Hong Kong restaurants more optimistic despite pandemic challenges: Deliveroo
Most respondents hope that the government will offer a one-off allowance to restaurants and other F&B outlets.
Restaurants across Hong Kong remain hopeful about the future of the sector despite dine-in restrictions and reduced operational hours, Deliveroo’s Restaurant Confidence Index for Q1 revealed.
The average rating of 5.8 from restaurant satisfaction in overall business performance remains unchanged from Q4 of 2020, the food delivery platform said.
Nearly 500 restaurants took part in this quarter’s survey between 30 March to 13 April.
Throughout Q1, 41% of restaurants saw an increase in revenue turnover, a eight-point jump from 2020’s Q4.
Decreases in revenue were down 10%, with 42% of restaurant partners surveyed claiming a loss in revenue compared to 52% in Q4.
Profits acquired from ordering-in remained stable as 60% of respondents noted an increase in deliveries or no significant changes to the previous quarter.
The Chinese New Year period experienced a drop in dine-in revenue due to social distancing measures, which included limiting to two patrons per table and capping in-person services until 6pm. Whilst dine-in services declined, delivery saw a 43% increase during the same period.
Redundancies fall despite jump in labour costs
82% of restaurants also did not have plans to lay off or ask staff to take unpaid leave in Q2. Estimates for laying off staff were down by 6%, as 29% of restaurants initially expressed plans to lay off staff when asked in early January, but only 23% followed through.
Despite this fall in redundancies, 57% surveyed reported an increase in labour costs and 59% in operating costs – a 13% jump compared to 46.3% three months ago.
46% of restaurants reported that profits remain unchanged or increased in Q1, whilst 54% of those surveyed reported experiencing decreases, though the figure was down by over 17% in comparison to the last Index.
53% of restaurants said they are more in favour of hiring part-time and temporary staff instead of full time staff (23%), if they are in need of more employees.
57% experienced an increase in dine-in due to the government's social distancing measures being relaxed after Chinese New Year. However, 22% reported no changes whilst 45% expressed a desire for the government to provide a one-off allowance to help and further support the sector.
20% of restaurants were hoping for rent relief and 19% for wage subsidy schemes for employees.
With fewer local COVID-19 cases reported, the survey also saw a confidence increase of 14% compared to the previous one, with 34% of participants now feeling a “sense of renewed optimism towards the outlook of the F&B industry.”
