[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":204},["ShallowReactive",2],{"blog-en-financiele-weerbaarheid-horeca":3},{"id":4,"title":5,"author":6,"body":7,"description":188,"extension":189,"meta":190,"meta_description":191,"navigation":192,"path":193,"published":192,"publishedAt":194,"readingTime":195,"seo":196,"stem":197,"summary":198,"tags":199,"__hash__":203},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Ffinanciele-weerbaarheid-horeca.md","Dutch hospitality still tops the bankruptcy list: how to stay financially resilient","Horecaflix",{"type":8,"value":9,"toc":176},"minimark",[10,22,27,68,72,78,81,85,92,103,107,110,113,116,119,123,130,138,142,145,148,152,155,158,162,165,168],[11,12,13,14,21],"p",{},"Of all sectors, hospitality (horeca) had relatively the most bankruptcies in August 2026 in the Netherlands, 21 per 100,000 hospitality businesses (",[15,16,20],"a",{"href":17,"rel":18},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.cbs.nl\u002Fnl-nl\u002Fnieuws\u002F2026\u002F37\u002Fin-augustus-9-procent-meer-faillissementen-dan-een-jaar-eerder",[19],"nofollow","CBS","). That figure is better than a year earlier, but hospitality has topped that list for a while, and the underlying profit and cost figures show why: the sector sold more in 2025, but kept less of it. Operators who take early signs of margin erosion and cash flow pressure seriously are in a stronger position than those who only find out something went wrong when the year-end numbers land.",[23,24,26],"h2",{"id":25},"key-takeaways","Key takeaways",[28,29,30,38,46,52,60],"ul",{},[31,32,33,34,37],"li",{},"Dutch hospitality had the highest bankruptcy rate of any sector in August 2026 (21 per 100,000 businesses), an improvement from 30.8 a year earlier; the national 9% rise was driven mainly by construction and business services (",[15,35,20],{"href":17,"rel":36},[19],").",[31,39,40,41,37],{},"Dutch hospitality saw revenue recover in 2025 (+5.9%), but not profit: profit fell 4.8%, and 48% of operators saw their profit decline (",[15,42,45],{"href":43,"rel":44},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.missethoreca.nl\u002F417706\u002Fhoreca-laat-wel-omzetherstel-zien-maar-geen-winstherstel",[19],"Misset Horeca",[31,47,48,49,37],{},"Purchasing costs and staff costs together rose 7.1%, total operating costs 8.1%, well above what most operators could pass on to guests (",[15,50,45],{"href":43,"rel":51},[19],[31,53,54,55,37],{},"KHN chair Ralf Benda: \"Operators have largely absorbed these costs themselves, but reserves are depleted\" (",[15,56,59],{"href":57,"rel":58},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.entreemagazine.nl\u002Fondernemen\u002Fkhn-aanhoudende-kostenstijgingen-zetten-horeca-verder-klem",[19],"Entree Magazine",[31,61,62,63,37],{},"Food cost in a healthy hospitality business typically runs between 28% and 35% of revenue, and is the basis for watching margin instead of relying on gut feel (",[15,64,67],{"href":65,"rel":66},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.lightspeedhq.nl\u002Fblog\u002Frestaurant-kostprijs-berekenen\u002F",[19],"Lightspeed",[23,69,71],{"id":70},"what-the-august-2026-bankruptcy-figures-actually-show","What the August 2026 bankruptcy figures actually show",[11,73,74,75,37],{},"In August 2026, 304 Dutch businesses went bankrupt nationally, 9% more than a year earlier. That rise didn't come from hospitality: construction went from 10.7 to 16.5 bankruptcies per 100,000 businesses, and rental and business services nearly doubled, from 7.8 to 15.8 (",[15,76,20],{"href":17,"rel":77},[19],[11,79,80],{},"Hospitality itself actually improved, from 30.8 bankruptcies per 100,000 businesses a year earlier to 21 now. Even so, the sector remained the top-ranked one of all sectors. That's the pattern worth holding onto, not the single month of August on its own, but the fact that hospitality structurally sits in first place, improvement or not. A sector that still has the highest bankruptcy rate even in a better year has an underlying problem that one good month doesn't