LABOR TALK
Here ' s how a labor sizes
tech expert
up the hotel job market
By DAVID EISEN
There is no doubt that the strength of any hotel lies with its employees — the ones that are driving and delivering the customer experience , day in and day out . It ’ s not only a hotel ’ s largest cost ; it ’ s also becoming harder to fill . And though technology can ’ t answer everything thrown the hospitality industry ’ s way , it sure can help . HOTELS elicited feedback from Sid Upadhyay , the co-founder and CEO of hiring technology software company Wizehire , on how the hospitality industry can not only fill roles , but keep them filled and foster careers for associates .
HOTELS : The pandemic forced massive furloughs or layoffs of hospitality workers . In the aftermath , filling positions became extremely difficult since much of the workforce had moved on or to different industries . There are still thousands of open positions . What does the labor situation look like today for hotels ? Upadhyay : With the summer tourist season about to heat up , shortages in staff continue to plague the hotel industry , with more open roles than qualified candidates to fill them . Recently , the AHLA reported over 4.3 million hotel jobs were lost in the United States alone and that 87 % of hotels need more staff going into the summer tourist season — which hoteliers noted will be very busy this year . Hoteliers continue leveraging creative ways to retain current talent and attract new hires to ensure guests have a smooth experience and never feel a lack of services . Implementing pay raises , bonuses , more training and boosting benefits , such as flexibility and e-tipping , have helped .
Still , hiring is time intensive and costly , and even these strategies have proved insufficient to fill the shortage . With people leaving for other industries en masse and being snatched up by other hotels , entering the tourist season with
84 hotelsmag . com Jul / Aug 2023