Earlier this month, the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) released their annual State of the Industry report. According to their findings, 2024 is set to be a record breaking year in the hospitality industry, with occupancy rates expected to hit 63.6% this year which is just 3.4% shy of 2019’s pre-pandemic levels.
Other key findings from the report include guest spending projected to break previous records as well as the demand for travel remains strong. If you’re one of the hoteliers who have been seen significant impacts on revenue over the last few years, this is the perfect opportunity to take advantage of the increase in guest demand — if you can hire the help you need to meet there cleanliness and friendliness standards.
3 hospitality staffing strategies to meet guest expectations
As anyone in the industry will tell you, good talent is hard to come by and keep. The best way to meet your guest expectations is through staffing your hotel or resort with enough personnel to provide a great guest experience.
Technology can’t entirely replace the personalized welcoming experience that the hospitality industry is known for — it can only enhance these brand features. The very definition of hospitality is to be friendly, welcoming, and entertaining to guests, so hiring more talent directly correlates to better guest experiences.
When it comes to hiring, however, there’s no one “right” way to do things; instead, there’s a lot of trial and error typically involved. With HR metrics, you can analyze your best source of quality candidates so you can make decisions backed by data that will benefit your bottom line.
Below, we’ve identified the top ROI driving recruitment strategies for properties in the U.S. and why they’re so successful.
Word-of-mouth is the best recruiting tool
There’s no better testament to an employer than their team members talking positively about them off the clock. If you can harness these accolades somehow, like in an employee referral program, you’re well on your way to making some of your hotel’s best hires yet. Employee referral programs cost little to create and implement, plus they were the number one source of quality employees in our 2024 Future of Hospitality Hiring Study. These referral programs also provide the best ROI for hotels who want to fill their open roles with quality talent faster.
Good people tend to know good people — and referred candidates are already vetted by your top performers before submitting an application. Referred candidates are typically hired faster, stay longer, and are more engaged in the workplace than traditional applicants. Considering how much of a struggle it is to hire quality hospitality talent, learning how to extend employee’s time at hotels is a top priority for hotels.
Sponsor job posts on leading job boards
Job boards have become the bread and butter for recruiters for a reason: they work. These valuable candidate pools, however, lead to a very competitive hiring landscape where businesses from all industries are competing for the same set of skill talent. In short, it’s easy to get lost in the sea of hiring competition.
That’s where sponsoring job posts come in. Instead of simply publishing your hotel’s open role and hoping that qualified candidates apply, you can increase the number of eyes on your job posts by sponsoring it. According to Indeed, sponsored job posts on their site are 4.5 times more likely to result in a hire than a traditional job post.1 These posts are likely to grab the attention of qualified workers who are looking for roles like yours since it will be one of the first that they see when they start their search.
Relationships with local schools and colleges
Finally, building and maintaining relationships with your local schools and colleges should remain a priority for hotels going into 2024. Aside from setting up a booth on campus at career fairs, your hotel could opt to support the school in other ways.
Establishing a mutually beneficial relationship with schools in your community could look like offering discounted rates to cater events on campus, host events at your property, or create training programs within the school’s curriculum. You, on the other hand, receive the benefit of showcasing your employer brand to potential candidates and, by extension, their networks of former colleagues, friends, and family.
Takeaways
Providing a great guest experience is paramount to taking your share of the record breaking profits projected for 2024. If your current applicant tracking system doesn’t empower you to hire better quality talent faster, it’s time to talk to a platform that empowers you to make better decisions backed by data. Schedule your demo today to see how!
1Indeed data (worldwide), Q4 2020
