As the hospitality
sector contends with a persistent shortage of workers, hotels are intensifying
efforts to attract and retain talent, leveraging a mix of incentives,
competitive wages, and technological advancements.?
Smart
Brief reported that, according to a recent survey conducted by the American
Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA), more than two-thirds of hotels continue
to face staffing challenges despite marked improvements in employment levels
since Spring 2023.
While the leisure
and hospitality industry has shown signs of recovery, with December 2023
marking the strongest month since February 2020 (just before the pandemic), the
Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports that job vacancies still outnumber
unemployed individuals.?
The Understaffing Problem
Jan Freitag,
CoStar Groups national director of hospitality, noted that, although growth forecasts
for RevPAR are positive, hoteliers struggle with increased expenses. Labor
costs are a significant driver of overall expenses and the lack of workers in
the industry continues to drive wages up. He said, Even though the BLS data
shows a return to pre-pandemic employment numbers, the industry has grown room
count by over three percent since 2020 and so we remain understaffed.
Circumstances are
further complicated by the fact that many former hotel staffers switched career
paths during the pandemic after approximately 70 percent of them were laid off
when COVID-19 hit. Trouble attracting them back has been attributed to such
factors as stressful work environments, an absence of flexibility, little room
for growth and insufficient recognition.?
Housekeeping staff member working at a hotel. (Photo Credit: Adobe Stock/rh2010)
Whats Being Done?
Echoing concerns
about workforce shortages, American
Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) President and CEO Chip Rogers has emphasized
the need for government intervention to address the issue. Rogers advocates for
policy measures such as an H-2B returning worker exemption and the expansion of
labor certification programs to alleviate the strain on hoteliers grappling
with unfilled positions.
Hoteliers are
proactively addressing the employee shortfall by attempting to enhance
workplace conditions and offer additional benefits. Aimbridge Hospitality
President Mark Tamis recently said, Making this an attractive industry is
Mission One. Creating those opportunities for our associates is what we think
about every day.
Appealing To
Prospects
Hotels are
attempting to make the industry more appealing to prospective employees by
focusing on diversity initiatives, career development opportunities and employee
well-being programs, ranging from mental health support to
English-as-a-second-language courses.
Choice
Hotels Internationals President and CEO, Pat Pacious, emphasized the
importance of enhanced flexibility and adopting more employee-centric policies.
A lot of our programs allow people to take their own well-being days when they
feel overwhelmed or they feel family stress, he said. We track those numbers,
we share them with our associates and we encourage them to use those tools to
make their lives better.
Hotel staff working at reception counter with service bell. (Photo Credit: Adobe Stock/davit85)
Alongside
competitive compensation packages to foster employee motivation and retention,
hospitality management platform HelloShift recommends implementing rewards
programs and soliciting feedback to promote improved collaboration and teamwork.
Regular feedback sessions and surveys can help identify individual aspirations
and tailor development plans accordingly, demonstrating the organizations
commitment to employee growth and satisfaction, the company wrote.?
The Role of Technology
While technology
has played a crucial role in streamlining operations and addressing staffing
gaps, experts emphasize the need for a balance between automation and
personalized guest experiences.?
Empowering
guests through technology using mobile devices (think mobile first), kiosks,
the web and push communications should continue to be a priority but with an
eye towards guest-centricity, personalization and friction-free service
delivery applications and processes, said Daniel Connolly of St. John Fisher
University. It will also be important for hoteliers to consider ways to apply
technology to free up staff who can be redeployed to guest-facing positions to
interact directly with guests and ensure that the personal touch remains a
hallmark of hospitality.
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