Restaurant reservations for year-end parties Recovery to 70% of pre-coronavirus disaster, but labor shortage is a challenge

It turns out that reservations for restaurants nationwide for this year's year-end party season have recovered to about 70% of what they were before the corona crisis.

It has also been pointed out that the lack of workers at restaurants is a problem for the speed of recovery.

According to data aggregated from stores nationwide registered on major restaurant reservation sites, as of the 23rd of this month, the number of reservations for next month has recovered to 69% compared to the same month in 2019 before the corona disaster. It turns out that

On the other hand, there are also features that are different from before the corona disaster.

Looking at the number of people per group, the percentage of “4 people or less” has increased significantly from 30.3% in 2019 to 58.1% this year.

The company that aggregated the data believes that the style of having a small party rather than a traditional large number of year-end parties has become established.

On top of that, he points out that the lack of workers at restaurants is an issue with respect to the speed of recovery.

Kuniko Usagawa, head of the Jobs Research Center at Recruit, which operates the restaurant reservation site Hot Pepper Gourmet, said, ``As the number of customers increases, the amount of work at restaurants, such as using private rooms and cleaning wipes, has increased dramatically. For restaurants, the challenge is to improve operational efficiency."

Ordering with a smartphone Utilizing IT for efficiency and infection control

Some restaurants, which continue to be understaffed, are using IT to improve operational efficiency.

A horumon-yaki restaurant that opened 17 years ago in Tokyo's Meguro Ward has already seen a nearly 20% increase in sales this month compared to last year, so it expects to see an increase in bookings for next month's year-end party season.

Amid concerns about a labor shortage, we are using a system that allows customers to place orders using their smartphones without the help of a store clerk.

Customer service operations that previously required five people can now be handled by four people.

It is said that reducing contact will also lead to infection control.

Ryo Abe, the restaurant's representative, said, ``If restaurants stop working, the butchers and liquor stores that supply food to the restaurants will be in trouble. I want to."