September 11 was an "excuse to make cutbacks"

The growing feeling that some hospitality companies used 11 September as an excuse to make cutbacks they wanted to make anyway was endorsed at the International Hotel and Motel Show in New York at the weekend.

Consultant Michael Whiteman, addressing a fringe meeting of restaurateurs at the show, said that the terrorist attacks only increased the speed at which cuts were made.

He said, "What was true on 10 September was just as true on 12 September. The future is just appearing at a faster rate. It may even mean that we get through a recession more quickly."

Whiteman said that even the cancellation of seasonal celebrations normally organised by businesses might be more cynical than is first apparent.

He said, "Lots of companies in New York and elsewhere have used 11 September as an excuse to cancel Christmas parties which they didn't want to pay for anyway."

Whiteman, of consultant Baum & Whiteman, added that any recession might not be entirely bad for the US restaurant business.

He said, "The number of new restaurants in the next few years will almost certainly decline, because there will not be the finance available, but the demand for eating out will continue to increase. Americans gave up cooking a long time ago, and they have no intention of taking it up again."

Whiteman argued that the fall in the number of restaurants, combined with healthy demand for meals out, could mean that the average amount of money spent for each restaurant seat will go up."

He added, "Restaurant managers will also stick around longer because there will not be so many jobs available. This is not bad news."