Fellner! LIVE: Attila Dogudan im Interview

What is being written about in Austria today? Our country's poem, partisan, really critical, yes no yes after the heavy guest, stands between Schiller and bread, now at the two meetings wanted Attila Dogudan, I'm glad that details can be kept on Fellner Live. There is no catering entrepreneur in this country who is more famous than you, there is also none who is more admired or more hated, right? But despite that, you suddenly find yourself in the whole mess, to put it in writing, and you think, what happened? Right, because you have it really big, you are the caterer of the biggest sports and mass events, Formula 1, the Euro was supposed to start, you are an airline caterer from Turkish Airlines to international airlines, New York, Los Angeles, where you have all your contracts, you are the gastronomy company par excellence, also in tourism with the topic, what do you do then, can more Japanese come, I ask myself, and then you also have a hotel, and I've probably forgotten some things, namely your entire catering service for company events etc. So you are the catering, gastronomy and hotel entrepreneur in this country, and then such a damned crisis comes along, making life even harder. So more storm can't actually be imagined, there is not a single business field, and there were really many already listed, from Los Angeles to Korea, Europe, everywhere, where within ten days revenue went to zero, with 12,000 employees, so those are exciting times, but the exercise is really not bad, I must honestly say, we both like, I was like, but that would have been spared us, exactly, that's really hard.

Now let's go through it. First, the house is freed and plays on the Euro. You would have climbed there, it would have been dreamlike, apart from the many states, from the Allianz Arena in Bavaria to the French, yes, all gone. That was the first shock, I think, or?

Secondly, you are of course the super kicker in the airline business, practically airline catering for business class and first class, which you do. But everyone who flies knows a flying kitchen, the trend of business class, the emperors save, and the food in the back also from the same exercise, 60 airlines at 131 locations in a normal week, all gone. Then your great gastronomy at Stephansplatz, Albertina, but also the topic of tourists normally pressing their noses against the windows, all gone. So there can't be much more trouble, nothing. That also includes the hotel and then of course your entire catering business, from weddings to company parties. You had last year what revenue? You are listed on the stock exchange with almost a billion, and a billion already planned, and the revenue temporarily 90% down. And how much do you expect this year?

Now you are from trend to format and so on, as the manager of the year in this republic, how do you manage? Manager of the year, that's something.

Did you send everyone on short-time work or did you have to fire people? What does your employment balance look like?

And when you look at this crisis in retrospect, was it right that the Austrian government acted so brutally and harshly? Was the whole lockdown right, or was it an overreaction, panic?

Would you have liked to open faster?

How did you experience this crisis? Was it also a job for you personally? Because you were actually a highflyer, right?

If you go through the industries you are active in, let's start with the airlines. The rescue of AUA is on the table, and everyone says AUA should be rescued, 780 million. But as always, politicians are involved, it's dragging on. Nerves are stretched to breaking point, nothing is happening. What does Attila Dogudan say about the AUA rescue?

And here I think you have to say, it doesn't only help AUA to give money. What happens to the airport, what happens to ground handling, and what happens to all of us? These are tens of thousands of jobs. It's not just about one company, it's about an entire industry.

And if they agree, as we all hope, then jobs will be preserved, not only at AUA but also all others. But there are many who say, yes, but AUA gets millions of euros. What do you say to that? That's hard to argue, to be honest, because which job is more or less valuable? They are all equally valuable, and it's important that everyone gets something. On the other hand, if no traffic comes into Austria, then the hotel industry, gastronomy, everyone will have a much bigger damage. So it has a strategic importance, a chain reaction.

Now you are active in gastronomy with the Demel, everyone knows it. Everyone who is currently active in gastronomy is suffering because they say they are about to close. You are with the Demel in a similar situation. You say it's pure hobby if you still want to keep it open, because as long as no tourists come, you can't run it economically. You had to reduce staff, I think. What do you say about the gastronomy situation in Austria?

Is what happened today good? It helps with a VAT reduction on non-alcoholic drinks. You say, very funny, a large part of my business is with alcoholic drinks. So you have partly answered yourself.

So is that correct or exaggerated?

Now you will open the Demel on Friday. All your businesses except the Demel are opening, and the first days are already fully booked. So we see that we live 80% from domestic guests in this business. The Demel is exactly the opposite, a coffeehouse has it even harder. A café is designed to have as many people as possible on a small area who spend relatively little but turn over a lot. That means social distancing with a coffeehouse, if everyone sits one and a half meters apart, one drinking a coffee, how much can you earn? So it's a difficult undertaking. It remains closed for the time being until the borders open.

That is tragic because how can you still make it financially? Is it even possible, or do you make a loss that day?

No, I also wonder about small things, I have to say. But of course wine and beer are not included, and alcoholic drinks that logically belong to a dinner, at least in our culture. That's a shame because supposedly it's because of the EU, but if that's the case, then another kind of help for restaurateurs must take place. Because there are actually only two things: either reduce the taxes on gastronomy a bit, or the second is that gastronomy is a big employer, so the wage costs and ancillary wage costs must go away. They simply have to go away because it cannot be that we are punished for employing people. I say that a bit extremely, but I think we live in an environment where all those who create jobs must be honored somehow, because the biggest problem we have is unemployment. That must go away. So it's better for the state if it waives ancillary wage costs, for example, for this year until the end of the year. It will certainly save more than it has to spend on short-time work.

So you say, my dear people, the reduction on non-alcoholic drinks is nice, but not how it really is. The lump-sum taxation is good for small businesses, but there is not much. 430,000 euros revenue per month, that's something. That is already a decent amount. And the federal government has taken a right step. I assume it will pay off. The first step is naturally for the small ones, that's fine. But a next step is certainly necessary to maintain the tourism country Austria with its businesses.

