The recent State of the Industry from the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) suggests that 2024 could be a boon year for hoteliers. Between record breaking guest spending and increased RevPAR, there’s plenty of room to increase profits — if you can find and hire enough staff that is.
While the hospitality industry as a whole has reached pre-pandemic employment levels, 91% of hotels state that hiring is still a challenge. The hiring market is still as competitive as ever, but that’s what makes hiring the right people so important.
You need workers with integrity who can turn over rooms fast enough to meet increasing guest demand this year — but that can feel like a big ask if you’re facing challenges sourcing enough talent as is. Read on to learn how you can effectively approach hospitality recruitment for the talent you need at your hotel.
How to hire better housekeeping staff (and more!) at hotels
There’s no one right answer when it comes to hospitality recruitment — but you can look at historical data to make the most educated next move. In order to hire better quality candidates, you need to start at the source, i.e., the recruitment channel you’re using. Below, we’ve compiled a list of the top three candidate sources that provide the best quality candidates for hoteliers.
Employee referral programs
Good people know good people — and the same goes for good employees. You likely already have some superstar staff members; now all you need is a way to tap into their existing networks of friends, family, and former colleagues. The best way to do this? By creating an employee referral program for your hotel.
Employee referral programs were the number one source of quality talent for hotels and resorts in our 2024 Future of Hospitality Study, showing that other hoteliers are cognizant of the effectiveness of this recruitment strategy. Studies have also shown that referred candidates are hired faster, are much more likely to stick around long-term, and tend to perform better in their new roles than traditional applicants. Referrals also tend to be higher quality hires since they’ve already been vetted by the employee who referred them.
Sponsor job postings
Job boards are the foundation for any hospitality recruitment strategy, but it’s all too easy for your job post to get lost in the shuffle. In order to stand out from the crowd, hoteliers have started to harness the power of sponsored job posts to drive applicants to their roles. Two of the major benefits of using sponsored jobs include:
- 55% more applicants than non-sponsored job posts1
- 4.5 times more likely to convert to a hire2
But why does this strategy work? When a job is sponsored on a job board like Indeed, it’s pinned at the top of the job seeker’s feed so more eyes are on it. That placement is key, as it is more likely to attract quality applicants who are actively looking for their next role.
Relationships with local schools/colleges
Aside from hospitality management majors, there are still plenty of opportunities to connect with the student bodies at local schools and colleges for hospitality recruitment. Many of the roles that hotels are finding difficult to fill are entry-level positions, so students would be a great fit. As the third best source for quality hospitality talent, investing in relationships with educational institutions in your local community is a smart recruiting strategy.
It’s key that you make this relationship symbiotic, however. There needs to be a give and take between your property and the school. In order to remain top of mind for administrators, perhaps you could offer deeply discounted rates on ballrooms or conference rooms for annual meetings or extracurricular events. You could also offer to cater events at discounted rates for the school system, perhaps even with students!
Ready to hire better hospitality talent?
As you can see, the recruitment channels that drive the most qualified hospitality professionals are the ones that take some time to nurture. If your current applicant tracking system doesn’t have what your hotel needs to analyze the ROI and impact of each of your recruiting channels, it’s time to talk to Hireology. Schedule a demo today!
- Indeed data (US,CA)
- Indeed data (worldwide), Q4 2020
