According to a recent member poll by the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA), half of the hotels report being significantly understaffed, and the majority of hotels are suffering personnel shortages. Ninety-seven per cent of poll participants said they are suffering a personnel shortfall, with 49 per cent saying severely so. In addition, most (58 per cent) employers cite housekeeping as their main difficulty regarding employment needs.
Hotels providing incentives to fulfil demand:
- Over 90 per cent have raised wages;
- 71 per cent are providing more flexibility with hours; and
- 43 per cent have improved perks.
These efforts have had some success. Respondents report that they have employed an additional 23 new employees per property over the past three months but are still looking to fill another 12 positions. The majority of respondents, 97 per cent, said they had had trouble filling available positions.
AHLA Recruitment Campaign
The AHLA Foundation has expanded its “A Place to Stay” multi-channel advertising campaign to assist hotels in filling more than 130,000 unfilled positions across the country and promote awareness of the 200+ career routes available in the hospitality sector.
Following a successful pilot in five areas, the campaign is currently running in 14 cities, including:
- Atlanta
- Baltimore
- Chicago
- Dallas
- Denver
- Houston
- Los Angeles
- Miami
- Nashville
- New York
- Orlando
- Phoenix
- San Diego
- Tampa.
The Foundation has increased its multilingual English/Spanish efforts and established numerous improved digital techniques in addition to tripling its financial commitment in the campaign to reach potential workers better. Visit thehotelindustry.com for more information about the campaign.
The salary is greater than it’s ever been, the perks are better than they’ve ever been, and the potential is better than it’s ever been, so if you’ve ever considered working in a hotel, now is the time. The extension of the AHLA Foundation’s “A Place to Stay” recruiting campaign will assist in spreading this message at a critical moment, assisting in growing our talent pipeline and the pool of potential employees for the hotel industry, according to AHLA President & CEO Chip Rogers.
“With hotels on a hiring spree amid surging summer travel demand, our industry is providing current and prospective hotel employees historic opportunities for good-paying, lifelong careers. ‘A Place to Stay’ helps us tell that story by highlighting the many pathways and countless career opportunities the hotel industry provides,” said Rosanna Maietta, AHLA executive vice president of communications and public relations and president & CEO of AHLA Foundation.
AHLA Survey Methodology:
From May 16 to 24, 2022, more than 500 hotels participated in AHLA’s most recent Front Desk Feedback survey.
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