Partnerships Form Amid Hotel Staffing Shortages
About 87 percent of U.S. hotels are experiencing staffing shortages, according to a new American Hotel & Lodging Association member survey, down from 97 percent in the spring.
AHLA surveyed nearly 200 hoteliers Sept. 12–19.
About 36 percent of respondents reported being “severely” short-staffed, and housekeeping shortages were cited as the biggest challenge by 43 percent.
AHLA’s data shows an improvement over its prior report, released in June, in which 97 percent of respondents claimed to be short-staffed—49 percent “severely so.”
Some of the improvement could be due to hotels “offering potential hires a host of incentives to fill vacancies,” according to AHLA, including pay increases, better hours, flexibility and benefits, but “91 percent say they are still unable to fill open positions.”
AHLA also announced its foundation’s new partnership with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Job Corps, designed to better prepare hospitality students for the workforce with real-world experience while filling gaps in the industry. The collaboration offers training and apprenticeship programs through career fairs, classroom visits, networking events and professional development training.
Similarly, Placemakr, a pop-up hotel operator formerly known as WhyHotel, and Virginia’s Marymount University have partnered to create a mixed-use hospitality and residential property, Placemakr Marymount Ballston.
Located next to the private university’s Ballston Center campus, the property, formally The Rixey, will be open to guests Oct. 28 and includes a 265-unit property offering residential apartments for student housing and apartment-style stays. The partnership allows students to help operate the property for a real-world education and working experience, according to the company,
Hoteliers are “trying to fill an average of 10.3 positions per property,” which is an improvement from the spring’s 12 vacancies per day, according to AHLA.
Both partnerships aim to fill the more than 115,000 open hospitality positions, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Angelique Platas www.businesstravelnews.com