LOS ANGELES — David Kong realizes it's time for the hotel industry to grapple with a difficult reality: It's simply not enjoyable to work in hotels.
Kong, president and CEO of BWH Hotel Group, said the labor issues the hotel industry faces are driven at least in part by that negative work environment.
"The truth is, it's really hard to work in the hotel business now," he said in a video interview with Hotel News Now at the 2021 Americas Lodging Investment Summit. "You think about the supply shortages, and you think about the difficult guests that we all encounter on a daily basis. People are just more difficult these days. And if you're working on the front desk, you get yelled at left and right, and you're not going to find it to be too much fun working in that kind of environment."
He said his company — which has a portfolio of brands including Best Western, SureStay and WorldHotels — is hoping its on-property leaders will work to both take some of the pressure off line-level employees and find ways to inject some positivity into their day to day.
"As general managers, we want them to think about that and empathize with that situation, and if there's bullet to be taken, take the bullet. You know, step up and be a leader," he said. "At the same time, also create more fun at work — like, surprise people with a $20 gift card to some fast food place or coffee place or throw a pizza lunch every now and then, and just create create some fun and excitement at work because there's plenty to wear people down right now."
On a wider scale, Kong said the industry needs to work harder to take back control of the image it presents to potential employees. Being regarded as a good industry to work in is increasingly important as competition for employees grows.
"If you were looking for a job, you'd be hesitant to join the hotel industry because you'd think 'Oh, in every downturn, they're going to lay off a lot of people. It's not really a real secure place to work,'" he said. "We have that image to overcome. And furthermore, we haven't really done enough of a job to promote the hotel industry as a career choice for people. People probably feel like they're going to be pigeonholed in the hotel industry. There's a whole remaking of the image of the hotel industry that needs to happen for us to start attracting more people into our business."
For more with HNN's conversation with David Kong, watch the video above.