Ever since the global lockdown, the hospitality industry has changed drastically. Many hotels were forced to cut their budget, some were forced to fire staff members, and a noticeable number even had to close down shop.
But as international travel gradually resumes, America, Europe, and the Middle East expect a return to pre-pandemic levels of international guests. By the end of the year, international guest arrivals could reach up to 95% of their normal levels.
Despite the hit it took, the hospitality industry is still huge. Before COVID-19, the WTTC estimated that the industry supported one in 10 jobs across the globe. However, both small and large hotels have had problems attracting and retaining employees.
Today, we’ll explore the crucial role of hotel staff technology in supporting and, more importantly, retaining talent.
Table of Contents
- Employee Shortage in the Hospitality Industry
- What Are Hospitality Workers Looking for? General Manager
- 5 Ways to Use Hotels Can Use Technology to Support Employees
- Leverage Hotel Staff Technology With HelloShift
Employee Shortage in the Hospitality Industry
Before we move on to technology, let’s discuss the actual shortage of workers in the post-COVID world.
The aftermath of the global catastrophe brought forth a notable talent shortage on a global scale. By the end of the decade, we could be facing a deficit of more than 85 million workers, according to expert predictions.
Within the hotel industry, the shortage has profoundly impacted talent acquisition and retention. Hotels historically face a high turnover rate of nearly 74% on a yearly level. The turnover rate can significantly affect:
- Front desk efficiency
- Housekeeping services
- Customer support
- Processing of guest requests
- Overall guest satisfaction rates
To put it simply, if the workers you’ve hired aren’t satisfied, they won’t be engaged or stick around for long. And if your workers aren’t on the top of their game, your guests will be left dissatisfied, your guest rooms empty, and your bottom line will be negatively affected.
What Are Hospitality Workers Looking for? General Manager
The biggest question now is, how do you keep your workers satisfied? What can you do to entice them to stay with your hotel for years?
The first thing you need to realize is WHO your employees-to-be are. In just a couple of years,75% of the global workforce will consist out of millennials. Gen Zers will also join the conversation. Hotels can expect these two groups to drive changes in the next few years.
And what do these young workers want? They want digitally connected business environments, healthy workspaces, and manager support. But more importantly, these generations want convenience.
They want digital tools that will make employee training, taking phone calls, solving guest issues, making reservations, and maintaining the hotel a lot easier. From hiring to maintenance, you need tools that will allow your staff members to do their work as quickly as possible.
5 Ways to Use Hotels Can Use Technology to Support Employees
Front desk clerks, luggage handlers, restaurant staffers, and building managers. They all want you, the hotel owner, to make their jobs and lives easier.
Here are a few ways technology can solve staff issues and increase job satisfaction in your hotel.
1. Improve Hotel Staff Communication
Whether you’re training employees, trying to resolve guest issues, or organizing events, communication in the hotel industry is essential to success. Using sophisticated communication platforms enables seamless connectivity between hotel departments and staff members.
With a communication platform like HelloShift, you can ensure efficient coordination between the front desk supervisor, desk staff, and housekeeping teams. Consequently, you can prepare all of your hotel guest rooms in a timely manner.
Maintaining good communication makes the jobs of hotel employees much easier, reducing guest complaints.
Stat That Illustrates This:
Research shows that 86% of hotel employees agree that good communication in reception areas hugely affects guests’ perceptions hotel’s service image.
How Hotel Technology Helps:
Communication platforms enable task management, instant messaging, and collaboration in real time. Ensuring efficient coordination and quick responses to customers.
Main Takeaways for Hotel Workers:
- Sophisticated communication platforms enable seamless connectivity.
- Prompt response times enhance guest satisfaction and operational efficiency.
2. Streamline Guest Communication Too
The members of the hotel staff also need to stay in contact with guests to ensure satisfaction and loyalty.
For instance, the hotel manager is responsible for notifying guests about events, hotel policies, and updates regularly. To accomplish this, hotels are implementing messaging platforms and direct messaging channels.
HelloShift helps hotels with guest messaging, allowing them to address inquiries, provide updates, and resolve issues in minutes.
Stat That Illustrates This:
It’s estimated that 82% of hotel guests and travelers prefer to communicate with hotels, motels, and resorts via text or social messaging.
How Hotel Technology Helps:
- Messaging technology enables efficient and personalized guest communication.
