The HO.RE.CA. – Hotel, Restaurant and Cafè Sector at a Glance

Introduction

The HO.RE.CA. sector consists of hotels, restaurants and cafè (or catering) companies and is one of the fastest growing sectors in the world, after tourism. As per the latest European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (EUROFOUND) 2012 report, the Horeca sector is an integral part of the European Union economy, representing around 8% of EU’s enterprise population and 7% of its workforce. Most importantly, this sector also features a burgeoning number of micro enterprises, comprising Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs), with over 90% of such companies staffing less than 10 employees.

Employment & Growth Trends in Horeca

Employment and growth trends in Horeca are proportional to the seasonal variation in tourism, which contributes to a significant percentage of business in the hotel, restaurant and cafè (or catering) sectors. While in some countries (such as Greece or Italy), employment doubles during the summer time, in others (such as Switzerland), seasonal variations do not have an important bearing on business.

Recent developments in market trends, introduction of new concepts and launch of innovative projects in this ‘high labour intensive’ sector have together led to a considerable amount of employment generation. Over 1.9 million new jobs were created between the years 2000 and 2007; between 2008 and 2010, this figure was surmounted by a whopping 200,000 new jobs in the food and beverage business, despite the ongoing economic crisis!

The Horeca sector, however, is characterized for providing the highest percentage of flexible, atypical and part-time employment, especially in the foodservice and accommodation sectors. According to recent data provided by the Eurostat 2011 Report on ‘full-time and part-time employment by sex and economic activity’ over 1/3^rd of personnel hired in the foodservice and accommodation business throughout EU worked part-time as compared to around 1/5^th of workers in the overall economy!

Challenges Faced by Horeca Enterprises

Thanks to the booming tourism industry around the world (and especially in Europe and the Middle East), the future of Horeca indeed looks promising! However, with competition becoming cut-throat, it is getting more and more difficult to attract customers as well as retain reliable and motivated employees! Often businesses are forced to hire untrained and unskilled employees, with basic (or very low education level) as well as foreign workers who can barely speak the native tongue. This, in turn, directly affects customer service!

On the other hand, temporary, highly demanding and stressful work, over time and irregular work hours, very low wages, limited growth opportunities and hazardous/unhealthy/unhygienic work environment are some of the problems faced by employees in this sector.

Enterprises in this sector that wish to remain competitive and profitable must adopt new concepts and adapt themselves to the developments in market trends and technological innovations in order to attract customers. At the same time, they must also create the right working conditions for the staff that will make working more comfortable, attractive, ethic and fun!

Stepping Into the Future

Innovative, state-of-the-art and ‘green’ concept designs go a long way in ensuring the profitability of businesses in the Horeca sector. Such concepts align the aesthetic and functional elements of a hotel, restaurant or catering business and make it stand out in the crowd. At the same time, they create the ideal conditions that motivate employees and attract customers and draw them into a wholesome brand experience.

Here we are

DESITA combines its branding, interior design and operational expertise with new market trends and best-in-class technology to create winning concepts and exclusive brand experience.

We love to “design your business”, we love to develop your “food story”.

To discuss your requirements, please send an email to info@desita.it