12-month revenues in hospitality have almost halved and are £60bn below comparable revenues in 2019, according to the latest figures from UKHospitality and CGA.
The pair found that:
Exact sales figures for year to September 2021 in £bn: In the 12 months up to the end of September 2021, the hospitality sector saw £73.1bn sales. This compares to £133.6bn sales in the 12 months up to the end of September 2019 a pre-Covid comparison). This represents a drop of -45.3% vs the same 12 month period pre-Covid.
Q3 sales compared to 2019 (July, August and September): The ‘UKHospitality Tracker for Q3 2021’ provides a view of total turnover/sales for the entire hospitality sector. In Q3 (July – Sept) 2021 the hospitality sector produced revenues of £31.6bn, an increase of 73% vs Q3 2020 (£18.3bn)…BUT still a drop of -10.1% vs Q3 2019 (£35.1bn).
Closures: according to the ‘CGA & AlixPartners Market Recovery Monitor’ which tracks venue openings and closures, between March 2020 and September 2021, the Licensed market lost 9,900 sites (net closures, incl. openings & closures) equivalent to a loss of 8.6% of venues. Nightclubs and guest houses were among the worst affected. More information is available.
Job losses and vacancies: UKHospitality estimates that the sector has lost almost 700,000 jobs since March 2020 and is currently seeing 10% vacancy rates, representing a shortage of around 200,000 staff across the UK
All this as the industry continues to manage huge pressures coming via a squeeze on people and talent, supply issues, and cost inflation across the sector. These pressures are expected to remain well into 2022 and come at a time when government-backed support such as VAT relief is being withdrawn.