The hotel industry asks for its rescue, claims direct aid and will sue the Government: report on the sectoral situation after 11 months of the 'Covid crisis' and its response strategy.

09 Feb 2021 The hotel industry asks for its rescue, claims direct aid and will sue the Government

Posted by Marta Fernández Guadaño at 00:40 am Andoni Luis ADURIZ, Ferran ADRIÀ, Business, Reports, Tips with name and surname0 Comments0Likes

Restoration has historically earned a role as a strategic sector in the Spanish economy, due not only to its weight in GDP, but also to the fact that it is part of an intangible heritage that, in turn, translates into tourism ("Between all of us , not a group, but a way of being in the world”, said Aduriz). This economic relevance collides with the ridiculous support provided by the Government to hoteliers, who, unlike their European neighbors, receive neither direct aid nor fiscal measures. At the same time, measures such as ERTE and ICO can become traps that lead to bar and restaurant contests. What will happen when this country wakes up? Among other things, that the hotel industry could be left reduced to a third of its value. Faced with the distress that this battered sector has been enduring for 11 months, the hoteliers are asking, on the one hand, for direct aid and, on the other, they are beginning to file collective lawsuits before the Supreme Court to claim lost profits due to a closure imposed without any compensation and to so try to "not disappear during 2021". This is our report on the sector situation after 11 months of the 'Covid crisis' and its response strategy.

With information updated on Tuesday, February 9 in the morning, the High Court of Justice of the Basque Country has accepted the appeal in which the Basque hotel industry requested to return to activity in the red zones. In other words, the Justice orders the reopening of bars and restaurants in the Basque Country, a ruling that is a ray of light for the sector .

It takes exactly 11 months crying out for what was coming. On March 9, Ferran Adrià began to paint a very pessimistic —or realistic— scenario about the effect of the Covid-19 crisis on the hospitality industry . He spoke of a "tsunami", predicted a sectoral stoppage unprecedented in recent history, called for a 'Marshall Plan' to recover not only the economy, but restoration , and asked his colleagues to do numbers to calculate his financial muscle: balance of situation and budget with different more or less pessimistic scenarios for the reopening of businesses, with the hardest option based on a hypothetical raising of the blind in February 2021, something that seemed like a real exaggeration and that is no longer. The messages from him followed each other week after week, even when we theoretically returned to the awfully so-called 'new normal'. It was, for sure, the crudest voice of a chef who was criticized by some for speaking without already owning restaurants, while he used and uses the 'Adrià brand' to give visibility to the distressing sectoral drama . That rawness was pure realism. The really dramatic thing is that Ferran fell short.

More than a year ago the Covid 'appeared' in China and annoyed our existence. Without more and without it seeming that not even the WHO wants to find out if there is a culprit of such a catastrophe. 'Everyone', touched by the virus, confined themselves and renounced their previous life, some more than others, without knowing that this confinement was only the beginning of a new life in which the constant personal, family and work resignations did not they seem sufficient to solve a health problem, whose apparent solution, the vaccine, now collides with the inept management of the politicians on duty , the game of supply and demand and the appearance of new strains.

Even so (and, in the Spanish case, with the diversity of regional restriction strategies ), we are not throwing in the towel, because, surely, sooner or later, there will be a solution. But, in the meantime, there are sectors such as the hotel industry that are no longer affected by the greatest and rarest economic crisis of recent decades, but rather punished with an apparent single destination: attending their agony . "They are not going bankrupt on a deferred basis," said a hotelier a few months ago. As it is. What's more: with absolute impudence.

Last night, in a program of a chain -which, obviously, cannot be objective with reality-, Ferran Adrià no longer cried out, but bellowed and asked for a rescue for the hotel industry , just as in his day he did with the banks. “This must be a rescue like the banks; 100,000 hotel businesses have already closed and 70-80,000 will do so this year ” [these data would suggest that the hotel industry could be reduced to a third of its value], Adrià 'shoots' from Cala Montjoi , where he is reviving elBulli to convert that area of the Costa Brava in a renewed pole not of gastronomy, but of creativity and innovation (with the help of companies such as Telefónica, Caixa Bank or Lavazza, whose executives, smarter than any government, know that allying themselves with the 'Adrià brand ' means expand market and may sell more).

Expropriation of the right to work

From the set of that program and while Adrià spoke 'on the screen', Andoni Luis Aduriz , who was his disciple and is now one of the most renowned chefs in the world —although neither Pedro Sánchez nor Pablo Iglesias probably know it, neither his nanny, nor Alberto Garzón, who, as an incompetent Minister of Consumption, allowed himself the luxury of despising in May 2020! the importance of tourism in Spain—, he added from the set 'giving away' a precise description of what is happening: “They are expropriating our right to work” .

