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According to The Bureau of Labor Statistics in Q1 2023 unemployment in the Leisure and Hospitality sector hovered around 5.4% and that is decreasing. However, even with low unemployment, hospitality continues to see large gaps in the number of positions filled versus the available ones. How can hotels attract and more importantly retain team members? Technology Solutions that are popular with GIG Economy jobs are starting to permeate traditional hospitality roles.
DoorDash allows drivers to put money in their bank accounts as soon as the delivery is made. They don’t wait for weeks to see the proceeds of their work. This is referred to as Earned Wage Access (EWA) where team-members can have access to their pay, often as soon as the same day. For employees living paycheck to paycheck, the ability to have access to money when the rent is due, or car insurance, there are options that break the need to wait two weeks or longer for payment. There are several payroll providers that can support this, to a bank account or a pay card; and there are also stand alone solutions that can ‘bolt’ into your current payroll technology.
Faster access to funds for team members to stay current with bills.
Reinforce value of team member.
Flexibility.
Retaining appropriate hold backs for taxes and benefits.
Who Pays For It?
Short-Timers -----
Labor Unions ------
Uber attracts drivers by offering flexibility of schedule, some only work a few hours a day or a few days a week. To incentivize drivers in peak need times or location, they use Surge Pricing, where drivers picking up after the Taylor Swift concert or Colorado Avalanche game are seeing trip charges of two or three times normal, I have even seen as much as FIVE times normal. This works for Uber, cars are lined up to get the higher fee, and as most tip a percentage, the total made is much higher to the driver.
There are some great labor management tools out there that allow for shifts to be posted to be picked up by our teams, much like Uber posts how much a trip earns to many drivers at once until someone picks it up. If you are short on a Sunday when there is a big check out, let housekeepers pick up a shift at a higher rate. Can’t get banquet servers for a gala, offer a platform that lets them pick up shifts at higher rates.
These are just a few of examples, but the Gig Worker requirements are impacting hospitality, in our people and in technology. We need to look to leverage this creativity because the work force is demanding it, because quality talented team members are requiring it. Many technology partners are ready to help us, we need to be open to their suggestions.
For over three decades Jeffrey Stephen Parker has been a leader in hotel and restaurant hospitality, with the last twenty-five focused on hospitality technology. He specializes in the technologies that guests interact with directly and the ones that enable hotel teams to better enhance guest experiences.
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