fix.",[23,82,84],{"id":83},"why-hospitality-remains-structurally-the-most-vulnerable-sector","Why hospitality remains structurally the most vulnerable sector",[11,86,87,88,91],{},"That underlying problem isn't visible in bankruptcy figures, it's in the profit and cost figures behind them. Dutch hospitality generated almost 6% more revenue in 2025, but profit fell 4.8%, and 48% of operators saw profit decline despite that revenue growth (",[15,89,45],{"href":43,"rel":90},[19],"). Selling more, in other words, didn't mean keeping more.",[11,93,94,95,98,99,102],{},"The cause sits on the cost side. Purchasing costs and staff costs together rose 7.1%, total operating costs 8.1%, faster than most operators could pass on in their prices (",[15,96,45],{"href":43,"rel":97},[19],"). KHN chair Ralf Benda sums it up: operators have largely absorbed these costs themselves, but reserves are depleted (",[15,100,59],{"href":57,"rel":101},[19],"). Thin margins, high staff costs and seasonality already make hospitality more vulnerable than many other sectors, and a year where costs rise faster than revenue puts direct pressure on that.",[23,104,106],{"id":105},"the-warning-signs-operators-often-catch-too-late","The warning signs operators often catch too late",[11,108,109],{},"Operators who run into trouble usually don't see it coming on the day things actually go wrong. It starts earlier, with signals that are easy to ignore because the business, on the surface, just keeps running.",[11,111,112],{},"Margin erosion is the quietest signal. Revenue stays stable or even grows, but the cost price per dish hasn't been reviewed in months while purchasing prices have gone up. Without an up-to-date cost calculation, you only notice at year-end, once the margin has already been lower than assumed for months.",[11,114,115],{},"Cash flow pressure is the second signal: paying suppliers a little later than usual, checking the bank balance more often right before payroll, or a buffer that shrinks step by step while nobody's explicitly watching it. On its own, that's fine once, but as a pattern it's an early indicator of structural pressure.",[11,117,118],{},"Rising costs that don't stand out one by one are the third signal. Energy a bit pricier, a supplier raising prices, an extra shift added: each small on its own, but together they can require a price increase or cost cut that you only see once you line up every line item instead of looking at them separately.",[23,120,122],{"id":121},"controlling-your-margin-starts-with-an-accurate-cost-price-per-dish","Controlling your margin starts with an accurate cost price per dish",[11,124,125,126,129],{},"The answer to margin erosion isn't more complex bookkeeping, it's an up-to-date cost price per dish that you review periodically instead of once when you set the menu. Food cost in a healthy hospitality business typically runs between 28% and 35% of revenue (",[15,127,67],{"href":65,"rel":128},[19],"); knowing where your dishes fall within that range means you spot a dish that's out of line immediately, instead of discovering it at year-end.",[11,131,132,133,137],{},"Horecaflix supports this through recipe management with cost-price calculation: recipes and preparation instructions are recorded centrally, including the ingredients and quantities the cost price is based on. When a purchasing price changes, you immediately see what that means for that dish's margin, instead of finding out at year-end. Read more about how that works in ",[15,134,136],{"href":135},"\u002Fnl\u002Fkennisbank\u002Ffuncties\u002Fwat-is-receptenbeheer","What is recipe management?"," in the knowledge base (Dutch only).",[23,139,141],{"id":140},"keeping-a-cash-flow-overview-before-it-gets-tight","Keeping a cash flow overview before it gets tight",[11,143,144],{},"Alongside margin, cash flow is the second lever you use to adjust early instead of being caught off guard. That doesn't require a complex system, just a fixed rhythm: a short weekly look at what's coming in, what's going out, and what fixed costs are due in the coming