summer it can reach 40 degrees, so that the costs for cooling, for example refrigerators, also skyrocket.
In addition, the high maintenance costs of the greenhouse and other increased costs also affect Sikkema. “If only the maintenance and energy costs had increased, we could have absorbed that perfectly. But now everything is more expensive across the board, and that combination is no longer bearable.”
NOW-steun
During corona, Sikkema received support from the government. But because she only started Wintertuin Experience in mid-2019, the drop in turnover during corona was low compared to a year ago.
As a result, more than half of the NOW support must be repaid, according to Sikkema. An amount of more than 25,000 euros. That contributed to the decision to quit.
‘More bankruptcies in 2023’
Only one in three hospitality entrepreneurs can fully or largely pass on the higher costs, writes also economist Katinka Jongkind, who follows the services sector at ING Bank, in a report.
According to her, this is significantly lower than in other sectors. Restaurants and cafes in particular struggle to pass the prices entirely on to the guest, she says. After all, if the price of a beer or a meal becomes too high, the guests will stay away. According to Jongkind, hotels are slightly less price sensitive and can pass on higher prices more easily.
Profit margins at restaurants and cafés have been under pressure for some time, says Jongkind. She thinks that in 2023 the number of catering establishments that are closed or go bankrupt will rise ‘significantly’, partly because catering companies are now obliged to pay off their tax debt.
In this video you can see that smart innovations can reduce costs in the hospitality industry:
2023-06-07 05:05:24
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