According to the EFL survey, 20 % of hotels, restaurants, and catering companies (HoReCa) expect an increase in orders at their establishments in the coming months of the year. A quarter earlier, only 5 % of businesses were optimistic about the future and 34 % feared a drop in orders.

One in five hoteliers or restaurateurs expect more guests. And one in ten plans to invest more in their business. EFL experts point out that HoReCa recorded a score above 50 for the first time since the outbreak of the pandemic outside the holiday season, meaning that entrepreneurs see a better chance of a rebound in hotel and restaurant business in 2024.

The EFL Barometer sub-index for the HoReCa sector for the first quarter of this year was 50.1 points, 4.8 points higher than a quarter earlier. As EFL points out, this is the best ‘opening’ of the year in four years.

“Since the outbreak of the pandemic, HoReCa has recorded a score above 50 points, i.e. above the threshold for limited growth, only in the ‘holiday quarter’, hoping for more guests and larger orders. This time, this threshold was exceeded in the first annual reading, which could be a good prognosis for the whole year. Numerous hoteliers and restaurateurs are not only counting on more revenue but are also thinking about more investment. Such forecasts have not been seen for a long time. The optimistic opinions of representatives of the sector are largely a derivative of the revival in hotels”, said EFL President Radosław Woźniak.

20% of hotels, restaurants and catering companies forecast an increase in orders. More than half, however, do not expect major changes compared to the last months of last year, while 25 % of those asked are pessimistic about the first months of this year.

The EFL Barometer is a synthetic indicator of SME companies’ propensity for growth. EFL was established in 1991, as one of the first leasing companies in Poland. Since 2001, it has been part of the Crédit Agricole Group.

Arkadiusz Słomczyński