weeks, instead of only checking once the balance is unexpectedly low.",[11,146,147],{},"A separate buffer for fixed costs like rent, payroll and taxes helps keep those obligations apart from day-to-day cash, so a busy or quiet week doesn't immediately have to work around them. If you see a pattern where that buffer keeps shrinking, that's the moment to look at costs or prices, not the moment to wait and see if it resolves itself.",[23,149,151],{"id":150},"real-world-scenario-two-hospitality-businesses-two-outcomes-from-the-same-cost-increase","Real-world scenario: two hospitality businesses, two outcomes from the same cost increase",[11,153,154],{},"Two cafés face the same quarter of higher purchasing prices for coffee and soft drinks, plus a collective-agreement pay rise for staff. The first café only notices at the quarterly numbers: margin has dropped, but nobody can pinpoint exactly where, because the menu's cost price hasn't been reviewed in a year. The owner ends up raising a few prices by feel, without a clear basis, and some regulars react surprised and unhappy.",[11,156,157],{},"The second café recalculates the cost price per drink as soon as purchasing prices change, sees exactly which items are under pressure, and adjusts only those prices with a short note on the menu. Margin stays on track, the adjustment is small and targeted, and guests who ask get a concrete answer instead of a shrug. The difference isn't the cost increase itself, that was the same for both, it's who had visibility before it became a surprise.",[23,159,161],{"id":160},"getting-started-today-practical-first-steps","Getting started today: practical first steps",[11,163,164],{},"Start with the cost price of your best-selling dishes or drinks, not the whole menu at once. Work out what purchasing, portion size and preparation actually cost, and compare that to the selling price. If you fall outside the usual 28-35% food cost range, you immediately know where the first gain is available.",[11,166,167],{},"Also set a fixed, short weekly slot to look at cash flow: what came in, what went out, what's still due in the coming weeks. It takes fifteen minutes and keeps a tight month from arriving as a surprise instead of something you already saw coming a few weeks earlier.",[11,169,170,171,175],{},"Want to know how recipe management with cost-price calculation would work for your menu? ",[15,172,174],{"href":173},"\u002Fcontact","Get in touch"," with Horecaflix, and we'll look at the numbers behind your menu together.",{"title":177,"searchDepth":178,"depth":178,"links":179},"",2,[180,181,182,183,184,185,186,187],{"id":25,"depth":178,"text":26},{"id":70,"depth":178,"text":71},{"id":83,"depth":178,"text":84},{"id":105,"depth":178,"text":106},{"id":121,"depth":178,"text":122},{"id":140,"depth":178,"text":141},{"id":150,"depth":178,"text":151},{"id":160,"depth":178,"text":161},"Of all sectors, hospitality (horeca) had relatively the most bankruptcies in August 2026 in the Netherlands, 21 per 100,000 hospitality businesses (CBS). That figure is better than a year earlier, but hospitality has topped that list for a while, and the underlying profit and cost figures show why: the sector sold more in 2025, but kept less of it. Operators who take early signs of margin erosion and cash flow pressure seriously are in a stronger position than those who only find out something went wrong when the year-end numbers land.","md",{},"Dutch hospitality remains the sector with the highest bankruptcy rate in 2026. See which financial warning signs operators often miss and how to control margin and cash flow.",true,"\u002Fblog\u002Ffinanciele-weerbaarheid-horeca","2026-09-21",8,{"title":5,"description":188},"blog\u002Ffinanciele-weerbaarheid-horeca","Hospitality still has the highest bankruptcy rate of any Dutch sector, and profit fell in 2025 despite revenue growth. Here's how to catch the early warning signs and manage margin and cash flow.",[200,201,202],"financial resilience","margin","hospitality trends","8xUqhNP6kYAijEu1IzIOOaP1r1YFlML0DfH9uNMdP8U",1793561041892]