Hospitality executives take relief from optimism

New poll by CGA by NIQ and Fourth shows upward trend in optimism, but concerns over profitability and cash reserve

The quarterly survey identified that over half (54%) of executives have optimistic business outlook for the next twelve months - a rise of 7% on the January survey - and more than twice as many (22%) are pessimistic.

More than one-quarter (28%) of executives said some companies that were weakened by Covid-19 now had cash reserves of less than three months, and one in every seven (14%) indicated that their business was threatened with collapse over the next 12 months-a figure

unchanged from the January survey.

There are also signs that some companies weakened by Covid remain in danger.

The share of executives who now trust the independent market has even more significantly increased by ten percentage points to 40 percent, compared with the previous quarter.

But all figures fall short of what existed prior to the pandemic.

Karl Chessell, CGA of NIQ's general manager for hospitality and food services, EMEA said:

A quarter (25%) of managers reported that their company had been operating at the losses in the 1st quarter of 2023, while 32% indicated that they were profitable below last year's level.