It has been a little more than two years since the COVID-19 pandemic broke into our lives, and already closures and travel restrictions seem like a distant reality. With the return to normal life, there is also a significant increase in the demand for domestic and international travel, both business and leisure.
While occupancy levels have recovered faster than expected in the hospitality industry (nearing 2019 levels in most markets), this industry, and the travel industry in general, are facing many difficulties in returning to their pre-pandemic performance.
The leading difficulty, experienced across many industries, is a shortage of qualified manpower.
Due to the near-complete halt of travel in the first year of the pandemic, many hospitality employees found themselves unemployed for a long period, which led many of them to change careers.
Now, many of them are reluctant to return to an industry that feels insecure at times, is not as financially rewarding, and is far too demanding. These concerns are even stronger among people outside the industry who are searching for a job.
Some hotels had to rebuild their workforce from scratch and are still struggling to do so while occupancy levels are extremely high.
On the customer side, the shortage of manpower leads to long queues, delays, lower levels of customer service, lower availability, and a disproportionate rise in rates.
As we shared in our June review, the global hospitality analytics company STR has recently conducted a study on hotel ADRs (average daily rates) across the US and Europe, comparing April-May 2022 rates to April-May 2019 rates. The results show an average 14% increase in ADR in the US and a 6% increase in ADR in Europe.
This manpower shortage will most likely force the hospitality industry to adapt to new ways of working. One of the leading trends we see is the fact that this industry is focusing on the implementation of digital and automation technologies across several departments.
Hospitality human resources departments now use digital platforms in the hiring and training process.
On the one hand, those platforms allow job seekers to create profiles that demonstrate their skills, and on the other hand, the employer can select the most fitting candidates for specific positions more easily.
This promises a more accurate, efficient, and cost-effective hiring process.
Digital platforms can also be used in the process of training employees by centralizing the learning process and getting direct feedback on their training programs.
Operations departments deal with the manpower shortage by increasingly using mobile and SaaS-based technology to simplify operations and enhance costumer experiences.
These uses include automating administrative tasks (room assignment, check-in, and report scheduling), guest messaging platforms that allow a single employee to manage multiple requests at once, and a mobile property management system (PMS) that automatically delegates tasks among team members, like the housekeeping team, to maximize efficiency.
Hotels also reduce the workload by using mobile check-in or kiosk-based contactless self-check-in, digital payment systems, and keyless entry systems that allow guests to get into their rooms in a matter of minutes.
Digital platforms are also supported from the customer side. Using smart booking platforms helps to facilitate the booking experience and avoid some of the nuisances due to manpower shortage.
Booking with Arbitrip, for example, will not only help you save at least 15%-25% on your travel expenses, but also give you access to exclusive deals, 24/7 customer service, centralized payment options, and access to valuable analysis reports – and all of that free of charge.
One thing is certain: technology can not completely replace human interaction. There is, of course, great importance in the hospitality industry for that personal touch between the customer and the hotel employees. However, automating some of the tasks and using digital platforms results in a more personal and exceptional service from the hotel staff.
For more information on the Arbitrip platform and how we can help make your booking process better, please contact us at [email protected].
