For the first time since 2017, the hospitality sector was the main price driver of annual inflation in September. Statistics Austria found this on Wednesday. The industries point to more expensive inputs, while the trade association continued to talk about food prices ‘falling’.
No one wants to be responsible for the level of inflation. Public opinion does not sufficiently take into account the fact that pre-sale services have also become more expensive, say the representatives of the trade associations for gastronomy and hotel industry in the Chamber of Commerce, Mario Pulker and Hans Spreitzhofer. Instead, it acts as if the industry is randomly increasing prices.
As reported, the decline in inflation to six percent on an annual basis in September is mainly due to household energy management. This has always been one of the main drivers lately. If this development had not been taken into account, inflation would have been exactly seven percent. Inflation in hotels and inns was above average at 11.4 percent, the Austrian CBS reported. These higher prices had an impact of 1.44 percentage points on overall inflation.
Here you can see how inflation has developed in Austria since September 2020.
“Don’t pass on costs one-on-one”
The industry representatives at the Chamber of Commerce argued that advance services were more expensive. The increase in food and non-alcoholic drinks averages 8.4 percent compared to the same period last year. Meat became 6.4 percent more expensive. This time, food was responsible for 0.95 percentage points of total inflation.
“According to a study by the market institute from the summer of this year, the vast majority of companies do not pass on the increased costs on a one-to-one basis,” say Pulker and Spreitzhofer. “That is why only one in ten companies can fully pass on the costs; almost half of the catering and hotel companies (43 percent) have barely or only slightly passed on the costs or ‘absorbed’ the largest part. himself.”
Source: Krone
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
