Hotels struggle to keep up with summer demand
The National Hotel & Lodging Association says a majority of hotels across the country are understaffed.
Many vacationers headed to hotels this summer might not see the full array of services typically offered as staffing shortages have led to a domino effect in a lack of amenities. Those range from clean rooms to hotel dining.
Although post-pandemic staffing has improved in the hotel industry each year, there are still positions unfilled. The National Hotel & Lodging Association says 76% of hotels across the country are understaffed.
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"So my housekeeping team would go from 20 to 40, food and beverage is the same way, so all of that does double for us in the summer time," Sheraton - Myrtle Beach general manager Suzanne Hinde said.
Hinde said housekeepers spend about 30 minutes cleaning each room. With a low staff, some hotels might clean rooms every other day or just a couple of times a week. Hinde says if guests want their room cleaned every day, they should ask the front desk. Since the pandemic, she's also noticed more people putting "do not disturb" signs on their doors.
In order to keep up with the summer demand, Hinde chose the advanced technology route by adding two new crew members — robots named Rosie and Wiz.
Business is booming on the East Coast vacation spot of Myrtle Beach.
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"It was so hard from a labor perspective, you had to figure out how am I going to be able to do business and be able to deliver business we need to, with less staff," Hinde said.
At the Sheraton in Myrtle Beach, Rosie works in the dining room, helping serve food and pick up dirty dishes from customers. Wiz saves the hotel labor costs and time by vacuuming the long hallways throughout the hotel.
Hinde did not disclose the cost of the robots, but she said it has helped offset the hiring struggle.
However, not all hotels can afford the robot's price tag. Hinde says she is not aware of another hotel in the area with similar robots.
Hotels have raised their wages since the pandemic, but hiring enough staff is still an issue.
Up the coast in Beaufort, North Carolina, a hotel manager said they're only short a handful of housekeepers and chefs. But when they're low on staff, they have to block out certain rooms.
"We’ve had a day or two that we’ve had to probably not sell 6 to 10 rooms because we didn’t have the ability to clean them," Beaufort Hotel General Manager Peter Grills said.
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Grills said even the school schedule in the state of North Carolina has made an impact on when people choose to vacation. The change of schedule affects the business and staffing as well.
The National Hotel & Lodging Associations interim president Kevin Carey says they are working on legislation to expand the H-2B visas, that allow migrants to work temporarily in non-agricultural jobs.
