Hiring new aspiring talent and skillsets is a challenge today for many Hotels. Start implementing some innovative and creative techniques and learn how to build a legacy and create stories that attract new aspiring talent and skillset for Hotels.
I read several reports from various recruiting brands, and the common theme is that the Hospitality Industry has the hardest time attracting new aspiring talent and skillsets.
And the most concerning aspect is that the Hospitality industry’s biggest challenge is to attract relevant skillset for new fast-changing customer demands and needs.
The Hotel Industry experience unprecedented performances so why worry?
STR and Tourism Economics projected for 2018 that the US Hotel Industry would see an occupancy increase of 0.3 percentage, Average Daily Rate increase 2. 4 percentage, and RevPAR see a boost of 2.7 percent.
And the projections for the US Hotel Industry look very similar for 2019.
European cities saw unprecedented hotel performance in 2017. Many of the cities are expected to see further growth in 2018 and 2019. Strong demand has propelled some Hotels into the spotlight again.
So, it is a booming and vibrant industry.
But the challenge does not lay in the numbers.
The biggest challenge lays in the hospitality sector lays in recruiting new aspiring talent and skillsets that are prepared to meet a new generation of travelers.
With the tremendous overall growth numbers, the Hotel Industry’s biggest problem is procrastination.
Up until now, new “competition” like Airbnb has not impacted Hotels RevPar. And by most Hotels, it is treated as a supplementary service.
Airbnb has for many years now take a more proactive approach to support its growth. With Airbnb Experiences and Airbnb for Work, they use innovation and creativity to tap into new uncontested markets.
Airbnb appeals to the creatives of Humans. Experiences are excursions or other activities designed and led by local hosts. Hosts give guests unique access to places and communities in their city.
With Airbnb for Work, they combine homes and the experience component to make it easy to travel and collaborate with coworkers.
It is urgent and critically important that Hotels understand what is going on here.
Understanding the demand changes that disruption put on Airbnb is lightyears ahead of Hotels with capturing new aspiring talent and skillsets that are prepared for a new generation of travelers.
And as that is not enough the most alarming data is that the most challenging talent for Hotels to recruit are managers.
Mapping out the EXPERIENCE
Hotels need to start being proactive and see beyond the current situation even though all reports look good.
The key for Hotels is to map out a process that fits into a framework where Hotel teams experience is equally important as the customer experience.
You want the talent to be excited when they discover an opportunity with your Hotel. And the Hotel should be excited when they have the opportunity to collaborate and connect with new talent.
The most innovative shift in this process is to start to hire Hotel Experience Ambassadors.
One of the most interesting trends that Hotels really should pay attention to today about modern travelers is that they are less inclined to “buy” stuff and they turn to experiences instead.
And when we go beyond the experience customers are happy to pay for is happiness!
Hotel needs to understand that happiness also acts as the driver for innovation.
Make your Hotel team actively encouraged to live and breathe your new culture and come up with ideas that will improve the customer experience.
A way for Hotel to innovate around happiness is to start hiring Hotel Experience Ambassadors.
If your Hotel wan to leverage happiness to improve your results you have to start by creating a new culture in collaboration with your team.
Customer experience, new technology, Social Media, and New Media require new skill sets. But it is no requirement to hire these skillsets to replace current skillsets. These are skills that can be learned if your Hotel invests in your team members.
In Demark the government there has introduced a non-conventional diplomat. They have implemented their first tech ambassador to help rewrite the international relations playbook.
The intention is taking diplomacy back to its roots and exercising national interest and try to influence the direction of change on a global scale.
And technology and tech companies are the catalysts for the change. As a result of this part of the tech ambassador’s role is to be more vigilant to prevent the spreading of fake news information or scenarios like what happened with Cambridge Analytica.
The Hotel will also need to start being proactive for the fast-moving changes that technology, Social Media, New Media, AI, and more bring on.
Start implementing a Hotel Experience Ambassador that will help rewrite the Hotel relations playbook.
Innovation and Creativity amplifies the Experience
To me Hospitality is Art. It is like the painter that uses a combination of colors to create a picture. And we all will have a different perspective on how we view the finished product. The key is to bring out the commonalities that tell us that this is an experience we want to share with others.
Innovative and creative brands like Kimpton Hotels & Restaurant are making moves that appeal to the modern traveler, interact via apps, double as co-working and Social spaces, and score shareable selfie love along the way.
But what made Kimpton standing out from the crowd is the ignition of Room 301. This is a limited time guestroom experience designed to be interactive, spark creativity, and share what makes you human.
Innovation and creativity like this are what appeals to new talent and skillsets.
What if your Hotel put a twist on Kimpton’s brilliant Social Experiment and invited new talent and skillset to be part of a journey that connects talent, experience, and story. You get to showcase talent and Hotel together.
And even if you don’t pick all the candidates in the journey you helped create awareness for other Hotels looking for the talent and skillsets.
Compensate for any of the talent room expenses and implement stories in effective Social Media Marketing campaigns.
Just like with Kempton’s Social Experiment you will be paid dividends on the back end through connections, collaboration, community, and amplification.
I have loved with all of my heart and soul serving customers, guests, and Hoteliers. As a Hotel Experience Ambassador, I gained a new passion for being a representative and messenger delivering new profound, and delightful experiences.
If your Hotel wants to implement new effective success factors then now is the time to be part of a new initiative.
When your Hotel serves your community they will reward you back with serving you.
From a Hotel and Social Media Consultant’s standpoint, the Social Media Community can offer Hotels a one-stop-shop for managing their Social Media marketing such as the community infrastructure, database, listening functionality, profile management, collaboration, content marketing and management, and of course, the analytics.
A Social Media Community will help your Hotel to grow smarter and faster when you focus on the value proposition and collaborate in effective ways.
If your Hotel needs help to put it all together then make sure to let us know.
With the right team behind your Social Media efforts, it can become cost-effective and generate a new revenue stream for your Hotel.
SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGEMENT AND FACEBOOK ADVERTISING FOR HOTELS
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Our Social Media Management team has refined these processes to help Hotels. Contact us today to learn more.
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Try something new it will magnetize your Hotel!
Be flexible and identify new ways to make guests happy.
As guest behavior and pattern continues to evolve, expectations will continue to rise. Navigating these changes can be challenging. Learn more about how we can help your Hotel.
About the author
Are Morch is the founder and owner of Are Morch – Hotel Marketing Coach. Get more from Are on Facebook | Twitter | LinkedIn | Pinterest | Instagram| Podcast
