The first ever "state of hospitality" report for Minnesota shows a continued decline in revenue. The numbers show restaurants and hotels have not fully recovered from the effects of the pandemic.
President of Hospitality Minnesota, Angie Whitcomb, says 35.9% of business owners within the industry report that their businesses are in some state of decline.
"While the number of restaurant locations has grown 6% since 2019, employment has shrunk by 3%, and wages have jumped 32%," says Whitcomb. "But total payroll is only up 23%. And what that means is restaurants are trying to do more with fewer people."
Industry advocates are asking for support from lawmakers to use already existing state programs to help accelerate hospitality industry hirings.
35.9% of hospitality business operators noted their business was now in some stage of decline, and only 26.7% of those same operators expected revenue to increase.