If there was one word that dominated discussion in the hotel industry in 2021, it was labor, or staffing.
Employment, retention and retraining are all part of the same concern, one that the industry did not have a firm hand on.
The power was in the hands of staff, who largely decided to move elsewhere, perhaps to be away from the front line or to be in an industry that they thought would not — come the next challenge — be the first to shed more jobs.
Those lost jobs were not the fault of hotel firms, evidently, and much work has gone into looking after staff, caring for those who were furloughed or made redundant and remodeling the future of work.
Here are some of the most pertinent quotes I have heard on labor from the conferences and interviews attended and conducted in the last quarter of this year.
Kate Nicholls, CEO, UKHospitality — “We are seeing businesses turning away business simply because they do not have the labor.”
Elie Younes, vice president and global chief development officer, Radisson Hotel Group — “We are mindful that we might have lost a percentage of our workforce that will not come back, and that requires a different client service.”
Chris Dexter, CEO, Kew Green — “We have a shortage of workers in the United Kingdom, and that is evident. The pandemic has created a lot of lifestyle changes in employees, and we need to return some love to them. When we have Town Hall [meetings], there is nothing about revenues and profits, just about people. What are we going to do with people going forwards?”
Nicholas Northam, executive vice president, international, Interstate Hotels & Resorts — “Customers were taking out their frustrations on staff. ‘Why do I have to wear a mask?’ for instance. It was extraordinarily difficult, and they were frightened. They did not know what COVID-19 was, no more than anyone else did, and they were asked to work on the front line.”
Marc Crothall, CEO, Scottish Tourism Alliance — “We don’t talk about how fun and cool this industry is, and there is not enough education of those who educate. Let’s connect schools with operators.”
Sébastien Bazin, CEO, Accor — “I had two hours to make a decision to send an email to 290,000 people that from April 1 we had to close shop, and it was terribly unfair, especially to our large staff in Africa, South America, Southeast Asia, where government is not strong in welfare, where after only four days they suddenly have no salary. And that was my fault.”
Hubert Viriot, CEO, Yotel — “We are not the first choice for young people, so it is our responsibility to improve things. We need to change job descriptions within hotels, transform jobs into multitasking positions, be less stern on uniforms and engagement roles, to give [employees] a more entrepreneurial spirit.”
Camil Yazbeck, senior vice president and head of development, Northern Europe, Accor — “I started [in the hotel industry] as I needed a job; then it became a career; and then it became a calling.”
Stephen Cassidy, senior vice president and managing director, U.K., Ireland and Israel, Hilton — “In recruitment, we clearly have our work cut out, but we are no different than the global market. We are an industry of problem-solvers.”
On the Second Day
As I am sure many of you have, I have taken several PCR tests that, upon gaining a negative result, have allowed me to travel. I have also paid to take PCR tests in order to get home, along with more tests two days after I have arrived at home.
The first two types of tests have value in that they get me to where I want to be, but the two-day test has always felt to me to be money thrown down the drain. Yes, I understand that if a negative result stems from such a test, well, it is another tiny but important drop in the wellness of the United Kingdom. But in four such tests, I have only received one notification that the test has been adjudged to be negative.
Very little conversation has been had on this. Occasionally, a media outlet has used the word “scam” on the issue, but it has never created opprobrium. The media seems to me utterly quiet, or disinterested. Maybe it is because one does not want to make noise that could limit our individual or collective freedom to travel or leave the house.
I do not know why, of course, but it has only been in these past few days since travel regulations have tightened once again that a few ripples of dissent on these tests have surfaced, regarding how much they cost and that the lowest possible cost for the tests are very rarely available.
Finding criticism seems very hard. Maybe that is because the system is beyond fault, or people are too busy enjoying wonderful staycations to care?
On Dec. 8, politician Andrew Tyrie, former chairman of the Competition & Markets Authority, called the systems as a “rip-off jungle.”
Tyrie, who sits in the House of Lords, added “misleading online advertisements, overpricing, unacceptably poor service among them — are still widespread.”
This comes from the CMA no less, but, note, the ex-chairman.
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