Hotels across the world are struggling to find and retain staff in the age of the COVID-19 pandemic. Staff shortages are a problem in every department of a hotel, but particularly with operational positions. Requests are going unanswered, check-in queues are growing long, and hotels cannot uphold the same level of service standards as before. However, new technologies pose solutions that are well within the hotel’s reach.
Why Is There a Staff Shortage?
During the COVID-19 pandemic, many hotel staff were laid off or experienced reduced working hours. Hotels in the U.S. laid off approximately 6.2 million employees. Some were forced out of their roles because their employers downsized or even shuttered as travel bans were enacted. Other hoteliers and staff have been “rage quitting” in search of better pay and working conditions. As some states slowly opened up, the hospitality industry saw a third of these jobs recover last summer, though the ongoing pandemic stalled a quick bounce-back. As a result, staffing levels remained around 50 percent at the start of 2021. Many experienced workers who were not re-hired last year have moved on to jobs in other industries. In fact, about one-third of former hospitality workers won’t return to the industry because they want higher pay, better benefits, and a new work environment in the wake of COVID-19.
The Effects of Staff Shortages in Hotels
Even as shutdowns have been lifted, many hotels are only operating at partial capacity because of their staff shortages. This creates massive revenue decline for hotels across the world.
With fewer staff members comes reduced maintenance and housekeeping hours, dining and food options, front desk assistance, and an overall guest experience. With rooms to clean and guests waiting in the lobby, hotel staff don’t have much time to consider revenue management. To make matters worse, when guests have a poor experience, they’re likely to leave a negative review on travel sites such as TripAdvisor, tell their friends about it, or post on their social media accounts.
Hotels need to do everything in their power to optimize the returning demand that is now booming in many regions. Luckily, one alternative that hotels can turn to is to outsource a solution.
How In-room Tablets Solve Hotel Staff Shortage Problems
Users of in-room tablets mention that they view the tablets as an extension of their staff, even before the pandemic. Here are only some of the features of in-room tablets that can help with staff shortages in the hotel industry:
- Fewer front desk calls. The software inside in-room tablets alerts back-end staff when a request is submitted so your front desk staff aren’t bogged down answering phone calls. In-room tablets are also equipped with up-to-date menus, protocols, and more to keep guests informed without needing to call down to the front desk.
- Better feedback generation. A hotel simply cannot afford to let their guests leave without knowing if they were completely satisfied with their stay. Save time by having in-room tablets ask for you how a guest’s experience was. Capture any negative feedback quickly while the guest is still onsite to avoid a guest writing publicly online about their experience. Otherwise, busy staff at your hotel might not hear them and a negative review on TripAdvisor could surface.
- In-room activities. Allow your guests to enjoy games, streaming, and even workouts in the comfort of their own room. This eliminates or reduces the need for common game rooms, activity centers, and fitness centers to be cleaned as often or even staffed.
- Increased connection. With the inclusion of staff photos and bios, along with the customization of brand and specific facility information, in-room tablets serve to remind guests that there is a human element operating for their comfort and safety, even if there are fewer humans working for you. Real-time chat messaging and immediate responses to requests ensure that guests and staff can be in constant communication if they desire.
Issues associated with staff shortages pose real threats for hotel operations. By implementing in-room tablets, you can lessen the burden and manage your existing staff much more efficiently.
