Staffing Issues On Centre Stage At Arabian Hotel Investment Conference
New initiatives suggested to address human capital requirements by key industry leader at the event
Innovative solutions to address future staffing issues were one of the key topics addressed at the fourth Arab Hotel Investment Conference, taking place at Madinat Jumeirah, Dubai.
Dubai | Innovative solutions to address future staffing issues were one of the key topics addressed at the fourth Arab Hotel Investment Conference, taking place at Madinat Jumeirah, Dubai.
Executive chairman of the Jumeirah Group, Gerald Lawless, said one solution would be to attract more and more nationals and Arab speakers in to the employment pool: “Guests like this (to interact with locals) and many expect it,” he said.
He said that initiatives such as the US$10bn fund for education in the Arab world recently announced by HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, were a great step forward in preparing the region for the huge growth in the hospitality sector and its attendant staffing requirements.
“It is in our interests to develop vocational institutes and training facilities here in the region, at all levels of the industry – and there is potential to invest in satellite facilities in source labour countries too,” he said.
This approach was endorsed by Accor chief operating officer and Sofitel CEO, Yann Carriere who said the group had established 15 Accord academies worldwide to fulfil its staffing needs as it expands globally.
“In Morocco, for example, where we have 25 hotels, we train staff locally then send them overseas for experience before returning them to Morocco – in this way, we can be perceived as a ‘local’ operator – where 23 out of the 25 general managers are Moroccan nationals,” he said.
Another challenge opening up was poaching of staff, according to Lawless who warned this could develop in to a major issue as more hotels opened up in Dubai and around the region.
“Jumeirah is a target for new operators who want trained staff,” he said. “Headhunting is rife and it is important for us to deliver as an employer of choice and this will become easier as we expand since we will be able to offer an international career path, where we could not in the past.”
The Bench, a global partner with Smith Travel Research (STR), is a market leader in providing daily, weekly and monthly benchmarking data to more than 34,000 hotels worldwide. As the leading provider of online real-time benchmarking data, The Bench brings accurate hotel performance statistics to the market at an unparalleled speed.
Jonathan Worsley, Chairman of The Bench is one of the organisers and founders of the International Hotel Investment Forum (
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