We kind of knew this before, but the pandemic really helped to make it crystal clear that sustainability is mainly about people — how we treat each other, how we interact, what we learn and what choices we make.
The U.S., Canada and Western Europe are facing labor shortages as a result of the “Great Resignation” during the pandemic. Travel is coming back with a vengeance — also known as revenge travel — and hotel occupancies are rising along with the demand for hospitality employees.
We currently do not have labor shortages here in Costa Rica, Panama and Nicaragua. Thankfully at our Cayuga Collection Hotels and Lodges, our room revenues surpassed pre-pandemic levels since June 2021. However, we have started to see the first signs of a tightening labor market for hospitality professionals. The tourism recovery, and particularly the boom in short-term rentals of luxury homes, created a “gig economy” mostly for chefs, guest service staff and massage therapists that are in high demand.
Salaries are often paid in cash and without social benefits. Some hospitality workers that work at a luxury home can earn in a week what they would make in a regular job in a month. Most of those house rental operations do not pay taxes, nor adhere to other local legislation — this is a topic for another article.
We have been monitoring the labor market situation for several months and have taken action in terms of our human resources programs to be ready for what we think might be one of the biggest challenges for the coming years.
Almost all our managers have been headhunted in the past months, along with our middle management and line-level employees being offered work in competitor hotels. Very few have taken those offers, even for significantly higher pay. We have been able to keep turnover below 15% on average while the industry standard is around 70% to 80%. Why did they stay with us?
This is where we see the interaction of human resources management and sustainability. Of course, it is important to pay competitive salaries and offer an attractive benefits package. Working conditions must be adequate and the working environment must be positive. However, we found that our sustainability programs focused on “people” made the difference.
Unlike other luxury hotels in the region, we do not employ expats. All our staff, including all management positions, are locals. A young woman that started as receptionist became general manager, a local gardener got promoted over time to become a food and beverage manager, and a construction worker that helped build the hotel became operations manager. These stories do not go unnoticed by their colleagues and is a great form of motivation for other Cayuga Collection employees to sign up for our career path programs.
Another big plus is our commitment to offer year-round employment. Many branded and all-inclusive resorts in the region reduce their workforce drastically during the low season. We pledge to keep staff on throughout the year and invest in cross-training and professional development.
Programs such as company doctor visits, which might not sound like a big deal working for a company in a big city, make a huge difference in the very remote and rural areas where we operate our hotels. An employee coming with his or her family to stay as a guest will be "treated like royalty" by their co-workers for a night — an investment where the line between sustainability and human resources sometimes becomes blurry. This all has a huge impact in employee motivation.
The biggest impact was generated when our staff saw that even during the toughest of times in the first months of the pandemic, when the airports and hotels were closed, we did not compromise on our values and continued to invest in sustainability and taking care of our staff. We did not furlough staff and keep them in “limbo.” The staff we had to let go all received a severance package and some employees moved into the hotels temporarily so that they could make ends meet.
Employees that are well-anchored in their communities, involved in volunteer activities and proud of their workplace are less likely to change jobs for a moderate salary increase. I continue to be amazed by how many of our team members come up to me and tell me that they had initially applied and want to continue their careers at Cayuga due to our vision of sustainability and people, commitment to nature conservation and community development.
We all know that our industry is tough. We work long hours, we work at times when others relax, but if we feel that we can make a difference it makes us feel proud and we will happily put up with some hardships. This is all because in the end we love this industry and are passionate about service, people and of course sustainability.
Hans Pfister is co-founder and president of the Cayuga Collection of sustainable luxury hotels and lodges.
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