The hospitality industry is engaged in a new war for talent, within and with other industries, that is fundamentally different than past labor struggles.
Part of what makes it different is that the pandemic forced companies to see the value and skill of front-line workers, too commonly defined as "unskilled labor" before.
In the latest episode of the "Next Gen in Lodging" podcast, guest Daymain Smith, a founder and CEO of Atlanta, Georgia-based third-party hotel management firm Synergy Hospitality Group, said the "hardest job in the industry by far ... is housekeeping."
He based that assessment on experience. He said he started in the hotel industry at 16 as a dishwasher at the Clarion Hotel in his hometown of Mobile, Alabama, and as a teen also worked in housekeeping.
Among the lessons of the pandemic: "We learned that [front-] desk agents are the worst housekeepers on the planet ... and No. 2, managers are even worse," he said.
"We had to pivot and pay these people [housekeepers] what they're worth," he said. "Nowadays, starting housekeepers are getting paid more than desk agents."
Smith said one of the factors that forced hotel managers' hands on raising the pay scale for housekeepers was contract labor from third-party suppliers "selling to the highest bidder."
Synergy — which manages hotels in Oklahoma, Georgia and Mississippi — assessed that it could hire better talent cheaper at "$16 to $17 an hour during the peak season," he said.
But a key, intangible quality that is often more difficult to assess is passion for hospitality.
"If you're not passionate about it, don't do it, guys. Don't halfway do anything. And if you don't have excellence in you ... get close to someone that does and watch them closely," Smith said.
Listen above as Synergy's founder and CEO shares more insights into the challenges of hotel management and staffing with "Next Gen in Lodging" host Omari Head.
The Next Gen in Lodging Podcast is available to download on Apple or Spotify, where you can also subscribe to future podcast content.
Follow Next Gen in Lodging on Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook and YouTube. For more information, email info@nextgeninlodging.com.