The hospitality industry has been one of the hardest hit by the pandemic, with bar and restaurant closures and capacity restrictions amounting to losses of approximately $600 billion. Yet an easy solution to this widespread problem may be to simply drink more beer, according to a firm specializing in financial and statistical analysis.
After calculating the figures, Company Debt determined that if U.K. residents of drinking age each consumed an extra 124 pints this year, the extra revenue flow would equate to the total lost by the industry nationwide because of Covid. That amounts to just under a half-pint per day; a small task for beer lovers. While Brits are known to be fond of good ale, any beer will do if we’re just counting beans.
And while these numbers were only calculated for drinkers on the other side of the pond, the same principles apply here in the States. It is estimated that 2.5 million jobs were lost between restaurants and bars, and sales were $240 billion below projections for the year. Using the same rudimentary calculations — dividing the total revenue lost by approximately 197 million drinking-age residents, with an average pint price of $5.60 — amounts to a taller order of nearly 218 pints per person in the U.S.
If staying for one more round is the solution to pandemic-related economic disruptions, you can count us in.
