Europe’s hospitality sector: the new normal and innovation

Austria | When Europe’s governments put hospitality venues into lockdown in March, the effects were severe. Heineken’s beer sales alone dropped 15 percent over 2019. The second quarter will be worse, despite some countries cautiously reopening pubs and restaurants.  

Among European countries, the Austrian and Swiss governments seek to ramp up the economy by loosening restrictions. Under certain conditions, Swiss pubs may open on 11 May, Austria’s on 15 May 2020.

In Belgium, the government will only discuss easing measures at the end of May, which indicates that the country’s 15,000 cafes and bars could return to some type of normal in June. In parts of Germany, pubs could reopen at the end of May.  

Austria sets new standards

In Austria, the government’s plans for the on-premise, announced on 28 April, have disappointed many publicans and patrons, says the beer writer Conrad Seidl. They wonder if the new plans have been thought through. There is no harm done if the regulars’ tables will have to remain empty. Or that drinking while standing at the bar continues to be taboo because of social distancing rules.

In fact, pubs may only reopen if they have seats and tables set far apart. What is more, patrons will need to wear face masks when entering the restaurant and going to the toilet, whereas staff will have to wear them all the time.

What will take some getting used to, says Mr Seidl, is the allocation of seats. There is no more free choice of seats as was custom before. 

Meanwhile, clubs, bars and other late-night venues are fearing for their very existence. Under the current regulations, closing time for pubs and restaurants has been set at 11 pm. This leaves clubs high and dry. Their main business hours are between 10 pm and 6 am. In Vienna alone, late night venues contribute EUR 1 billion (USD 1.1 billion) annually to the economy.

An uncertain future

Even if lockdown rules are relaxed eventually, this may come too late for many publicans and restaurateurs, who already see their savings dwindle due to rental payments and other costs that just keep ticking along regardless.

And how will the numbers stack up for them if distancing rules mean that foot traffic is cut into half? Will staff return if tips are less than what they used to be?    

There is genuine concern that once the lockdown ends, we might see huge numbers of pub businesses failing accompanied by large-scale redundancies. By some estimates, 20 percent of pubs in Europe will not make it through the pandemic, with some countries like Belgium and France possibly registering closure rates as high as 40 percent.  

What is the new normal?

This is just the immediate impact. The big question is: will punters still be going out in droves as before the pandemic? Or will beer consumption irrevocably shift to people’s homes? Will draught beer remain aspirational to warrant a trip to a pub, face mask and all? No doubt, hospitality venues that do survive the lockdown will have to reinvent their business models.

Danish company Micro Matic, a supplier of draught beer equipment, certainly thinks this is the time to think ahead. Covid-19 may well have changed the way people meet socially. It is likely that many will prefer to meet in smaller groups and at different venues.

To prepare for the post-corona challenges, Micro Matic has designed a draught beer unit that combines flexibility and mobility with the highest regard for draught quality.

When pondering where else to put a standard commercial 20 litre keg, they ingeniously hit on airplane meal trolleys – not the big ones but the smaller, half-sized ones, which have already found new uses as mobile offices, bar carts, and espresso stations. On Pinterest you can find a post with “49 ways to use your airline trolley at home” by some clever interior designers.

Micro Matic’s new AirBar, which is fitted with a cooling unit and a tap on top, allows you to roll an airplane cart for draught beer into venues, including homes, which would previously only have had an espresso machine or a water cooler.

Any glance at history reveals that crises and pandemics have continually set the stage for change. Social distancing is here to stay for much longer than a few months. It will upend our way of life, in some ways forever. So get thinking.