Hotel group targets job shortages

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 07/07/2022 (1331 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Faced with an ongoing labour shortage, the Manitoba Hotel Association has launched a new initiative in an effort to recruit workers for hospitality industry jobs.

Earlier this week, the association started “There’s Room For You,” a digital and television ad campaign aimed at showing the breadth of work opportunities available in the sector for which the provincial and federal governments chipped in $250,000.

An associated website shows off job possibilities not just at the front desk or in housekeeping, but at attached restaurants and bars, in maintenance, at banquet halls and more. A quiz on the website asks respondents questions and suggests a place within a hotel they’d be best suited to work.

On another part of the home page, people interested in applying for work can submit their contact info, resume, the kind of job they’re most interested in and the region of the province in which they’d like to work.

“Obviously, through the pandemic we were knocking on the door of all levels of government for the last two and a half years,” Manitoba Hotel Association president Scott Jocelyn said in a phone interview. “One of the side-effects was that a lot of people moved away from the industry. We were open, we closed, we were open, we closed. A lot of people saw the industry as not being stable, so lo and behold, here we are, we’re open again, no restrictions, ready to serve our customers, and we’re finding ourselves short of staff again.”

While the shortages are fairly widespread, Jocelyn said it’s the back-of-house jobs that are trickiest to fill these days.

He said he believes there are a lot of positives to working in the industry. There’s a wide variety of positions to apply for that don’t necessarily require education to qualify for and there are opportunities for quick advancement.

Since hotels are open 24-7, he said there can be a lot of flexibility when it comes to the hours and days people work, as well.

Though there are still challenges faced by the industry, Jocelyn did say that since the majority of restrictions have been removed, it is trending in the right direction. However, there are still people worried about the spectre of future restrictions or lockdowns.

“Some people have said, ‘Hey, are you going to be open and closed again?’” Jocelyn said. “’Do I really want to go back on this merry-go-round we had to jump on and jump off?’ We’re hoping that we’re past it, that we’re in a better spot. We’re encouraged by people travelling and coming back to our buildings and events, but we need [staff].”

In Westman, Steel Creek Developers owns two hotels under the Blue Crescent brand name in Souris and Rivers, with another planned for Austin.

Part-owner and vice-president of marketing and sales Trevor Rempel told the Sun on Thursday that while he doesn’t think the labour issues are as bad in rural Manitoba as in bigger cities, there are consistently a couple of positions open at most of their locations.

He praised the hotel association for its advocacy during the pandemic and said the new campaign was welcome not just for his brand, but all hotels in the province.

“We’re not quite hit as hard as the urban properties where there’s quite a bit more competition for jobs,” Rempel said. “In places like Souris, Rivers or Carman — rural locations — the hotel is one of the better job opportunities for working parents. I just checked with the manager in Rivers and they have two openings right now. They’ve generally been looking for at least one position for the last little while.”

Luckily, he said, they’re not short by three or four positions. Vacancies usually switch between front desk and housekeeping positions.

Rempel said he wonders about the effect the minimum wage increase scheduled for later this year will have and whether it will make recruitment easier.

“Hopefully, this campaign by the hotel association will help particularly attract potential applicants from out of the area, who are moving or may be open to moving.”

One saving grace for the hotel in Rivers, he said, is that the railway was still operating and rail workers would routinely stop for the night and keep business going.

It was first announced in 2020, but Rempel said the planned hotel for Austin has yet to break ground because of an inability to get construction approval from Manitoba Transportation and Infrastructure, since the planned location is next to the Trans-Canada Highway.

However, he said Steel Creek and local investors still believe the project will ultimately be successful.

The Sun contacted Brandon Chamber of Commerce president Tanya LaBuick for comment on labour shortages and the MHA’s campaign, but did not receive a response by press time.

However, in an interview about labour shortages with the Sun last month, LaBuick said the chamber had been lobbying the province to increase immigration to bring in outside workers to fill job vacancies.

» cslark@brandonsun.com

» Twitter: @ColinSlark