Despite a tourist season that promises to be excellent, some fears remain among hotel and restaurant professionals. First up are the government-guaranteed loans (PGE) that were contracted during the health crisis. A few weeks ago, the Union of Hotel Trades and Industries (Umih) published a survey showing that one in four affected businesses are unable to collect their refund.
“It’s a huge problem, and it’s not because we’ve worked properly for three months that we can pay back 25% of the turnover in four years,” says Laurent Duc, president of the Union Hotel branch. “There will undoubtedly be bankruptcy filings, but there will also be changes in ownership. We risk losing independent companies to investment funds,” he warns, recalling that around 40% of hoteliers have signed a PGE. “It’s a topic that will be important in September”, during the next deadlines, “because some are already tight, especially in the catering industry”, indicates for his part Franck Trouet, spokesman for the national group of independent hotel and catering industry (ESD).