Are you in hospitality industry hiring and looking to stay ahead of the game in 2024? If so, you’re in the right place. As the backbone of hotels, restaurants, resorts, and more, hospitality workers are the unsung heroes of guest satisfaction. But the industry is facing unprecedented hiring challenges in a post-pandemic landscape.
Labour shortages, evolving consumer demands, and technological advancements are just a few of the factors reshaping hospitality industry hiring practices. So, how can you ensure your business thrives in this ever-changing environment?
In this blog post we dive into the latest trends and strategies shaping hospitality industry hiring in 2024 and how Certn’s online background check process can help respond to some of the challenges.
The Hospitality Industry Landscape in North America
Hospitality workers are integral to the smooth operation of establishments, maintaining high standards of service, and enhancing guest experiences. From overseeing day-to-day operations to managing budgets and staff, these professionals are indispensable to the success of hotels, restaurants, resorts, and other hospitality ventures.
However, like many sectors, the hospitality industry, also known as the accommodation and food service industry, is grappling with significant challenges, particularly labour shortages, intensified by demanding physical work, unpredictable hours, and relatively low compensation. These factors are driving both current and potential workers towards other sectors that offer more stable hours, greater upward mobility, and less reliance on gratuities.
According to the US Chamber of Commerce, since November 2020, leisure and hospitality has maintained the highest hiring rate among all industries, ranging between 6% to nearly 19%. This hiring rate remains significantly higher than the national average, which stood at 3.7 percent in September 2023.
In Canada, retail and hospitality faces similar challenges which are reflected in the industry’s employment data. Labour shortages have been an ongoing issue even prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, and continue to plague the industry. As reported on the Government of Canada’s website, at the start of 2019 Ontario’s retail and hospitality sector had approximately 17,930 unfilled positions, which represents a 3.6% job vacancy rate. In 2023, four years later, the rate increased to 6.0% or around 29,750 unfilled positions.
Trends Impacting Hospitality Industry Hiring in 2024
So, what are the key trends impacting hospitality industry hiring in 2024? Along with talent retention, these six trends are reshaping hiring. Let’s break it down:
- Talent retention
- Upskilling and training programs
- Technology integration
- Focus on health and safety
- Remote and hybrid work opportunities
- Flexible scheduling options
- Focus on sustainability
These challenging trends underscore the urgent need for innovative solutions to address the evolving landscape of the industry. By staying abreast of these key trends, you can adapt your hiring strategies to attract and retain top talent in an increasingly competitive market.
Recruitment Challenges: Talent Retention
Hospitality industry hiring is facing challenges in recruiting and retaining skilled talent, exacerbated by labour shortages and high turnover rates.
The demand for hospitality professionals in North America is influenced by factors such as seasonal fluctuations in tourism, economic conditions, and evolving consumer preferences. As we showcased through the North American data above, despite occasional challenges, the overall trend indicates a sustained need for skilled individuals who can adapt to dynamic market conditions and deliver exceptional service.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the “quit rate” in the US accommodation and food services is the highest among sectors and is outpacing the overall quit rate by more than 70%. Employers are responding by offering competitive wages, career development opportunities, and employee benefits to attract and retain top talent. However, finding the right fit in the first place could be the key to success.
According to benchmarking data from the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), the average cost per hire is nearly $4,700, but anecdotally many employers estimate the total cost to hire a new employee can be three to four times the position’s salary.
Role-specific background checks can help hospitality industry hiring. In the blog post How to Create a Background Screening Policy, we cover how to come up with your process, with an emphasis on standardizing the process to ensure it’s fair. Products and services such as identity verification and criminal record checks, but other screening such as public records searches, social media screening, and reference checks might help you gauge how well candidates match the job duties.
Recruitment Challenges: Upskilling and Training Programs
Again, the hospitality industry faces a turnover rate of over 70% for hourly employees, emphasizing the need for competitive wages and retention strategies.