Aduriz abounds in his arguments: “We are experiencing a situation that has caught all of us who work in the hotel industry on the wrong foot”, something that is “encompassed in an intangible heritage [...]. It seems that we are talking about chefs and that this is a fabric of haute cuisine when cooking is the heritage of a society and we are part of something more complex that is culture . We need the entire value chain of the entire sector. Between all of us we form, not a group, but a way of being in the world ”, argues the Basque chef. Aduriz not only speaks as a representative of the haute cuisine fringe (he owns one of the 13 Spanish restaurants ranked among the 100 best in the world, according to 'The World's 50 Best Restaurants' list , in which Mugaritz holds the record for add 14 years in the world Top 10), but gives voice to the sector as president of EuroToques .

“It has been our turn because for lunch or dinner, you have to take off your mask,” recalls Ferran Adrià , who calculates that “a business with a workforce of 15 to 30 people, either fills 70% of its occupation or does not earn money ”. He adds: “Let people know that few restaurants are going to make money this year. Spending two years like this is 'killer' ”.

Variety in restrictions

The hotel industry has been in the spotlight for 11 months subject to measures proposed to avoid socialization. Cantabria, Castilla y León, Castilla-La Mancha, Asturias, Galicia, the Valencian Community, Navarra or the Balearic Islands have their restaurants closed (with the exception of the service on terraces, something that is not possible in Castilian-Leonese businesses either); Catalonia has limited its operation to a surreal schedule (it can only open from 1:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. and dinners are not allowed), after requiring the blind to be lowered for about 45 days in autumn (by the way, 15-20 days after closing in October, the positives increased at a rate close to 150%); and regions such as Andalusia live with strong restrictions and perimeter closures.

Meanwhile, the Community of Madrid is an exception , since it has not closed again since, at the end of May, it began to allow terraces; Not even the unilateral imposition of the state of alarm in October by the central government managed to bend the hoteliers, who, yes, operate with limited capacity and hours (right now, bars and restaurants close at 9:00 p.m.). The regional president, Isabel Díaz-Ayuso, has embarked on a sectoral defense that is almost exotic due to its 'sui generis' , because it is no longer the case that any other region in Spain is willing to keep its hotels open, but rather it is quite a case. rare in the world , with a conclusion that supports it: in Madrid, the incidence has risen or fallen regardless of having the hotel industry open and, most likely, due to the effect of Christmas and, surely, due to the impact of an airport lacking control in the arrival of travelers.

Differences with other countries

What happens outside of Spain? A few will say that the hotel industry has also been closed for months in France or has suffered an 'opening' in Germany, England or cities like New York. That is so, but with two resounding differences: aid and weight in GDP .

HELP. First, the aid marks an absolute inequality with other European countries . In Spain, they have been limited to a nonsense portrayed with several measures that are pure deception:

* The Netherlands: a figure of 15,000 million is estimated. His plan provides for 40 million in non-refundable aid to compensate for the costs of the restrictions on bars and restaurants in an amount equivalent to 2.75% of the loss of billing (about 2,500 euros per establishment).

* Germany: 10,000 (The German Government has proposed mitigating up to 75% of the losses arising from closures of affected companies. A total of 10,000 million euros is planned. In addition, measures such as the reduction of VAT to 7% for bars and restaurants until the end of 2022).

* France: 10,000 for businesses affected by closures; it is estimated that 6,000 are for hospitality.

* Italy: 5,400 (aimed at the re-establishment of economic activities directly or indirectly affected by the restrictions imposed on health protection).

* United Kingdom: 5,100 (After announcing a new confinement on January 4, the United Kingdom has introduced a new line of aid for 5,100 million euros. Shops, bars and restaurants will be able to receive 10,000 euros.

* Romania: 2,000 (aid for the amount equivalent to 20% of last year's turnover).

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* Denmark. It is a very particular case: the Danish Government has been approving different support measures consisting of direct aid to sectors that have seen their activity restricted, among others: 99.4 million to support bars and restaurants with time restrictions in October; 107 million companies affected by restrictions in November and €94 million per month since December. In total, a figure of 50,000 million is estimated.

* Spain: zero euros in direct aid.

In neighboring countries, the announcement of these aids has occurred at the same time (or, at most, after a month) that the closure of the hotel industry; that is, they were simultaneous announcements.

In addition, situations as crazy as a hotelier have to subsist without help in Aragon , while that same owner with a business in France , on the other side of the Pyrenees does have them (it is interesting to read this link of 'Heraldo de Aragón ').

Hospitality of Spain, Hospitality of Madrid and the Madrid Association of restoration companies (AMER) have called a symbolic act of protest for tomorrow, Tuesday, in front of the Ministry of Finance at 10:30 am; They claim not to continue paying for the 'broken dishes' of Covid.