Do you have a problem with serving with masks?

So this whole opening is actually a very positive story for you. You say the money will flow economically, and it will only stand when we, for example, eliminate ancillary wage costs. That would help. It is also the reduction of the VAT, that's fine, but there are many small things. It's not that the government hasn't thought of anything. Do you actually fear that this country will economically hit the wall?

Well, whether stronger, I don't know. But we will come out, and I think that's satisfying. It was the first round with Attila Dogudan. The Austrian entrepreneur who always thinks positively. We'll take a short commercial break, then we'll talk about how it continues in this country, what about the Formula 1 race in Spielberg, will we have big sports events again, all that with Attila Dogudan after the break.

Well, on Fellner Live today, Attila Dogudan, the entrepreneur in this country, the gastronomy entrepreneur in this country, who on Friday will open all his restaurants, thank God. The hotel then on the 29th. But catering for large sports events, weddings, and company parties still has to wait. You are one who actually has a turbo professionally and personally. That means you see across world history, you are at the airport in Istanbul, then at the Formula 1 Grand Prix in Shanghai, then at the French Open in Paris, then you check on the Demel, then you are in overdrive, and so on. That was probably difficult in the last weeks. Were you really in Vienna for eight weeks? And how does someone like you experience a deceleration?

So you didn't experience it as cramped, but rather a power break, a rest break. Or how is it called abroad? A break? No talk of a break. We hang in the office 12, 14 hours every day. So every day in the office, not every day going to the office, so no home office, but in truth the office is partly in my home. And we learned to use video conferences worldwide with all our colleagues every day for several hours to discuss and to solve problems faster than our competitors. What else can I say? It was terrible. Or did you also profit from it in any way?

Do you actually fear a second wave, Attila? Or was everything very exaggerated and not necessary? Was the closure of gastronomy in Sweden not necessary? No, I am 100% of the opinion that everything that has happened so far was right. Now, as I said, it has to go quickly in the other direction. I fear the second wave because pandemics in the past have always brought two or three waves. That means as long as there is no vaccine and no medicine, the danger is simply there. Whether we can afford to shut down everything worldwide again, I don't think so. I think you can do something regionally, and I think all governments at the end of the day have to say we have now adjusted to something we were not prepared for. Our hospitals and intensive care units are now ready. If a second wave came, and only if it is excessive, then you have to do something. Otherwise, every country is responsible for itself. And to be honest, if you follow these three rules, the probability is high that you hopefully won't get it.

Now you are also a bit a victim of fear because you have many large events, and there are many who, out of fear of a second wave, don't allow large events. Especially strange is that the Grand Prix in Spielberg will take place, but a genius VIP club there, you have that, the catering there works differently. As far as I remember, the tables are already so far apart that you already meet the distance rules. So the truth is, you are allowed to do catering there with conditions, even though it actually corresponds to normal gastronomy operation. That is actually perverse, but yes, that's true. In Spielberg, we will cater for the teams, that is, we will do the open beta for the teams and no guests. It is also the first event of this magnitude worldwide, and again Austria is ahead. I think that's really great from Red Bull and also from the federal government that they made this possible. It will bring great worldwide attention to Austria, no question. And in that respect, it's okay. But at some point in a few weeks or months, it will be hard to explain why you can keep a restaurant open if you follow the rules, but not a football stadium that can also do that, or a tennis tournament. In a 30,000-seat stadium, if you have one and a half meters distance, then only 8,000 people can sit, but at least 8,000 people. I think only that way normality returns, and you have to think about it. And we are trying to discuss with football clubs in Austria and Germany, our partners, how we can organize something like that from leaving home to coming back home.

That means there are for individual sectors, that you stay longer in the stadium, it is also an open-air event, you can also say I think there is a difference whether you are in a hall or in a stadium or at a Formula 1 race. But I am quite sure that in the next few weeks and months, step by step, if the numbers are okay, it has to come. So you believe the comeback of spectators is already logical? I think we can't stop that. I also think the Bundesliga, whether in Austria or Germany, everywhere has to play to really give people strength again. That sounds stupid, but that's it.

Attila, now you are also something of an economic thought leader in this country. What still needs to happen now so that we get out of this whole thing? And what would you do if you had a say in politics behind the government?

That we naturally now, the first case, you have already explained. You say if people go back to full-time quickly, out of short-time work into full-time, they should not have to pay any ancillary wage costs, and that could save the state a lot of money because ancillary wage costs are actually less than short-time work. Exactly. If someone, without saying a specific industry, if billions are earned in real estate, they should be taxed differently. So if a company employs thousands of people or even ten people, the creation of jobs should be rewarded so that the society has a point. Would you also do something like helicopter money, i.e., bonus payments like Trump is currently doing? For example, give every Austrian 1,500 euros, or would you show a vacation bonus or a gastronomy check? Have you thought about these things?

We had a common friend, especially your best friend was Niki Lauda. His death anniversary is in June. How do you see the whole thing? If he were still alive, with the joint venture with Ryanair and all this theater, what would he say?

Good, thank you, Attila. And as I said, on Friday the Demel opens. I haven't forgotten. There is still a place, you can reserve. It's already fully booked for a week, but if there are a few terrace spots, you can still spontaneously develop if the weather is nice. I said that, of course, keep all fingers crossed that this works, and that it goes well with 125 guests, and that the hotel works again, and that soon we can all toast to better times. That we have done everything. That was April with us, and now after a conclusion from Pinkl himself, that is the cultural music against Melzer, and of course also the question: has the government driven this country with Corona into the ditch? And how dramatic the situation is, that will remain exciting. See you.