Week 8 - Data, turnover & hiring. How does hospitality catch up?
A lot of positive trends are seen across the world. Question is will our industry go along with it?
1. Main Hospitality News
Core news related to the industry
Ursula Kriegl of EY-Hospitality Real Estate Germany predicts that rising costs for labor and electricity may be offset by a strong increase in ADRs after the pandemic. The market's insecurity has brought management companies and owners closer together, requiring them to discuss and find agreements even for details that are not covered by the extensive management agreements. Read the interview in German here.
Overconfident with your interview skills and reading people? Well, according to this article, interviews are indeed a pretty poor method of identifying good candidates. The replacement? Using platforms like LinkedIn to provide data-driven estimates showcasing if a certain candidate is a 90% match.
A recent study showed up, largely explaining employee turnover in hospitality. 1. Bad bosses 2. A bad match 3. Low pay 4. Unclear and unreasonable expectations 5. Toxic work environments 6. Lack of predictability with scheduling 7. Not enough opportunities for growth 8. No recognition. There are a multitude of ways to tackle this, here are some of them.
Is Airbnb the new future? A topic we all might have heard before. Well, according to some, it is not due to two very simple reasons: lack of economies of scale and therefore high fixed and variable costs. “Different Business Models”. Whatever it is, the total supply of accommodation has increased and there is more competition for the rest of us. Life is not going to be easier.
If you haven’t noticed, booking.com is now offering flights as well. (Link) So what, you say? As a hotel operator, your website has become just a little less attractive yet again. Why should a potential guest book with you when using booking they might get an additional flight discount? Maybe offerings on your website need to become more holistic. How? Perhaps a problem to solve for the entrepreneurs amongst us.
Remember last week, Chinese tourists were coming back? Now various surrounding countries are upping their flight capacity, while various EU countries are asking to remove COVID restrictions for Chinese tourists. (Link) Let the new rush begin!
Apparently, Europeans are more picky when it comes to their carbon footprint. Who knew? The U.S. is realizing this and planning to market themselves differently. Whether it's national parks or various states with better sustainability strategies. Another great move to sell the caring planet lovers an idea, instead of changing your actual practices. More on this here.
Lack of staff is still omnipresent in the F&B sector. Digitalization? Maybe. Higher salaries for staff to attract talent? Yes! Who pays? The guests, of course. How will the average restaurant-goer react? We will surely find out soon enough. (Link)
2. Externalities
Economics, finance, geopolitics. All have an impact on the hospitality sector. This part summarizes those.
IBM’s report states that hackers are stealing information and using it to demand money from people in Europe more than anywhere else in the world. 44% of attacks are using political situations to spread fear. Further, the number of email catfishing has doubled since last year. Cyberattacks are happening more often, more creatively, and faster than ever before. For the increasing digital guest journey in hospitality, this means more focus and budget for cybersecurity.
Too few babies, and the young are leaving to other countries to procreate. Sounds familiar? Indeed, this is the situation in Spain and overall southern European countries. Leading to the lowest fertility rates across all of the EU (Link). A long-term problem for those who want to hire, but not so much for those who want to work now. Indeed, parenthood is one of the leading reasons for the gender pay gap.
The 4-day workweek has been tested in the UK and has shown a 25% increase in productivity! Is the hospitality sector involved? Sadly no. While the rest of the world is likely to switch to 5 days, hospitality might be left behind. If talent realizes they can go elsewhere, work less, and make the same amount of money, then we are due for another shortage of colleagues very soon. So the question arises, can the hospitality sector switch to 4 days when your very presence is needed to operate the business? Not sure.
3. Academia
Scientific papers are being published every day. Including the hospitality sector.
A direct correlation between emotional intelligence and employee performance in hotels has been shown in the latest study. Seems rather obvious, nonetheless important to utilize in regular business practices. As we have seen before, interviews might be a rather outdated practice. Combined with LinkedIn data-driven recommendations, why not send an EQ test to your top candidates?
What comes first, company culture or employee talent? According to this study, hiring more smartly & training your employees impacts your culture in a positive way. Not the other way around. Hence, culture is a result of a well-managed business, not something you can instill and hope for the best.
4. Readables
Books, podcasts & the big stuff.
It is not a particular hospitality book, but it is about how to set up a small business successfully (Book) Cannot be bothered to read it all, luckily there is a 2-minute YouTube summary here and a short summary here.
5. Tips & Tricks Tools & SaaS
Any new software you can use? Industry tricks you missed? All of that summarized below once a week.
Metaverse for hospitality yay or nay? The hospitality industry, known for its traditional values and hierarchies, is beginning to explore the digital world. CitizenM, for example, has purchased its first virtual property and is selling NFTs to fund a real-life hotel. Learn more here. Journalist Simone Puorto believes that the Metaverse is a new frontier for marketing to generations Y, X, Z, and Alpha, allowing the hospitality industry to offer next-level escapism. Read more here.
Other companies are still far from jumping on the bandwagon. If you are unsure yourself, read Cevent’s take on everything you need to know about the Metaverse and Hospitality.
Running a tour operator company? Great, now you can use ChatGPT to your advantage. A new tool is being released to the market, helping tour operators and activity providers improve their content and various forms of text. To be fair, the hoteliers amongst you might be jumping on this as well. More here.
Do not have enough reviews? Fear not. Kayak is planning to introduce their own reviews system for hotels. Great news for those of you who love to respond to happy guests! (Link)
Tired of filling in your vending machine? Want to see live who is buying however many eggs? Well, a smart vending solution is coming to a hotel near you. More on that here. Indeed, several providers are coming to the market to offer not only smarter but also healthier options in their vending machines. Like Fudji or even Hello Fresh with their ready meals inside vending machines. Can you get it? Well, not so easy. First, you have to make sure your location will have enough traffic. Run a 10-room hotel? Sorry, you might have to wait a little longer.