More efficient staffing, treating employees with respect and promoting from within are helping the industry navigate the labor shortage and higher wages, operators shared during a panel at Hotec Operations in Orlando, last week.
In addition to paying market wages, Vision Hospitality Group is using forecasting to staff more efficiently. In some cases, general managers are overseeing two nearby hotels rather than one, while sales directors sometimes oversee two hotels instead of one, Vision COO Patrick O’Neil said.
However, executives evaluate whether the move is best for the hotels and for those particular leaders and if it doesn’t work, things stay is, O’Neil said. “A lot of us are working with teams to do their job more efficiently without impacting the guest experience.”
Controlling labor costs, which have spiked 20 percent to 40 percent ore more, are just one component, O’Neill said. “We are looking at other areas of revenue…we have to look at every single thing rather then just cutting labor. That’s why a lot of us are in the room [at Hotec] working with vendors on how to make our team more efficient and better at what we do — scheduling or closing out the P&L, whatever we need.”
More operators are also ensuring employees fit culturally with the company, have more opportunities for advancement and are treated with dignity and respect.
For instance, Ellis Hospitality Group retains a lot of its team members by being flexible with schedules and their “asks,” Ellis Hospitality President and CEO Jyoti Sarolia said. “One thing we learned during Covid is that you have to be flexible with your team members,” she said. So, if a GM requests extended time off, other members cover their duties, in order to retain them.
Sandi Lesuer, founder and CEO of VIRTU Resorts & Residences, a new wellness and indigenous-focused brand based in Vancouver, B.C., said the company pays higher wages, treats employees with kindness and respect, and offers benefits such as staff housing.
Ellis wants team members to feel “welcome, wanted and respected,” so the company hosts events such as monthly lunches and family-style dinners. Executives are also more focused on cross-training employees such as a guest service agent who had “such an acute attention to detail,” that she trained to be housekeeping supervisor and moved to the position within six months, Sarolia said.
Honing in on the hiring process from the start will also help defray labor costs, O’Neil said. Vision Hotel Group’s interview process is “pretty extensive” with potential hirees in upper positions interviewing with as many as 12 executives.
The executives determine whether the prospect fits into the company’s culture. “They need to buy in,” O’Neil said. “Culture doesn’t mean sunshine and lollipops. We can’t have people come into our culture who aren’t willing to be a doer. It’s not fair to the other team members.”
Vision’s “Gear Up” program also helps team members who know the culture grow within the company.
Partnering with the AHLA Foundation on employee training has saved Ellis a hefty amount of money, according to Sarolia. Mandatory state and federal trainings are available for free through the association when you’re a member, she noted.