In Tasting Room In den Uiver opposite the St. Bavokerk in Haarlem, the red-rimmed eyes of owner Hildo Makkes van der Deijl betray that he is forced to work seven days a week. And yet he does not manage to keep his three cases afloat. There is a note on the door of the Bierlokaal De Uiver, a little further away, with the text: closed from Sunday to Wednesday due to a lack of staff. “I’m going to sell that business, I simply can’t find people.”
In the radiant sun, Makkes van der Deijl points to the terraces of his colleagues at what he calls ‘Amsterdam’s Rembrandtplein in Haarlem’. All of them are closed at least one or two days a week. ‘Everyone is looking for people. I’m not selling the Bierlokaal because it’s not running. But even now that we’re only open on weekends, I’m often understaffed, bumbling. We would manage with four employees. Sad as it is, they’re not here.’
44 percent back in catering
More than a quarter of the more than 400,000 employees left the catering industry during the first year of the corona crisis. The 100 thousand employees, whether or not fired, flowed on to the test streets of the GGD, where much more could be earned, or to security and the retail sector. Figures from benefits agency UWV show that 44 percent (60 thousand employees) returned to the hospitality industry.
Not nearly enough, because the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) calculated that in the first quarter of this year no fewer than 44,300 vacancies were still open. In the first quarter of 2021, there were 13,700. And the competition in the labor market is fierce.
The catering industry is struggling with a bad image, says Makkes van der Deijl. ‘In France it is an honor to be served by the manager, the head waiter. In the Netherlands, the hospitality industry is seen as a student job. And many entrepreneurs prefer to recruit employees as young as possible, because they cost nothing. And that is of course reflected in the service offered.’
It can also be different, says Arwin Versteyne, owner of brasserie Brasa bar & kitchen in Purmerend. “Look, this coffee is also made with love,” he says, when the waitress sets the cappuccino with a glass of water for him. ‘We hired people during the lockdowns in 2021. It created trust and that loyalty is now paying off. We don’t have a shortage of staff, but it doesn’t happen automatically.’
In 2021 Brasa finished first in the Horeca Terras Top 100, for Versteyne the best proof that investing in quality pays off. ‘I have a training budget for courses and training. About thirty people in the service have a wine certificate, others are specialized in coffee. Of a team of almost seventy employees, half are permanent employees. And that percentage has to go up.’
looking in the mirror
How popular is the hospitality industry still? The sector should look in the mirror, says Versteyne. Old norms and values no longer count. ‘I don’t know better than to work at least five days a week and on weekends from noon to 2:00 am. But that is no longer of this time. Our people normally work eight hours a day and have one day off at the weekend. You are also entitled to a social life in the hospitality industry.’
The catering industry, in particular, has to compete on terms of employment, says Versteyne. And that goes beyond a few euros per hour more or less at Brasa. ‘Hospitality is also top sport, everyone has received a subscription to the gym. And through a sports shop I gave them shoes that you can also use on the terrace. We also keep the employees vital with a boot camp, so we also create solidarity. Everyone keeps each other on their toes.’
Last summer, Versteyne decided to reverse the classic sponsorship model by approaching regional sports associations for the recruitment of staff. He paid a premium of 250 euros to clubs that would bring a staff member for Brasa. The campaign resulted in nine new employees. Be creative is his message. Versteyne’s idea was promptly copied in Overijssel.
Last year, catering boss Makkes van der Deijl, together with several partners and the Kansacademie, founded the Haarlem Horeca Academy in Haarlem in response to the staff shortage. The efficiency of the training institute turned out to be nil. Makkes van der Deijl: ‘We wanted to provide tailor-made solutions. Preparing one candidate for a star restaurant, training the other as a barista. For example, we wanted to supply staff quickly and flexibly for business in Haarlem. The project has been halted because no one signed up.’
European problem
Dirk Beljaarts, director of Koninklijke Horeca Nederland, speaks of a European problem. During a meeting on the Greek island of Santorini with the European umbrella organization Hotrec last week, he heard identical sounds. ‘We sat around the table with ten countries, from Spain to Greece and Italy, everyone is wondering how to get staff.’
