In order to maximize the effectiveness of your hotel, being able to keep the level of quality you want to give can also help lower your costs. There’s no reason why the terms must be mutually exclusive. Here are some things to keep in mind when trying to achieve the highest caliber of service.
Guest Satisfaction
Most directly, a higher quality staffing firm can ensure the quality and training of its personnel. Cleanliness is considered the #1 driver of guest ratings of properties. A guest ratings of cleanliness extends from luxury properties all the way to budget-conscious brands. Working to achieve best-class cleanliness should never be compromised.
Turnover
High turnover in staff can have a cascade effect within a hotel in terms of quality and in terms of budget. Overtime costs can skyrocket, quality can drop, and the cost in time of finding replacements all impact the bottom line. HSS’s turnover rates are among the lowest in the industry. This is achieved through a robust recruiting process, intense screening, and market intelligence regarding payrates.
Overtime
To reduce costs, many staffing companies commit to staffing levels that are simply unrealistic. This can lead to overtime which impacts the bottom line in two ways. First, the direct costs of overtime means that you pay more per hour for a staff member to do the same job. But there is a second, often overlook result: employee stress. Although many workers enjoy occasional overtime, HSS studies show that the stress from consistently working more hours can increase turnover as a result of burnout and fatigue.
Experience
In the hospitality industry, experience is everything. Hotel staff with experience deliver higher quality, lower turnover, and require less on-the-job training. In addition, the experience of the staffing company itself can help reduce costs. For example, HSS has been working in hospitality staffing for nearly 30 years. Many of its own internal staff and management come from the hotel and resort industry. This knowledge and experience is invaluable in terms of knowing what works and what doesn’t at a property – experience that can save you money.
Compliance
When it comes to following state, federal and local regulations, properties rely on their staffing partners to follow the law. Unfortunately, many properties incorrectly assume that any missteps by a staffing company do not reflect on their brand. This is untrue. When it comes to safety regulations, classification of labor and eligibility to work, properties are responsible for following regulations and ensuring their staffing partners are doing the same. While taking shortcuts with regulations will result in al lower bill rate short-term, there are long-term costs and repercussions. Shortcuts in this arena simply don’t make long-term economic sense.
Summary
Working with a staffing partner to increase quality, reduce turnover, and ensure compliance will deliver better results to the bottom line. This strategy requires digging deeper into proposed bill rates to ask adequately compare costs. A low bill rate that doesn’t include key elements like experience and compliance is not savings; it’s a long-term cost liability.
By Jessica Saunders – Managing Editor, Atlanta Business Chronicle
Feb 27, 2019, 5:30am EST
Atlanta-based Hospitality Staffing Solutions LLC has acquired a Charleston, S.C., firm that specializes in food and beverage personnel.
HSS CEO Timothy McPherson declined to disclose the terms of the deal with FoodStaff. The acquisition closed Feb. 26.
FoodStaff will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of HSS and retain its brand name.
The Charleston company was founded in 1988 by Bailey Bolen, its CEO. It provides temporary and full-time personnel to sectors within the hospitality industry, specializing in food and beverage staff for educational settings, corporate dining and banquets/events. FoodStaff operates seven offices in the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic regions.
HSS deploys about 8,500 employees daily to more than 800 clients, McPherson said. With the merger, it will deploy about 10,000 employees weekly.
FoodStaff has about 1,500 employees working on assignment.
HSS employs about 70 at its corporate office at 100 Glenridge Point Parkway in Atlanta. It has about 300 internal employees across the entire organization — including job titles such as branch managers, sales managers, and recruiters, McPherson said. The FoodStaff corporate headquarters at 1387 Harborview Road in Charleston employs about 10 people, who will be retained, he said.
In addition to banquets and stadium-style events, FoodStaff also provides personnel for the corporate dining rooms at Fortune 500 and 1000 companies, which is an area HSS is looking to expand in, along with educational food and beverage staffing, McPherson said.
FoodStaff clients include Compass Group, Sodexo USA, Sage Dining, and Marriott International.
HSS supports all major hotel brands, including Hilton, Hyatt and Marriott, McPherson said. The company is growing organically by adding branches, including 12 last year across the U.S. and in Puerto Rico, its first in the territory. It expects to add 6-10 new offices in 2019, generally in the Midwest and Northwest, McPherson said. It will bolt on acquisitions as they are identified and seem to fit with corporate strategy, he added.
HSS’ core business is housekeeping and janitorial services for business and vacation hotels and resorts. Its added ability to staff public-facing events like banquets will aid in its penetration of the hotel and resort sector, said McPherson, who joined the company in 2016 from Ohio-based Nesco Resource.
About 25 percent of HSS’ business is outsourcing entire housekeeping or janitorial service departments, providing not just staff but capital equipment as well, he said.
HSS, founded in 1990, is owned by Savannah-based private equity firm Littlejohn Capital LLC, which seeks to make control investments in small- to mid-sized private companies undergoing strategic, operational or generational transitions. Littlejohn recapitalized HSS in 2014, according to a press release.
Many people are attracted to hotels and resorts as places to work. They’re clean, centrally located, and can be a great environment to work in everyday. These are all reasons why people enjoy their hospitality job and are always looking for work. From housekeeping staff to food and beverage, hotel staff jobs are considered the “Heart of the House”. Here are some key ways to get a resort or hotel job:
1.) Get Experience
The more experience you have, the better. Experience can only help you land that hotel staff jobs at the place you desire. But where do you get the experience? The hotel and resort business has a built in tiered system. Higher end hotels demand and get more experienced workers which also means higher pay. You should start at a property that doesn’t require as much experience and work your way up.
2.) Work with an Agency
Many hotels and resorts only work through staffing agencies. For instance, you should visit a staffing agency and describe the kind of work you’d like to find to help you get the job you want. If there’s not an immediate opening, they can help you find a position at a similar hotel or work with you to gain that experience you need to move up in the industry.
3.) Show Up
Believe it or not, showing up on time is often a great first step to a fruitful career in the hotel industry. Timelines are tight in hotels. Rooms need to be cleaned on time. Food needs to be prepped and served on time. Everything is about a schedule. You being there and on time is a huge plus.
4.) Attention to Detail
Hotels and resorts often have certain procedures that they follow each and every time. Showing that you have attention to detail during an interview can help. From the way that you listen to instructions to they way you dress; show that you think about the details that go into your day.
5.) Smile
Working in a hotel is hard work but it can also be fun. There is often a team spirit at a hotel and being cheerful means that your positive attitude is going to affect others. Showing that you have a positive attitude in your interview with a hotel manager or with a staffing agency will be an extra important step in landing those hotel staff jobs.
Want more insights into the Hospitality Industry? Join our mailing list to receive the latest news, helpful tools and special offers. We don't share your information with anyone else and you can opt out anytime.
Many people are attracted to hotels and resorts as places to work. They’re clean, centrally located, and can be a great environment to work in everyday. These are all reasons why people enjoy their hospitality job and are always looking for work. From housekeeping staff to food and beverage, hotel staff jobs are considered the “Heart of the House”. Here are some key ways to get a resort or hotel job:
can help you find a position at a similar hotel or work with you to gain that experience you need to move up in the industry.
Working in a hotel is hard work but it can also be fun. There is often a team spirit at a hotel and being cheerful means that your positive attitude is going to affect others. Showing that you have a positive attitude in your interview with a hotel manager or with a staffing agency will be an extra important step in landing those hotel staff jobs.