The hospitality industry is bracing itself for what threatens to be the “most challenging New Year’s Eve”, according to restaurateurs who are struggling with staff shortages and constant cancellations because of the rapid spread of COVID-19.
The health authorities again reported more than 1,300 new infections yesterday, meaning the number of people currently in quarantine has continued to climb in the tens of thousands.
According to Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association head Tony Zahra, the situation in the hospitality industry deteriorated swiftly over the past few weeks.
Although things seemed to be promising in early December, with bookings in restaurants and hotels reaching pre-pandemic days, things took a sudden turn for the worse as the new virus cases and the number of those in quarantine spiralled out of control.
“We have noticed this in two areas: reservations for hotels from abroad have practically dried up and no new business is coming in. There is also a clear indication there will be little business from abroad during January and February.
“When it comes to local business with restaurants and other establishments, until two weeks ago the situation was normal and similar to festive seasons of the past. But, from two weeks ago, we started seeing people becoming more concerned about going out and are instead opting for deliveries,” Zahra said.
Although he would not go as far as to describe tonight’s celebrations as the worst ever, Zahra admitted New Year’s Eve will be a challenging one and even worse than last year.
“Operations are getting worse by the day since a lot of people are now in quarantine. We hope that, with the new quarantine rules, there will be some improvements,” Zahra said.
Operations are getting worse by the day
Restaurant owners who spoke to Times of Malta said they still had several tables unoccupied for what is traditionally the biggest night of the year. Others admitted they were struggling to keep operations going because many staff members were forced indoors because of quarantine measures.
Popular eateries that are usually booked weeks ahead are also accepting last-minute bookings after a flurry of cancellations.
From Monday, quarantine for those who have been administered the booster jab will be down to 10 days from 14. The move comes after businesses warned of an economic disaster as a result of too many people in quarantine and unable to work.
The deputy president of the Chamber of SMEs, Philip Fenech also confirmed the hospitality industry has been facing a flood of cancellations.
But he is optimistic the industry has become more resilient than the start of the pandemic in 2020 and insisted many operators now believe “the show must go on”.
“There is an element of this... that we need to keep going and make the best out of it. We have learnt that we need to look at the bigger picture and that is what most people are doing.
“People adapt to the different dynamics, some have carried on, others have started in-house deliveries. It’s not all at a standstill, people find ways,” Fenech said.
And while many people have cancelled their restaurant bookings, opting to stay home instead, a spokesperson for one of Malta’s main supermarket chains, Wellbee’s, said there has not been any drastic increase in sales.
What the supermarket has experienced in recent days, he said, is an increase in online shopping. While in some cases this was due to the fact people were in quarantine, a good number of customers were also opting to shop online to avoid mingling with crowds at the supermarket.
On operations, the supermarket spokesperson said that the shortage of employees, which has persisted for months on end now, has only been made worse with the increase in people in quarantine and unable to work.
“It [more people in quarantine] will impact all operations, not just big supermarkets. We have a shortage of employees at all levels, so now the government must adapt to this new reality because operations have been impacted.”