Pubs, bars and restaurants eye 11% price hikes as costs soar
Around 93% of hospitality businesses have said they plan to increase customer prices.
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Your support makes all the difference.The vast majority of pubs, bars and restaurants are set to hike prices sharply for customers as the hospitality sector faces spiralling costs.
Around 93% of hospitality businesses have said they plan to increase customer prices, according to a survey of 340 operators running 8,200 venues by trade body UK Hospitality
The new data also revealed that firms predicted an average of 11% price rises to offset soaring costs.
Customers face the impending price increases amid a cost of living crisis, which will also result in surging energy prices and increased national insurance contributions in April.
Hospitality firms said they need to lift prices after witnessing double-figure increases in energy bills, labour, food and drink prices and insurance costs.
Surveyed businesses told the trade body that energy costs have particularly hit them hard, with companies seeing an average cost surge of 41%.
The planned price increases come after the sector saw the key Christmas trading period “devastated” by the spread of the Omicron variant of Covid-19 and resultant pandemic restrictions.
Businesses are also due to see VAT on food and soft drinks increase back from 12.5% to 20% and witness an increase in business rates in April.
Kate Nicholls, chief executive of UK Hospitality, said: “Omicron has infected the start of 2022 with lower-than-expected trading levels and higher than expected cancellations in hospitality venues.
“One in three businesses in our sector have no cash reserves left and are already carrying heavy debt burdens.
“Many of our community pubs, restaurants, hotels and hospitality venues will therefore fail as the cost-of-living crisis bites, causing demand to falter.
“This can only cause the UK’s wider economic recovery to stutter.”