Survey: Fewer local COVID-19 cases fuel optimism among HK restaurant owners
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Hong Kong's restaurants are getting optimistic about the future of the city's F&B industry, while about 40% of them enjoyed an increase in revenue turnover in the last quarter, according to the latest Deliveroo Hong Kong's Restaurant Confidence Index.
About one-third (34%) of respondents said that they felt a sense of renewed optimism towards the outlook of the F&B industry as there were fewer local COVID-19 cases reported. However, only 41% of restaurants saw an increase in revenue, eight percentage points higher than that of Q4 2020. Additionally, decreases in revenue were down by 10 percentage points, with 42% of respondents claiming a loss in revenue compared to 52% in Q4 2020. 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 study has also examined restaurant owners' attitudes towards laying off employees. 82% of respondents said they did not have plans to lay off or ask staff to take unpaid leave in Q2. However, 57% and 59% of respondents said they had seen an increase in labour costs and operating costs respectively.
"I am pleased to see that optimism regarding the future has increased among F&B businesses. It’s a slow recovery process, however we are pleased that it is heading in this direction," commented Brian Lo, general manager of Deliveroo Hong Kong.
Restaurant owners hoped for the government to provide a one-off allowance to help and further support the sector, while 20% of restaurants were hoping for rent relief measures and 19% for wage subsidy schemes for employees.
Launched in Autumn 2019, The Restaurant Confidence Index is a first-of-its-kind survey of restaurant partners in Hong Kong, revealing not only F&B trends, but also the challenges faced by operators. Nearly 500 restaurants took part in this quarter’s survey between 30 March to 13 April.
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