WEIGHT IN GDP: With the above data, it is clear that the Spanish hotel industry is one of the most mistreated in the European context given the lack of aid . But there is another big difference between Spain and countries like France, Germany or the United Kingdom that have closed their restaurants for weeks or months and it is the weight that the hotel industry has on the national GDP , something that in Spain makes this sector and tourism as strategic pillars of its economy . There are several things to consider:

blame a sector

“It is especially painful that countries like Germany, France, Holland or other countries of the European Union are helping this sector, which is not so strategic for their economies, in the face of the passivity of the state and regional authorities of our country that are leaving that the hotel industry dies, along with hundreds of thousands of families, despite the fact that it respects hygienic standards, distance, schedules…”, they warn from the platform lahosteleriadetodos.org , which finalizes legal actions by the hotel industry against the Government , under a strategy designed by the law firm Cremades & Calvo-Sotel o.

In the context of non-existent direct aid and a powerful weight on the GDP of the Spanish hotel industry (higher than that existing in other countries, where there is no dependency on the service sector or the relevance of tourism that is more than demonstrated in Spain), it is necessary to put The (political?) decision to blame the hotel industry, which has become the 'scapegoat' for the increase in infections, is being called into question .

One piece of data is handled by Hospitality in Spain from the Ministry of Health: 15.32% of infections in 2020 occurred in meetings in private settings and only 2.3% were detected in hospitality. There does not seem to be scientific evidence to support that restrictions in the hospitality industry lead to a reduction in cases. "There is a similar incidence in Catalonia and Madrid," recalls Adrià.

It is clear that Covid is the absolute drama, that the unofficial death toll already far exceeds 100,000 deaths in Spain, but it is also clear that large bottles and illegal parties are the order of the day and should be penalized with something more than a fine. That when a politician, a scientist or an epidemiologist speaks, he should weigh whether it is not possible to bet on a safe hotel industry versus sinking a despised sector as if it were second, when 33% of GDP is 'eat' on its own.

It is, probably, in this commitment to security where the hoteliers on the one hand and the authorities on the other can have the most influence. Are we aware that the owners of bars and restaurants that do not respect capacity, gather customers in dining rooms and terraces without leaving 1.5-2 meters between tables, skip time limits or even continue to provide services behind closed doors? are a cancer for the sector? Is a fine enough that some hoteliers with fashionable central venues do not hesitate to prefer to pay over strict compliance? Is there equitable monitoring of non-compliance? Wouldn't it be necessary to be much more severe, both in economic figures, and through punishments as harsh as the temporary closure of the establishment that actually incurs in a breach as serious as those mentioned? Probably, in the localities where the restoration continues to work with limitations, it is where the strictest vigilance must be to comply with the restrictions .

And that can not be forgotten because, if not, the hoteliers who are currently suffering a distressing situation will also be paying for those colleagues who break the rules to the bullfighter . “You have to fight intelligently and with a head and try to make hospitality spaces safe,” Aduriz stressed last night in his participation in a television program.

Because, on that 'side B' of this surreal story, there are also the investments made by hoteliers . To the extent possible, some have invested in ionization and disinfection systems, subjecting their employees to periodic PCR or conditioning private individuals; many install almost improbable terraces where open-air gastronomy would have been unimaginable before and a majority serve their recipes with care in 'tuppers' under takeaway formats, reserved until 11 months ago for 'fast food' and which now materialize a new channel of commercialization of dishes in which classic businesses, eating houses, modern 'casual' places or haute cuisine have entered. The great chef who used to give talks to hundreds of colleagues now does not hesitate to roll up his sleeves to 'announce' on his Instagram account both his latest 'delivery' and the products of suppliers that are dying.

Lost Profit Lawsuit

If some in March 2020 estimated a closure of a couple of weeks or a month or two at most, now they are rubbing their eyes to be sure that the nightmare is real, with the doubt of whether the mistreatment to which they have been subjected 11 months will it continue or not. A few, tired of waiting and continue to 'palma' businesses, while many others fight for their survival or hide their technical bankruptcy, have decided to take legal action, something with few precedents in the history of Spanish restoration. In the last two months, the platform lahosteleriadetodos.org has been launched, with the aim of " uniting the hospitality sector to sue the General State Administration and the Autonomous Communities for the damages suffered by the hospitality industry during 2020 ”.

Open to "all restaurateurs nationwide, including those who have already closed permanently", this platform has commissioned the Cremades & Calvo-Sotelo law firm to articulate a legal strategy, designed and developed by former Supreme Court magistrates and of the Constitutional Court , several Professors and lawyers with experience in the management of collective demands . "After legitimate and laudable protests and demonstrations in the hospitality industry throughout Spain, we believe that only the Judges and Courts will be able to provide a solution based on law that protects our sector," they point out from the platform. These are legal actions based on the patrimonial responsibility regime of public administrations, which seek to claim the lost profits derived from the hotel closure imposed without aid to the sector. The amount of the claim will be the arithmetic mean of the results of the business in the years 2017, 2018 and 2019, compared to the provisional results of the 2020 financial year. To take into account this point: “in the event that the claim is successful the Cremades & Calvo-Sotelo law firm will charge, as professional fees, a third of the amount obtained in the lawsuit”.