- Enhancing communication contributes to the improved guest experience and loyalty.
Main Takeaways for Hotel Workers:
By helping your employees establish direct communication with the guests, you’ll be able to improve room service, facilitate personalized interactions, and build stronger relationships with guests. In the process, you’ll also increase the likelihood of repeat business.
3. More Efficient Hotel Services
While most hotels try to provide the best services possible, many arent doing a great job at it. The main issue? Lack of technology and communication.
Simple tasks like cleaning rooms, serving breakfast, and cleaning public areas all involve a surprising level of management. For instance, the kitchen staff needs to work closely with restaurant workers to make sure food is delivered at the precise time each day.
When employees know exactly who’s responsible for what, they don’t want to spend time running around the office, asking the manager what their duties are.
Efficient hotel services also guarantee high guest satisfaction levels, which translates to better word-of-mouth and more room reservations in the long run.
Stat That Illustrates This:
For every guest complaint, there are at least 26 more unhappy guests who choose to remain silent about their hotel experience.
How Hotel Technology Helps:
Hotel operations platforms streamline many operational tasks, automate processes, and enable efficient coordination among different employee teams. That reduces manual effort, minimizes errors, and enhances hotel service efficiency.
Main Takeaways for Hotel Workers:
- Hotel automation technology improves productivity and efficiency.
- Reducing repetitive tasks allows the hotel staff to focus on more complex responsibilities.
4. Eliminate Repetitive Hotel Jobs
Hotel employees hate repetitive jobs. These jobs are mind-numbingly boring. They bring the company morale down and decrease operational efficiency.
By automating repetitive and time-consuming tasks, hotels may help their employees focus on the complex jobs they’re responsible for. That will challenge the workers more, increase overall hotel productivity, and lead to higher job satisfaction.
For instance, you can help the staff working in the hotel bar with inventory management or kitchen staff with food procurement.
Stat That Illustrates This:
Studies have found that the top 15 most satisfying jobs have the least repetitive tasks. When each shift is a surprise, the job feels more interesting.
How Hotel Technology Helps:
Automation tools allow hotels to automate tasks like hotel management, room report generation, and different administrative duties. That allows the employees to reduce manual labor effort and improve company efficiency.
Main Takeaways for Hotel Workers:
- Hotel operations platforms like HellShift streamline daily activities.
- Efficient management enhances service quality and operational efficiency.
5. Make Hotel Guests More Self-Sufficient
As a hotel owner or manager, your main mission is to make customers happy, correct? What hotels and resorts need to realize is that modern travelers want convenience and autonomy during their stays.
By implementing a self-service hotel solution, you can empower your guests to take control of their experience. Mobile check-in options, self-serve breakfast areas, and digital concierge services where guests can access information and request assistance without relaying hotels for help are becoming more popular.
By making your guests more independent, you’ll also free your staff up and allow them some free time.
Stat That Illustrates This:
Research shows that 70% of hotel guests want to use technology that will speed up service time.
How Hotel Technology Helps:
Self-service solutions allow visitors to conveniently perform various tasks like check-in, accessing hotel amenities, and exploring local attractions. It enables visitors’ autonomy, reduces waiting time, and provides a personalized experience.
Main Takeaways for Hotel Workers:
- Self-service options provide convenience and autonomy to hotel guests.
- Enhancing customer satisfaction through self-service options.
Leverage Hotel Staff Technology With HelloShift
Every person you hire, from line cooks and the executive chef to the room booking manager and an event planner, will benefit from hotel staff technology.
Hotels that adopt new technology will be better positioned to meet the expectations of staff and guests. That will result in better performance and increased competitiveness in the ever-evolving hotel industry.
If you want to manage reservations, housekeeping, as well as the front desk and make the life of your current and future employees easy, you need to check HelloShift.
Our platform offers a wide variety of features that will make life easier for your office manager as well as your workers. It streamlines communication, encourages staff collaboration, and fosters a positive work environment at hotels, AirBNBs, and resorts.
Hotel guests receive automated, routine messages, consult hotel digital guidebook, and pre-checkin via their mobile device. Hotel teams use HelloShift to work together across buildings, floors, shifts, and departments with up-to-date visibility into room status via the Housekeeping app.
Go digital with Guest Messaging, Contactless Checkin, Website Chat, Staff Collaboration, Housekeeping Management and more.
