The impact of COVID-19 on the hospitality & events

To gain a better understanding of how people and culture in the hospitality and events industries have been impacted during the coronavirus pandemic, THE MONDAY GROUP surveyed over 200 business owners and senior executives between 19/05/20 – 28/05/20.

The survey recorded participation from many of the sector’s most influential names including Paul Waterson, CEO – Australian Venue Co., Justine Baker, CEO – Solotel, Julian Clark, CEO – Lancemore Group, and Natalie Simmons, Global GM - cievents.

The research unearthed concerns shared by many business leaders including Carrie Barker, who leads events and brand experience agency The Projects*, who said "it will be vital for the events industry to continue to receive government support post end of September. The travel and hospitality sectors will no doubt be served but events are usually forgotten.”

We are pleased to share this privileged information with you in a summary of key findings below. Access to the full report is available at the bottom of this page.

Summary of key findings:

Reported impact of COVID-19:

9 in 10 businesses reported having to reduce headcount and salaries due to the coronavirus
Mid-tier professionals and junior managers were the most affected segment in regards to redundancies
43% of business reported a negative impact on team culture during this time
Key positives that business leaders have experienced during this time include: spending more time with family – 63%, saving time by not commuting – 48%, and exercising more – 45%
Financial stress and finding business opportunities have been the two most significant challenges experienced by leaders and their teams during this time. Team motivation and mental health were also reported as key concerns

Future Forecasting:

Hiring forecasts remain low, with only 11% predicting to hire sooner than August. 27% expect to commence hiring later this year, while 40% expect it will be 2021 before they are ready to hire again
More than one third (37%) are planning to hire less people
Companies with the ability to offer work from home arrangements, more than half (55%) anticipate providing greater workplace flexibility and increased work from home arrangements even after restrictions ease
Almost half (44%) of event management companies said they are likely or very likely to employ a greater percentage of temporary or freelance staff after restrictions are eased, while 49% of hotel and hospitality businesses said it was unlikely or very unlikely
Feelings of pessimism (44%) and cautious optimism (43%) were evenly split as leaders and executives in the hospitality and events industries look towards the rest of 2020