On the one hand, this platform has set the deadline for registration on March 14 (the date on which one year has passed since the first state of alarm) https://lahosteleriadetodos.org/index.php/quieres-sumarte, meeting certain requirements. , such as the payment of 242 euros (with VAT) for legal fees. For now, they assure that they already "integrate restaurants, cafes, bars, taverns and other types of establishments that serve food from all over Spain."

On the other hand, the presentation of the first demands is already finalized. This Thursday, February 11, the platform will present a first number of 50 demands before the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Tourism . “Weekly and until March 14, when the state of alarm is one year old, this group will continue to present new demand groups,” they explain.

What arguments do they handle so that this lawsuit can go ahead? “The lawsuit is not intended to question in general the measures adopted by the Government and the Autonomous Communities to preserve the health of the citizens of this country. In fact, the demands are based on the fact that everyone's main effort should be aimed at ending this terrible pandemic, which has caused so many deaths and which unfortunately will continue to cause it in the coming months. However, it is no less true that in accordance with the exceptional regulations that regulate the state of alarm, the right to be compensated for the damages suffered is contemplated . After the health front, in the economic field, the hotel industry is the most damaged and affected sector and forecasts estimate that during this first quarter of the year, 100,000 establishments will close, since March 2020, and will not be able to raise the blind again . The direct and indirect unemployment of this situation can lead to unemployment to 1 million people , ”they detail from lahosteleriadetodos.org . “The hospitality industry is an essential part of the industrial, cultural and social fabric of our country and an element of international competitiveness that has allowed millions of people to come every year to enjoy our climate, our culture, our cities, our beaches and also our hostelry. This situation has allowed many other industries to have also been able to grow and generate wealth for all Spaniards”, they add. “ Given the distressing situation that the sector is enduring, the hospitality industry has had no choice but to request protection from the Supreme Court so as not to disappear during this year 2021. ”

you have to bellow

Now, it's not a joke anymore. It is no longer about buying vouchers for a dinner to support the hotel industry, or having dinner at 7:00 p.m. or 8:00 p.m., or spending money at the bar you find open, or asking for delivery. Now, it is simply a sector that is being planted in which not even the most politically correct voices are cut off in howling. Because you have to brag .

What will happen when this country wakes up, if it manages to have someone competent at the helm? Well, a possible scenario is that the hotel industry has been reduced to a third.

Hoteliers , remember that the politicians who mercilessly sink you today will call you to take a photo with you.

Inept politicians , do not charge what is ours, do not charge 33% of GDP.

Sitting in a bar or restaurant makes us free . And that, right now, does not matter. But without the hospitality industry, we Spaniards cannot live; even those who choose to protect themselves and hardly leave home long to sit in a bar or restaurant. Society owes a lot to this mistreated sector ; therefore, you cannot be left alone; without forgetting that, in addition, its progressive decline would take its toll on the Spanish economy and society.

Ruling in favor of the reopening of the hotel industry

With information updated on Tuesday, February 9 in the morning, the hotel industry has scored a battle won , thanks to the ruling of the High Court of Justice of the Basque Country , which accepts the appeal in which the Basque hotel industry requested to return to activity in the red zones (maximum transmission of Covid), where the Basque Government had imposed the closure of bars and restaurants. A setback for the local Executive and a victory for the Basque restoration , through a sentence with which it could be setting a precedent throughout Spain , since the judge is emphatic with this consideration: "The influence of the opening of the hotel establishments with the high level of incidence of the virus after the celebration of Christmas ”, indicates the order signed by the president of the room Luis Ángel Garrido and the magistrates María Josefa Artaza and José Antonio González, as reported by 'El Correo '. That is to say, the Justice orders to reopen the bars in the Basque Country . The ruling, a true ray of light for the sector, adds that the precautionary measures adopted "may be modified or revoked during the course of the procedure if the circumstances under which they were adopted change."

“It is time for this sentence to be extended to the entire State . And that the hotel industry shows, with exemplary responsibility, that it can be part of the solution and not the problem”, pointed out Andoni Luis Aduriz , posting on his Instagram profile a 'screenshot' with the news published in 'El Diario Vasco' .

Faced with similar complaints from hoteliers from different regions of Spain , each judge of their regional or local courts can rule in the direction they consider, but it is clear that this ruling by the Superior Court of Justice of the Basque Country opens the door for bars and restaurants in other red zones of Spain get them to agree with them and allow them to open.

Source of the photos: Hospitality of Spain, CookPlay, restaurants and MFG-Gastroeconomy.