New Year's Eve: Lack of staff poses a major problem for catering establishments

Created: 12/30/2022, 08:00

By: Andreas Jäger

There is currently a shortage of workers everywhere in the hospitality industry.

© schackow/dpa

New Year's Eve is coming up and it's the business of the year for many catering establishments.

However, the lack of personnel in the industry has dampened the mood considerably.

Some companies have had to reduce their opening hours.

District - Tomorrow will be the day: The year 2022 will come to an end and after most of the Corona measures have been lifted, New Year's Eve can finally be celebrated again.

"We in gastronomy are very happy to be able to welcome our guests this year under normal conditions," says Katharina Haller, deputy district chairwoman of Dehoga Weilheim and landlady in the Peißenberg inn "Sonne".

After the return to normality, the hospitality industry can now stand on its own two feet again and is no longer dependent on help from the state.

Tyll-Patrick Albrecht from the Schongauer Brauhaus shares this joy, even if he emphasizes at the same time: "We have not yet reached the level of the time before Corona." According to Albrecht, 60 to 70 people have already reserved this year, but they are not fully booked yet .

"We simply don't have the staff to serve more guests"

"In 2019 we had 110 guests - that's also our previous record," says Albrecht.

In the brewery, the turn of the year has always been celebrated in a family and child-friendly way.

"We don't have a classic party like in other places, we celebrate more of a games festival," explains Albrecht.

Activities such as beer mug lifting or table bingo ensure that the guests are in the best of moods.

In principle, it is "almost like at home, just without all the work".

A specially put together New Year's Eve menu awaits the guests of the Landhotel Hoisl-Bräu in Penzberg this year.

Here, too, people are happy that the restrictions have been lifted, but there is still no unalloyed joy: "The lack of staff is a big problem," complains Maria Dehmelt.

So far, around 70 people have reserved, theoretically there would still be room for more, but: "We simply don't have the staff to host more guests."

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"Staff?

What is that?” Says Tyll-Patrick Albrecht from Schongau with a pinch of gallows humour.

While temporary workers are still comparatively easy to find, it looks meager when it comes to potential applicants for permanent positions.

This is also the reason why the brewery is now only open five days a week instead of seven.

"I see one reason for the lack of staff in the lack of attractiveness of our region, especially for young people," explains Albrecht.

This is how it happened that two trainees from a Munich hotel were recruited from the brewery in the past.

Katharina Haller from the "Sonne" in Peißenberg also complains about the lack of workers, which is why the inn will be closed for two days from next year.

"Hardly anyone applies, neither for service nor for the kitchen," says Haller.

She sees the main reason for this in the working hours that are typical for the catering industry: “Working in the evenings, on Sundays and public holidays is not attractive for many.” According to Haller, however, the biggest problems are still to come, namely when many will be in a few years employees would retire and there would hardly be any offspring.

You can find more current news from the region around Schongau at Merkur.de/Schongau.