Alex Trelinski
BENIDORM hotels and restaurants say they are concerned about rising costs brought about by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Though hotel and holiday bookings are continuing to rise in a return close to the pre-pandemic levels of 2019, local associations are concerned about the collateral effects of the conflict.
The key worries are rising energy prices coupled with a shortage of imported foodstuffs like sunflower oil and wheat.
Nuria Montes from the Benidorm-based hotel association Hosbec, told regional newspaper Las Provincias that the actual cost of providing a hotel stay ‘has increased between 25% and 30% compared to 2019’.
“The main expenditure for a hotel is its staff, but then that’s followed by food and drink, along with energy,” added Montes.
“Costs related to guest food can account for around 25% of the total expenses of a hotel and energy comes in at 15%, with both those areas sky-rocketing in price.”
Another issue affecting restaurants is the supply of food ingredients and prices.
Benidorm’s Abreca hospitality association manager, Diego Salinas, said: “Sunflower oil and wheat are the commodities that are causing us the biggest problems right now.”
“Price hikes will reduce consumption but there will be products that are going to be scarce,” he commented.
Salinas said he heard from one supplier that there is only ‘around 45 days of wheat supply left’, and beyond that point, ‘they don’t know what price level it will be at’.
“It is a bad time to have a pizzeria, but the sunflower oil situation is even worse and that is of concern for the owners of chip shops,” he added.
Both Diego Salinas and Nuria Montes agreed that there is little that their members can do about prices.
It remains to be seen how much of the food and energy rises will be absorbed by businesses and what level of price increases consumers and holiday makers will have to stump up in the future.
READ MORE:
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- Supermarkets in Spain ration sunflower oil amid fears that supply threatened with Russian invasion of Ukraine
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