The corona pandemic brought difficult times for hotels, restaurants and cafés. Things didn’t get any better after that. The industry is struggling with staffing problems, thrifty guests and increased prices.
Some restaurants in Germany are already doing it. They use robots, for example in the kitchen – for individual preparation steps through to putting together dishes such as pasta dishes or curries. The industry association Dehoga recently announced this. It was said that cooking robots would certainly have more potential in the future. McDonald’s also wants to integrate artificial intelligence more closely into its work processes. The quick-service restaurant chain wants to use AI to accept voice orders on a test basis at more than 100 locations in the USA.
Necessity is the mother of invention. You don’t have to look far in Germany to see how great the need is. “Staff wanted” – notices adorn the doors and windows of restaurants and cafés nationwide. According to a study by the Competence Center for Securing Skilled Workers at the German Economic Institute, the skills gap in hotel and restaurant professions almost halved between June 2023 and June 2024. But that doesn’t mean there are enough staff. Quite the opposite. Companies are still looking for skilled workers, just fewer.
The personnel situation is “precarious,” says Mark Baumeister, head of the hospitality department of the Food-Gourmet-Gaststätten (NGG) union. Due to time pressure, low incomes and massive overtime, the industry is finding it difficult to attract skilled workers or trainees.
The proportion of unskilled employees has increased significantly
Because many hotels, restaurants and cafés cannot find qualified employees and the economic situation is poor, jobs are often no longer advertised. Companies adjust performance and opening times and rely more on unskilled workers than on skilled workers. This can have a noticeable impact on customers. Whether wine recommendations or correct service at the table – this rarely happens with semi-skilled workers, says Baumeister. The use of ready meals is increasing in the kitchen, the range is being limited and season tickets are no longer available. In the hotel, there is no professional advice for guests and there is less accompaniment and support in the banquet and conference area.
The reasons for the development also lie in the Corona period. The hospitality industry was one of the sectors hit hardest by the pandemic. As a result, many skilled workers reoriented themselves into other professions or industries. According to the union, the number of employees fell by 330,000 in 2020 and 2021. In the following year it increased again by 224,000. However, two thirds of them were mini-jobbers, i.e. unskilled workers.
Two years after the pandemic, the industry is not getting back on its feet. Companies are not only struggling with personnel problems. Customers have recently also been saving money when using gastronomic offers, as a representative survey by the opinion research institute YouGov shows. One in three people say they have paid more attention to the price in recent years. This was more than in other areas such as tickets for cinema or concerts, furniture and electronics.
According to a Dehoga association survey, hoteliers and restaurateurs had a nominal turnover of almost 11 percent less in the first half of 2024 than in the same period last year, despite increased prices. The profit even fell by 22 percent. The European Football Championship did not bring the hoped-for upswing. “Despite our best efforts, it is becoming increasingly difficult for our companies to work economically. If nothing changes, thousands more companies will face closure,” says Dehoga President Guido Zöllick.
Many companies worry about liquidity
According to a recently published DIHK economic survey, 29 percent of companies in the catering industry are worried about their liquidity. The number of bankruptcies in the industry rose above average last year to 27 percent, as the credit agency Creditreform reported. 14,000 have given up, around one in ten companies. How difficult the situation is can be seen in the ranking of risky sectors that Creditreform compiled for the first half of the year. With 447 businesses at risk per 10,000 companies, restaurants, pubs, snack bars, cafés and ice cream parlors are in 8th place.
The hospitality industry is still struggling with the VAT increase from 7 to 19 percent at the beginning of the year. According to the Dehoga survey, almost 90 percent of companies were forced to increase their prices. Two thirds suffered falling sales and guest numbers. When asked about the biggest challenges, most companies cite, in addition to the tax increase, the rising costs of food and beverages – and staff.
Dehoga wants to involve refugees
In order to compensate for the personnel shortages, the hospitality industry wants to rely more on foreign skilled workers and also involve refugees more closely. “More needs to be done to ensure that those people from abroad who are already in Germany can make a living through gainful employment,” says Dehoga managing director Sandra Warden. Greater incentives need to be created here to work in Germany.
Will cooking robots one day help relieve the burden on the industry? According to Dehoga, many guests appreciate the personal hospitality. The hospitality industry is and will remain characterized by people.
The use of robots has another catch: the price. According to the association, a copy usually costs more than 10,000 euros and ultimately only performs simple “running tasks”.
Source: Stern
