The hospitality workers of 2023 are certainly not the ones from 2019. While there are aspects that have remained the same, it has become harder for hoteliers to truly connect with top talent.
While other industries have been able to recover the jobs they were forced to eliminate at the onset of the pandemic, this has not been the case for hotels. In addition to not being able to source enough talent, the hospitality industry also has one of the highest turnover rates of any sector — at 4.8% in April 2023, which goes to show how difficult it is for hotels to keep these workers on staff.
To put it simply: Hoteliers have had their work cut out for them when it comes to building and maintaining teams. Unfortunately, it’s not possible to create workers out of thin air — AI can’t help you there! — but you can put the work into learning how the new hospitality worker thinks and what they need.
Every year, Hireology, a staffing software company, conducts a survey in which we ask applicants in the industries we serve about what makes them tick, essentially. These results paint an interesting picture of the motivations for the hospitality workers who are realistically applying to entry-level positions at hotels.
For 2023, we’ve compiled the responses from over 400 respondents into six characteristics that define today’s hospitality job seeker and embody what these applicants are looking for and expect from employers — along with what hotels can do to attract and retain the best.
The key in this hiring market is for hoteliers to better understand the mindset of today’s hospitality workers in order to adjust offerings and processes to stand out among the crowd of businesses hiring.
First and foremost: forget the notion that hospitality workers don’t want to work. Our survey results have proved the opposite to be true. The average job seeker is actually eager to be employed! Responses to our survey indicated that candidates, however, expect near-immediate responses when they submit an application. A little over a third (37%) of respondents said they expected to be interviewed within 48 hours of applying, while 60% said they’d like to be interviewed within three days. That’s a quicker turnaround time than most human resources departments require an initial application review to occur.
The average hospitality job seeker is so eager to work, in fact, that 42% are applying to at least 11 jobs at once, meaning they don’t have to wait around for your hotel to get back in touch with them. Despite casting such a wide net for their next role, this doesn’t mean that applicants will blindly apply to or accept jobs that don’t meet their needs — they’re searching for a position that suits them.
This thoroughness in their job search led us to our second defining characteristic: Hospitality job seekers can afford to search for what’s right for them. Supporting this theory, 52% of respondents said they would only apply to a job if they were confident that they met 75% or more of the qualifications. They’re not interested in wasting their time — or yours!
The third overarching characteristic of hospitality job seekers was that they value more than just pay. It’s easy for hoteliers to assume that job seekers are simply holding out for the highest paying option, but the reality is that expectations of job seekers are much more nuanced than that. In fact, only 23% of respondents indicated that pay is their No. 1 priority when looking for a job — meaning that for the other 77%, something other than pay, such as flexibility, career growth, etc., is more important.
The hospitality job seeker’s fourth characteristic should come as no surprise to hoteliers, as it closely mirrors that of your guests: They’re accustomed to immediate gratification. These applicants want to complete everything they can quickly and easily online — ideally on a smartphone.
Over two-thirds (67%) of respondents said they have chosen not to apply to a job they were interested in because the application required repeating information that was already on their resume, while 60% said the same about applications that required a cover letter. These numbers were, once again, significantly higher among hospitality respondents than those from other surveyed industries.
For the fifth defining characteristic, we found that most hospitality applicants are on-the-go. Just like smartphones have come to dominate much of our daily lives, this tool is critical for the average hospitality job seeker who likely does not work behind a desk on a computer. Folks such as housekeepers, front-desk workers and bartenders expect to be able to apply, communicate with recruiters and complete other hiring-related tasks easily while on-the-go.
Finally, and perhaps most importantly, we found that hospitality applicants are loyal — when hoteliers meet their needs and truly listen to their employees. If you can offer an easy, seamless hiring experience and jobs that candidates actually want to take, you can and will improve your retention rates. In fact, 71% of respondents say they are loyal to their current employer, all for reasons other than pay. While the sector as a whole struggles with turnover, this is certainly a glimmer of hope.
Knowledge is power — and in this case, can be the difference-maker in recruiting and keeping the staff your hotel needs to provide the best guest experience possible.
This portrait of a hospitality job seeker should help inform your recruiting strategy and be used in tandem with the hotel staffing solution of your choice. For a deeper understanding of the modern hospitality worker, this report is available to download on the Hireology website.
Adam Robinson is the co-founder and CEO of Hireology.
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