A lack of government assistance, low wages and children returning to school can all be blamed in tandem with the pandemic for the current labor crisis. However, most industry executives would agree that there were labor issues in hospitality way before March 2020.
Now, a third of those made redundant in the United States say they will not return to the hospitality and leisure industry at all. Things got so bad that a torrent of layoffs in the leisure and hospitality industry back in May 2020 saw the U.S. economy experience its worst month of job losses in modern history.
With 60% of job seekers not interested in hospitality jobs, finding talent is the new crisis. Signing bonuses, higher wages, flexible schedules and sourcing talent from other sectors can certainly provide relief and create new practices that can serve the immediate need of our industry. However, these solutions may not stand the test of time and future disruption.
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Some people say “never waste a crisis.” This pandemic has inadvertently paved the way for what I believe will be the greatest innovation chapter of our industry since the internet. Now, technology stands to be the game-changer for the future of hospitality.
Of course, a commitment to technology will create greater efficiencies. But it goes further: It has the potential to reduce these persistent staffing pressures while simultaneously improving the guest experience. After all, staffing issues often become a customer-service problem when guests complain about poor experiences on review sites like Tripadvisor. It is hard to fill a hotel that has bad reviews, and it's even harder to hire good talent.
Turn to tech
We can see the positive effects of technology on travelers every time we onboard a new hotel. It can begin as early as the dreaming phase of a traveler’s journey, where hotels automatically know in real-time who is a repeat customer and their previous purchase history. Our hotels can collect data to build guest personas that helps deliver an intuitive, efficient shopping experience, with relevant content and personalized offers up to, during and post check-in.
Digitization does not replace people.
Lisa Barker
Touchless, digital capabilities rolled out in 2020, initially in response to safety and social distancing measures, have had an unexpected consequence – a greater guest experience and convenience that more closely aligns with today’s consumer.
This ability to understand if you are expecting a digital nomad couple looking for a change of scenery, a generational family gathering or a solo adventurer can not only improve the likelihood of conversion but can also capture greater revenue while dramatically improving the guest experience.
Knowing your arriving guest’s flight lands at 6 a.m. so you can offer an early check-in, or that a family with teenagers could benefit from a connecting room, or notifications like recommending restaurant reservations be booked well in advance to avoid dining disappointments. These examples scratch the surface in terms of ways hotels can increase revenue without increasing costs, while significantly improving the guest experience and boost reviews.
Light the spark
To deliver this level of guest experience, we must refer back to the major industry aim of bringing the spark back into hospitality to encourage talent to join the workforce. By adopting a digital approach to traveler’s journey, we inevitably usher in more technology jobs and higher wages, leaving the mundane and repetitive and often frustrating guest experiences to on-demand, personalized interactions.
As a result, it provides greater job security for the teams on the ground by allowing technology tools to deliver and scale to meet fluctuating demands without sacrificing service levels.
Some might fear new technology will displace jobs. Having been in this industry for more than two decades, I can’t imagine a world where hospitality isn’t synonymous with people.
Digitization does not replace people; it transforms the role of staff to elevate their definition of service to deliver the “magic” of a truly personalized guest experience in new and exciting ways.