Hotel staff shortages spell trouble for tourism

Tuesday, 26 January 2016

Liam Farrall had never even stayed in a hotel before he began working in one. 

The 24-year-old, a former factory worker, started as a room cleaner at Christchurch Novotel three years ago. The family atmosphere of hotel life drew him to the industry and he is now studying hotel management part-time and eyeing a career in hotel HR.

He is in charge of room supplies and under no illusions about the rigours of hotel work.

'A lot of people think we go around with a feather duster. We've lost a number of staff because they've underestimated how strenuous the work is. Making beds is a very physical job.'

His colleague, 16-year-old room attendant Brittany Howard earns minimum wage – $14.75 and hour – but reckons free uniform and meals help stretch the pay packet. 

With previous experience as a motel cleaner, clearing up after messy guests doesn't faze her. 

But recruiting hard-working staff like Farrall and Howard is getting harder for an industry on the cusp of massive growth. 

When Christchurch Novotel executive housekeeper Kaye Scales-Thain advertised for room attendants late last year, more than half of the 100 applicants were migrants – or would-be migrants – living in India.

Finding and keeping good staff in the hotel industry is a constant struggle and two of her new recruits lasted less than a week.

She would prefer to hire Kiwis, but says New Zealand workers often don't see cleaning as a glamorous enough job and don't realise they can progress quite quickly up the hotel ranks.

Many hotel managers begin their career as chefs or housekeepers, and staff employed by global hotel chains can take up opportunities in hotels overseas, she says.

New Zealand tourism is tipped for big things. The sector – which has overtaken dairying as our major export earner – is expected by 2025 to welcome 4.5 million visitors and earn $41 billion a year.

Over the next five years at least 1500 more hotel rooms will open in Auckland and there are new hotels planned for Wellington, Christchurch, Dunedin and Queenstown.

A Tourism Industry Association (TIA) report, People & Skills 2025, estimates over the next decade the industry will need to recruit a further 47,000 employees. That includes an extra 8252 accommodation managers, 6213 chefs, 4923 waiters, and 1866 baristas.

There are already acute labour shortages during peak season in some popular tourist destinations and the report says there's widespread concern about the impact on levels of service.

Staffing gaps must often be filled by migrants on temporary work permits because New Zealanders, according to the report, 'aren't available or may be lacking in required skills or attributes.'

Last year in Auckland temporary migrants made up  just over 30 per cent of  hospitality hires (accommodation and food service), compared with less than 10 per cent in 2001. This was matched by a significant shift away from employing beneficiaries.

While hotel industry heads agree visitors on work visas will continue to be an important labour source, they also want to recruit and retain more New Zealanders.

International guests like to get a feel for the country by talking to real Kiwis, says Bruce Garrett, manager of Christchurch's The George Hotel and Canterbury TIA hotel sector chair.

'Visitors don't travel all the way around the world to talk to someone from home.'

Queenstown hotel receptionist Alicia Watson is one of only three New Zealanders from a staff of about 20 at her workplace and guests regularly ask her where all the Kiwis are.

'They've spent the day in Queenstown and come back and say, 'you're the only Kiwi we've met on this whole trip, and we've been here five days'.'

Finding affordable staff accommodation in areas cush as Queenstown is a major issue and hotels desperate for experienced staff have been known to let new recruits stay in an empty room for a night or two until they find somewhere to live.

Watson slept on a couch until a $180 a week room came free in an old cold house that gets no sun in winter when the monthly power bill will be $1500.

The double whammy of pay rates (about $16 an hour) and housing costs may see her quit Queenstown.

The People & Skills report acknowledges the seasonal nature of tourism jobs, lack of full-time hours, lack of information about career paths, and low pay rates all contribute to high staff turnover.

Christchurch hotels have lost staff to better paid trades jobs in the post-earthquake rebuild and Liam Farrall's mates holding stop-go signs make almost $10 an hour more than he does.

TIA's hotel sector manager Sally Attfield admits wages are 'the elephant in the room' but says more hotels are paying above minimum wage as competition for staff grows.

Perks such as uniforms and staff meals are significant, too. 'People have left for a few thousand more, and a few months in they're looking at their pay packet and saying 'why haven't I got that extra money?' It's because they're paying for their lunch and have to buy extra clothes.'

TIA's annual member survey showed hotel occupancy rates in 2015 were at their highest levels in at least five years, pushing up average room revenue by 13 per cent.

E tu (formerly the Service and Food Workers Union) would argue that low-paid workers servicing hotel rooms deserve some of that extra revenue and has concerns about the impact of cheap migrant labour.

Auckland union organiser Lynette Blacklaws says the daily room service checklist for one hotel consists of 31 tasks, and room attendants in Auckland's big hotels routinely have to clean up to 16 rooms in an eight-hour shift.

'It's really, really hard work for not much pay. Sometimes people feel forced to work beyond the hours they're paid to get the work done… That's why so many people leave.'

Blacklaws says migrant workers now make up a big proportion of Auckland's hotel workforce, and their willingness to work for low wages is undermining Kiwis fighting for decent pay rates. 'The industry needs to pick up its game across the board. It's just not a well-paid industry.'

She cites The Great Ponsonby Art Hotel in Auckland as a rare example of an establishment paying an above minimum wage $18.40 an hour to workers after a short probationary period, with permanent staff  receiving even more.

Owner Gerry Hill says paying the higher rates isn't easy, but it is good for staff morale and creates a very stable work force, which has huge benefits. Taking into account the cost of recruitment and training, he says replacing an experienced employee costs about $5000.

Pay rates aside, the TIA is looking at a range of other measures to solve the labour shortage. They include working with the government to get more beneficiaries and mature workers into tourism jobs, and actively promoting tourism career options to secondary and tertiary students.

There's no shortage of tourism courses with more than 50 offered at tertiary level by New Zealand universities, polytechnics and private training establishments.

What is less clear is whether those courses are producing people with the skills and attitudes the industry needs.

To ensure they do, Attfield would like to see more hotel general managers on advisory boards for training institutions.

She says there is also a need to manage graduates' expectations 'so that when they walk out with this level of qualification, [they know] what job and pay they will get.'

☆☆☆

The gen Y hotelier

Matthew Davidson is very likely the youngest hotel owner in  the country.

The 26-year-old opened the 34-room Quest Whangarei in September, returning to his home town to fulfil a goal he himself set on graduating from a Swiss hotel school.

'It was always my intention to do something on my own, either managing a hotel or owning one, and I've done both.

'It was a bit unusual, a lot of my friends went off and did BComs at Otago (University). I only knew a couple that did tourism courses and one became an air hostess.'

Davidson's hands-on experience mean he's as adept with a toilet brush as he is at silver service, honing skills in the latter during an internship at Huka Lodge.

After working at Auckland's Skycity Grand and the Quest corporate office, he bought into the Quest franchise by selling his Auckland apartment, and with some help from family.

The irregular hours suit him. 'I enjoyed nine to five work for a while but I did  get bored.'

His four staff are all New Zealanders and he thinks that's important. 'Sometimes it helps to have someone who can speak multiple languages, but it's nice to have a bit of Kiwi hospitality, a big friendly smile and someone who is genuinely lovely.'

Davidson welcomes Queenstown Resort College plans to open a Paihia campus teaching hospitality management.

'It's fantastic news for Northland  because tourism numbers have grown by eight per cent in the last year alone and we're going to need a lot more accommodation providers.'