And so Frank de Reu, owner of beach pavilion Puur in Groede on the Zeeland coast, consciously looked across the border for a structural solution to recruit employees. He is not there with only a can of Spanish or Polish seasonal workers. Moreover, the official language is German on the beach that connects the Netherlands to Belgium, due to the steady influx of tourists from North Rhine-Westphalia.
The peak is traditionally located in Groede in the summer months. During a visit to the Salzburgerland, De Reu spoke to the owner of a hotel that could hardly offer work in the summer. ‘The four hundred Dutch beach pavilions have an enormous need for staff in the summer, the Austrians are in short supply when the ski slopes open in the autumn. Why not hire people full-time and second them alternately in Austria and the Netherlands?’
Housing obstacle
While enjoying a pot of beer, it seemed like a great idea, says De Reu with a laugh. The practical implementation took two years to come. In collaboration with benefits agency UWV and educational institution Scalda, the cross-pollination between the Austrian tourism school Klessheim and KHN region Zeeland is now slowly starting. Housing is still an obstacle, especially now that there is already too little space for asylum seekers and Ukrainian refugees.
De Reu: ‘The Austrian students will do an internship in Zeeland during the summer holidays. And then we look at how we will deploy our permanent staff in the winter in Salzburgerland, where many Dutch people go skiing. For me this is just the beginning. If I see that it works with students, it should also work with people in permanent employment.’
The plan was born out of necessity, acknowledges De Reu. It is walking a tightrope in a sector that was already hit amidships during the corona crisis. Compensation was still completely insufficient during the first lockdowns in 2020. We received 4 thousand euros, while I lost 8 thousand euros per quarter on insurance alone. In the end we had a significant deficit and you can’t make up for that after a great first quarter this year.’
Due to the lack of staff, De Reu has to call in employment agencies more often than he would like and the labor force is much more expensive than normal. Those who have just got back on their feet after Covid-19 are now dealing with new blows. Inflation is also tangible in the cafes and restaurants. Reluctantly, Makkes van der Deijl says that he charges 3 euros and 50 cents for a vase of beer in his Haarlem cafes. ‘Do I still dare to ask for a beer? I have to, purchasing has increased by 10 to 15 percent.’
Insane inflation
The hospitality industry is a prominent victim of ‘crazy inflation’, says retail expert Paul Moers. ‘Purchasing power is declining and the catering industry will notice that. You have to deliver quality if people still want to pay for it. They stay away from the slightest doubt. And the high energy prices are a disaster for a large consumer such as the catering industry. Certainly in a recession, I foresee tough times for catering entrepreneurs again.’
The full terraces give a distorted picture, says KHN director Beljaarts. ‘Appearances are deceiving. Fifty percent of the entrepreneurs are not yet out of financial trouble.’
From October, the catering bosses must pay off the previously parked tax debts within five years, although KHN hopes to be able to extend that period to ten years. After all, they no longer receive credit from most banks, says Beljaarts. The economic bureau of ING calculated in May that the debt burden has risen to 1.4 billion euros. And so more catering companies will go bankrupt in 2022, according to ING.
A restructuring is inevitable, says retail expert Moers. According to him, the Netherlands has an excess of catering. ‘The catering industry was prominently present in the shopping street, retail benefited from it. Now that the wallet is locked, we have 10 to 20 percent too many catering. I foresee that 15 percent could disappear and that also affects the retail sector. And I’m afraid it won’t be a soft, economic landing.’
Brasa owner Versteyne also predicts a ‘clearance’ in the autumn. “There is a lot of underlying suffering. Many companies have been kept afloat by the support measures. Now the wheat is separated from the chaff. Let the people at the catering businesses go to work for the good companies with no prospects. It is precisely in this uncertain period that quality makes the difference.’
Makkes van der Deijl has had to give up by giving up Bierlokaal De Uiver, but he is not giving up. ‘The Tasting Room is in the most beautiful place in Haarlem, it’s not because of the clientele. But I’m also shattered. I’m afraid that in the future I will be alone behind the counter for at least 50 hours a week, then you will automatically run into a burnout.’