To address skills gaps and improve employee retention, governments and hospitality employers are investing in upskilling and training programs. These initiatives provide employees with opportunities to develop new skills, advance their careers, and contribute more effectively to the organization.
Check out the Government of Canada’s Future Skills Centre initiative for more information.
Technology Integration in the Hospitality Industry
The hospitality industry continues to adopt technology to streamline operations and enhance the guest experience. In fact, according to a survey by Hospitality Technology, 42% of hoteliers plan to implement staff-facing technology and 24% plan to invest in technology to automate service.This includes the use of AI-driven chatbots for customer service, mobile apps for reservations and check-ins, and automated processes for scheduling and payroll management. Contactless technology, including mobile check-in/check-out, digital payments, and QR code menus, has also become standard in the hospitality industry as a means of reducing physical contact and enhancing safety protocols.
In addition to investing in technology to enhance guests’ stays, hospitality employers are increasingly incorporating AI-driven solutions into their hiring processes to streamline recruitment, from automated resume screening to automated scheduling for candidate engagement. Using automated, online background checks gives our clients a competitive edge. In the case of Fire & Flower, candidate follow-ups dropped by 75% by automating background checks with Certn, freeing them up to focus on other tasks. H&R Block also finds efficiencies with Certn, with results coming back in a few hours instead of a few days.
If you’re new to running online background checks and want a list of questions to ask prospective vendors, we’ve got something for that too in Choosing the Right Background Screening Vendor. We want you to find the best fit for your hospitality industry hiring!
Focus on Health and Safety in the Hospitality Industry
The accommodation and food service sector was one of the worst hit sectors during the COVID-19 pandemic. Operations suffered from lockdowns and provincial health measures and, as a result, experienced significant employment losses. Travel restrictions during the pandemic dampened business throughout the sector as tourism plays a large role in demand for accommodation and food services.
During the pandemic, a consumer sentiment survey by TripAdvisor in 2020 revealed that 92% of respondents said cleanliness was the most important factor when choosing accommodations, prompting hospitality employers to invest in stringent health and safety protocols. In 2024, health and safety considerations remain a priority for hospitality employers and job seekers alike. Companies are implementing robust cleaning protocols, promoting vaccination among staff, and offering flexible sick leave policies to ensure the well-being of both employees and guests.
Reference checks as part of the background screening process could help validate previous experience in maintaining cleanliness standards and training in health and safety procedures. We also recommend checks such as criminal record checks, motor vehicle records and driver’s abstract checks, and social media screening to vet your hospitality hires.
Remote and Hybrid Work Opportunities
The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the adoption of remote work in many industries, including hospitality. Interest in remote work remains strong even as fewer employers offer it. Despite making up less than 10% of all US job postings, remote jobs receive nearly half (46%) of all applications, according to recent research from LinkedIn.
In 2020, a survey by Gartner revealed that 82% of company leaders plan to allow employees to work remotely at least some of the time, indicating the widespread adoption of hybrid work models across industries, including hospitality. The number is likely much lower in 2024. Hospitality-specific data is hard to come by, but US Bureau of Labor Statistics data shows that even part-time teleworking was happening less than 20% in 2022 across private sector establishments, so the numbers are likely low in the sector.
While frontline roles such as housekeeping and food service still require on-site presence, remote work opportunities have expanded in areas such as sales, marketing, and administrative functions. This flexibility allows employees to achieve better work-life balance and may appeal to candidates seeking greater flexibility in their work arrangements. On LinkedIn, there are active postings for roles such as:
- Event & Community Manager
- Executive Assistant
- Manager, Corporate Communications
- Specialist, Internal Communications
- Director of Growth Marketing
Aside from its own employees, some global brands such as CitizenM, Zoku, and Selina are stacking a co-working model onto hotel real estate and opening up their spaces during the day to remote workers in other industries.
Flexible Scheduling Options
Flexible scheduling options, such as part-time and gig work arrangements, are becoming more prevalent in the hospitality industry. Research by Shiftboard revealed that over half of millennial and Gen Z hospitality workers prefer flexible work schedules, leading employers to offer part-time and gig work arrangements to attract and retain talent in the industry.
