ING predicts less exuberant times for the catering industry 

The prospects for the hospitality industry for both this year and 2025 are less buoyant than the previous three years, ING predicts in a sector report. The bank specialists said this is due to continuous low economic growth, low consumer confidence, and increasingly high prices in the hospitality industry.

The relatively high inflation continues to affect the catering industry. Restaurants and hotels were an average of eight percent more expensive last year. This year, prices are expected to grow further by an average of five percent. Although energy and purchasing costs will rise less than in the previous two years, staff costs are said to increase.

Places like restaurants and cafes cannot always pass the extra costs on to the customer. This is expected to lead to another year with many bankruptcies and business closures. The number of bankruptcies in the catering industry has been on the rise since the beginning of 2023 after two years of a relatively low number.

Recent ING payment transaction data showed consumers spending less in restaurants and cafes. Although the value of debit card payments in restaurants in the first five months of 2024 was, on average, 8 percent higher than in the same period a year earlier, this was largely due to higher prices.

Prospects for the Dutch hotel sector remain positive. However, growth will be more moderate this year than in 2023, like in restaurants and cafes. Last year was a highly successful one for the hotel sector, with a 14 percent increase in the number of hotel overnight stays.

The new Coalition's proposal to raise taxes from nine percent to 21 percent would be challenging for the hotel sector. ING claims that this would lead to hotel rooms and holiday homes becoming 11 percent more expensive in 2026 compared to now.

Campsites are exempt from this regulation. The price increase is expected to be almost entirely borne by the guest.