One in four hospitality businesses “fear closing due to energy crisis”

That’s according to a representative poll of 300 business owners carried out on behalf of digital energy services company eEnergy. 

Sky-high energy bills have had a severe impact on businesses across the hospitality and leisure sector and prices show no sign of stabilising with over 90% of business leaders surveyed saying they did not expect energy prices to return to last year’s levels within the next 12 months.

In response, 83% of those surveyed may look to cut staff hours or make redundancies to plug the gap. 

eEnergy says that while the energy crisis has been caused by record energy prices, it has been exacerbated by poor energy efficiency. 

According to the company, demand for energy efficiency solutions has jumped during the crisis; from installing LED lighting, to using energy analytics to identify inefficient machinery or drive positive behavioural change. 

Almost three-quarters of businesses in the hospitality and leisure sector said they had plans to reach net zero emissions, with almost half considering installing solar panels as a solution to high energy costs and the climate crisis. 

This is reflected in consumer trends, with the same Censuswide research finding that three-quarters of people see a hospitality business’ sustainability credentials as an important factor when deciding where to spend their money (based on 1,000 British consumers surveyed).

“The hospitality and leisure sector has been played a terrible hand over the past two years. Sky-high energy prices have heaped pressure on businesses still reeling from Covid. With many business owners considering redundancies or even closure, solutions are needed now, but we do not need to wait for government intervention," says eEnergy CEO Harvey Sinclair.