The HoReCa sector (hotels, restaurants, catering) first felt the impact of the pandemic the hardest, and then the longest-lasting restrictions on the operation of restaurants and catering outlets. As a result, the industry's condition is poor, and now consumer spending is being squeezed due to rising prices.
Data from the BIG InfoMonitor Debtor Register and the Credit Information Bureau (BIK) show that the industry's current liabilities are already over PLN 1.8 billion - an increase of nearly PLN 45 million. The catering industry is doing the worst.
"Inflation is not only causing households to become impoverished, and thus seek savings in spending, including on trips or eating out, but also significant wage pressure, all the stronger because the entire HoReCa, due to the re-branding of many employees during the pandemic, has suffered huge staff shortages," Professor Waldemar Rogowski, chief analyst at BIG InfoMonitor, told Rzeczpospolita daily.
According to data from the Central Statistical Office (GUS), at the end of 2021 the largest annual increase in the number of vacancies was recorded precisely in accommodation and food service companies. This trend continued almost until the end of the first quarter of 2022. Only the second quarter brought a change and a decrease in the demand for new employees by slightly more than 10%. This is the result of the influx of a significant number of refugees from Ukraine, who found employment in restaurants, hotels, cafes and catering, temporarily offsetting the problem of a shortage of workers in the industry.
A cyclical survey by Quality Watch for BIG InfoMonitor on Poles' attitudes toward saving shows that the general high cost of living has strongly influenced the mood among Poles and has largely contributed to reduced spending in the area of leisure and entertainment. The latest survey in October, compared to the June 2021 results, showed that inflation has affected weekend travel spending more strongly than the pandemic, with as many as 31% of Poles now spending less on travel compared to 24% a year ago. The survey shows that for a long time it has been paying bills and buying basic food that have been on the list of priorities and growing worries at the same time.
Hotels began the pandemic with outstanding debts of PLN 1.12 billion. Although overdue debts to suppliers and banks fell steadily over the two and a half years of the pandemic, an increase has been evident again for several months. The current debt stands at PLN 997.5 million, down from PLN 119.5 million at the beginning of 2020, and as many as 252 companies have joined the list of debtors among hotel entrepreneurs. Among hotels, 3.1% currently have problems with paying their obligations.
"Nearly 2,000 lodging providers are currently on the register due to unpaid invoices and loan installments. This is the highest number of debtors in the industry in the 5 years since we analyzed the data. Unfortunately, the war in Ukraine is currently further reducing the interest of foreign tourists in coming to Poland. Raging inflation and the prospect of a slowdown or even a recession raises justified concerns among Poles about the state of their wallets, and this is not conducive to tourist trips," Slawomir Grzelczak, President of BIG InfoMonitor, told the daily.