Desperate to Hire, Hotels Are Taking Drastic Measures to Recruit and Retain

Hotels are currently in one of history’s worst hiring deficits, scrambling to recruit new hires for an anticipated influx of travel while retaining employees that stuck out the pandemic. The measures they’re taking to do so are going completely beyond anything we’ve ever seen in the industry. For some, with a hefty price tag.

 Consider the Omni Hotel. This line of hotels is offering some employees free summer stays on-site, as well as three additional free nights at an Omni property of their choice. For kitchen staff, the chain is offering a free set of knives plus a weekly sit-down with executive chefs. By appealing to potential employees beyond just a paycheck, management hopes to incentivize workers to stay and to perform at a high level.

 The Gansevoort Meatpacking Hotel is offering similar gift incentives, giving senior staff members a MIRROR connected fitness machine upon their return to the office after eight months. At Disney theme parks, new recruits are now being offered a sign-on bonus of $1,000 to take on kitchen or housekeeping roles. Desperate times call for desperate measures, and hotels are certainly seeing the impact of both.

 If you’re a hotel General Manager thinking, “How can I compete with measures like this?” don’t panic. Shiny perks and big bonuses aren’t the only tactics available. Sometimes, the best ways to incentivize workers to come and stay with your property are culture-based. Just as you want guests to find your hotel via word-of-mouth evangelism from other guests, you want employees to have that same power. Building a mission-driven culture, where management’s support for staff is clear and where staff is empowered to be involved in decisions big and small, will mean everything at the end of the day. It will become evident that your employees are enjoying their work experience. Their network will find out, with some inevitably gravitating towards you.

 Of course, one of the best tools at management’s disposal for recruitment and retainment is money. eTip helps you make sure that your staff is being recognized for their work by increasing their likelihood of getting tipped (and highly), with a ton of features that help keep them satisfied and loyal. It’s just as easy for management to set up, use, and manage.