HOTEL STAFF SHORTAGES HURTING TOURISM

The Hotel Association of Canada (HAC) is putting out a Help Wanted sign.
Association president Tony Pollard says staffing shortages mean hotel rooms are sometimes unavailable in some parts of the country and it doesn't look like the problem will be solved anytime soon.

"There are two major issues that we're confronting right now - the downturn of US visitors to Canada and the second thing is the lack of human resources, particularly in Alberta," Pollard told Canadian Travel Press. One new Alberta hotel was forced to open at half of its actual capacity because it couldn't find enough employees, he says.

Hotel staff shortages are particularly a problem in booming Alberta - where the number of hotel workers has dropped by 15,000 in the past two years -- and British Columbia, but also surface in Ontario and Quebec, where such resort areas as the Muskokas and Mont-Tremblant have to contend with them. The problem also can be found to a lesser degree outside those four provinces. The problem surfaced in the late 1990s but lessened following the downturn in travel after Sept. 11. It returned in 2003 and is "now coming back in a real big way," Pollard said.
Small and large hotels alike are plagued by the problem, which leads to "room shortages in certain locations at certain times" as some hotels are forced to close floors because of staff shortages.

The HAC has been lobbying Ottawa for some years to allow more foreign temporary workers to fill vacant hotel positions, but Pollard says Ottawa has remained non-committal, with government officials citing "rules and regulations" and continually asking for proof that the hotels are making efforts to hire Canadians. There are foreign temporary workers now employed by Canadian hotels but not enough to fill all vacant positions, Pollard said, adding there are many qualified people outside Canada qualified to work in this country's hotels that would if permitted.

Pollard says the hotel industry does pay good salaries and provides attractive benefits, and blames staff shortages on different factors, including people being attracted by other work, very low unemployment in Alberta and people retiring. "We need to get more young people to work in hotels," he says. "We don't do enough to promote it." However, getting more young people to consider the hotel industry for careers won't alleviate immediate shortages, he notes.

Pollard says staffing shortages aren't leading to poorer service but it does sometimes force hotels to close floors. "You can only ask a person to make up so many rooms and serve so many people."

Meanwhile, despite having to cope with employee shortages, this country's hotel trade is doing well, with Pollard reporting that "the first quarter of this year has been very good across the country."

A strong economy means Canadians are travelling, and foreign visitors continue to come to Canada, although the stronger Canadian dollar appears to be curtailing American visits to Canada, a concern for the HAC.

Author: Canadian Travel PressOrganization:
axter Travel Group
Contact: ctp@baxter.net