Excerpt from CoStar
Hotel CEOs at the International Hotel Investment Forum in Berlin said now is the time for leaders to reset the rules and take their staff on career journeys that underline hospitality and the mission, value and ethics of the hotel firm.
As the European and global hotel industries begin to realize something close to normal trading following two years of pandemic turmoil, leaders at the top of their hotel firms said that continued struggles surrounding staffing can be largely addressed by a focus on career-building, training and taking time for enjoyment.
Speaking during the keynote CEO session at the International Hotel Investment Forum, Federico J. González Tejera, president and CEO of Radisson Hotel Group, said success will be determined by how clear company principles and values are, how careers are made concrete and improvements in education.
With sustainability in all its senses being the top takeaway of the entire conference, that notion equally applies to staffing, CEOs said.
“We need to show them the opportunities in which to grow. People have left the industry as they could not see their futures in it,” González Tejera said.
Dillip Rajakarier, CEO of Minor Hotels, and group CEO of Minor International, said it all comes down to the employee value proposition, adding that hotel firms cannot hold back talent in restrained working practices.
“You can't tie them up and then ask them to swim,” he said.
“Yes, some people cannot adapt to that way of doing things, but we need those creative elements. Also, it is going to be about what employees see hotel companies doing for their societies, communities and in [environmental social and governance],” he added.
Larry Cuculic, president and CEO of BWH Hotel Group, agreed that honesty, integrity, fairness and diversity underpin new generations’ thinking as to the companies they want to work for and the industries they wish to enter.
“During the pandemic, it was about transparency. What is the financial status of the company? What is your position and future? That open trustworthiness must continue. It is easy to quit if you do not feel part of the family, and we must allow staff to add value. It is not easy, but this challenge is something I think hoteliers are good at,” he said.
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