As documented in sector profile data for Ontario on the Government of Canada’s Job Bank website, nearly half (44.8%) of accommodation and food services employees worked part-time in 2022, compared to 17.6% of the overall workforce in the province. The industry also had a greater share working in temporary roles (15.3%) compared to Ontario as a whole (9.9%).
While part-time and temporary arrangements may not benefit all employees, and flexible scheduling might not be available at all workplaces, it makes fast background checks more important.
Focus on Sustainability
Sustainability initiatives are becoming increasingly important in the hospitality industry, driven by consumer demand for environmentally friendly practices. Research by PDI Technologies found that 66% of US consumers and 80% of young US adults (ages 18-34) surveyed are willing to pay more for sustainable products versus less sustainable competitors, which echoes the hospitality-specific findings such as those of Booking.com that 78% of global travellers intend to stay in a sustainable property at least once in the coming year, driving hospitality companies to implement energy-efficient technologies, reduce waste, and source more locally-produced goods to minimize their environmental impact, meet consumer demand, and enhance brand reputation.
We have good news if you’ve gone paperless as part of your hospitality industry hiring and sustainability efforts, the Certn background check process is online. The old way, background checks are lengthy and exhausting. Without Certn, a candidate completing a pre-employment background check might have to show up in-person to a police station to verify their identity and pay to have their records mailed to them. The “best case scenario” for job seekers and recruiters involves a lot of confusing paperwork, trying to find a scanner, and endless email chains.
Certn’s Leading Hospitality Sector Background Checks
By leveraging these research-backed insights, you can tailor your hospitality industry hiring strategies to meet the evolving needs and expectations of both employees and guests in 2024.
How can Certn help with your hospitality industry hiring demands?
Certn has designed a workflow for background checks in the hospitality industry where quick screening is important for an on-demand workforce and seasonal peaks. Personnel in your hospitality business who should undergo background checks include:
- Management
- Supervisors
- Front desk personnel
- Drivers
- Housekeeping staff
- Food service positions
Fast Turnaround Times
Hospitality employers need fast hires. Certn’s background screening and pre-employment background checks provide quick results – ideal for people like you tasked with hospitality industry hiring. Right? Depending on the check you run, Certn can have the background check completed in mere minutes or hours instead of days.
Seamless, Integrated Screening
Our automated screening allows you to request background checks in several easy ways. We can integrate our background checks into the hospitality industry hiring software you already use. That way, your applicants can complete the background check step as part of the onboarding process. Integration to platforms such as Workable, Workday, Fountain, and Greenhouse helps your business stay on top of screening. Certn can also white-label the screening step for your company so you can email an invitation to a prospective employee that matches your candidate experience.
A Better Candidate Experience
Our Applicant Portal improves the hospitality industry hiring candidate experience through seamless capabilities and easy navigation. The mobile-responsive design keeps candidates engaged throughout the process while reducing time spent on screening inputs. The portal allows users to manage all background check and screening tasks in a centralized place with order status, required actions, and compliance-enabled features.
Bulk Hiring Capabilities
Certn’s platform is built to handle high volumes and can support large hiring events such as seasonal job fairs and hotel expansions. Clients can also combine checks into “Packages” and request industry-specific screening with the click of one button.
Mobile Functionality
With our easy-to-use platform, you can perform all the checks you need to make – in whatever location – to get the full picture and find the best employee for the job. According to recruitment benchmarks, 76.9% of hospitality job applications are completed on a phone. Why not extend your screening experience to a smartphone as well to reduce candidate drop-off? 80% of candidates complete their Certn background checks from a mobile device, so we consider it a perfect match!
With our help, you get employment background checks that help you make informed decisions at cost-effective prices, so you hire the best-qualified candidates. If you’re not sure which products or services fit your hospitality industry hiring needs best, request a demo and we’ll get back to you.
