The Negative Effects of COVID-19 on the Restaurant and Hospitality Industry

The global pandemic of coronavirus has taken a toll on all the people in the world. We can say that no person hasn’t felt at least some of its negative effects. The same can be said about industries.

One of the industries that had the first hit was the restaurant and hospitality industry. We are talking about millions of people who have lost their jobs, millions of US dollars in lost revenue, and the lowest occupancy rates ever recorded.

To present you with an idea about just how catastrophic things are, we would like to say that $1.7 billion in hotel employee wages are lost every week, and $2.8 billion in hotel room revenue is lost weekly level. Furthermore, during the first three months of the global pandemic, the restaurant industry lost over $120 million.

32,109 restaurants in the country are closed, and 61% of them are closed permanently. Just take a look at examples of Dallas and San Francisco. Dallas has 2700 permanent and 1400 temporary closed restaurants, while San Francisco has 2900 permanent, and 3300 temporary closed restaurants.

According to the data presented by the Journal of Hospitality Marketing & Management, 50% of guests are not willing to dine at a restaurant immediately. Plus, 25% of them will feel comfortable eating at a restaurant only when testing and data is improved, while 14% of them will just wait for the vaccine before going to the restaurant.

Despite all the bad predictions and forecasts, we can see that some business owners have plans for reopening. Thankfully, guests are glad to see these movements, and they are prepared to pay more for a service accompanied by increased safety precautions. In fact, 50% of restaurant customers, and 40% of hotel customers are willing to do so.

To learn more about all the bad things that COVID-19 caused to the hospitality and restaurant industry, be sure to visit Kitchenall NYC.