Professor Alex Susskind of Cornell School of Hotel Administration says this is the most disruptive period he has seen in the restaurant industry. According to Susskind, restaurants spend roughly 30% of their costs on food and another 30% on their labor force, leaving little room for other expenses. During the pandemic, restaurants are learning to pass some costs onto their customers by raising prices and charging delivery fees. He suggests that restaurants are now figuring out what the airline and hotel industry has been doing for years — having their clientele pay before service, giving them the ability to charge more as product price and availability change.
KCRW
