Hoteliers Who Renege on Pay, Work Conditions Risk Second-Wave Labor Crisis

Right now, to lure employees, hoteliers are probably offering more pay than they would have pre-pandemic, and definitely more than they're comfortable with. Depending on the position and the requirements of the job, there's a high likelihood they're also offering some concessions in work conditions that aren't aligned with how the hotel or company historically operates.

It's understandable that might be frustrating for hoteliers and other business leaders, and why many might be eager to see some sort of "return to normal," with many assuming — or maybe just hoping — that the current environment is just a blip on the radar. But there's plenty of reason to believe that just isn't the case.

The fact of the matter is, employees — both current associates and prospects — have more options today than they did before the pandemic. I don't need to tell all of you very smart and experienced business people what that means in terms of who has the leverage in the labor market.

All of this brings to mind when I was in Dallas a couple of months ago sitting at a table surrounded by revenue strategy experts for an HSMAI event. Many of them noted how they were having a harder time recruiting for revenue roles because the executives above them in the food chain were insisting on a return to office, which was frustrating for those attendees who admitted that their job roles could easily and effectively be fulfilled working from home.