Hospitality is one of the most successful industries on the First Coast, yet its leaders here are struggling so much to fill shifts that they often cut back on days of service or turn to outsourcing certain tasks.
Representing the hotel industry was Holden Baker, a recruiter at Jalaram Hotels, Kanti Patel's group. It's clearly an industrywide problem. Late last year, the American Hotel & Lodging Association said 87% of hoteliers reported in a survey that they were experiencing a staffing shortage, with 36% of those saying the shortage was severe. The biggest need in the industry was housekeeping services, with more than 40% saying that was the biggest challenge to overcome.
Many people changed career paths, out of food and beverage, during the pandemic, when much of the industry was forced to close its doors and/or cut staffing. “We had one person not long ago who wanted to start the same day they interviewed, and then never showed up that afternoon for the shift… I’m not sure what happened to them in that five-hour period or how they wanted the job at the start of the day and then decided ‘nevermind,’" MacDonald said.
While recruiting and retaining solid candidates is proving difficult, employers are finding creative ways to reach out into the market to find potential employees. Some are relying on existing employees, offering bonuses for those who recommend a friend who is hired , and others are using resources like Facebook groups to find candidates — in addition to traditional strategies like ads on Indeed.