Literature Review: The Labor Force in the Hospitality Industry

Literature Review: The Labor Force in the Hospitality Industry

The hospitality industry is one of the most critical sectors of the economy. It generates jobs, income, and tax revenues for the state and local governments. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, an estimated 16 million people were employed in hospitality-related occupations in 2017. This included about 14 million people who worked in hotels and other lodging places, such as campsites or motels; nearly 1.5 million worked for restaurants; and approximately 300,000 for amusement parks and recreation facilities (Sharma and Sharma, 2019). The labor force in this industry is very diverse; it includes hotel managers, front desk clerks, housekeepers, cooks, waiters, and waitresses. The hospitality industry is seasonal with two peaks: during the summer months when people travel and another during the winter when people ski or snowboard. Hotels are busy during these times because they have to provide services to their customers. Therefore, hotels employ many people during their peak seasons. They need to hire more employees than usual because they will be expected to work more hours. For example, a hotel may need to hire more housekeepers to clean all rooms as quickly as possible during peak season before new guests arrive at the hotel. The paper discusses the labor force in hospitality and how seasonality affects it.

Literature Review

The article “The Airbnb Paradox” (Dogru et al., 2020) focuses on the place of Airbnb in the hospitality industry. It is a peer-reviewed article that investigates the impact of Airbnb on employment in hotels. The authors surveyed hoteliers and Airbnb hosts in New York City and London to examine their perceptions about the effects of Airbnb on their business. They also used publicly available data from Yelp, TripAdvisor, and Google Maps to measure average ratings for hotels near the airport and hotels near airports with an airport code that included “LHR” or “JFK.” According to their findings, Airbnb has a positive impact on employment in hotels. The authors found that hoteliers believe that Airbnb increases competition for customers and lowers prices for consumers. Still, they also believe that it has little impact on job creation or profitability. They also discovered that homeowners are hesitant to host out of fear of missing out on potential revenue, but in most cases, hosts do not perceive any negative impact on their jobs as a result of Airbnb competition; instead, the majority of hosts claim they can handle work while still fulfilling other obligations better than before because they have more flexible schedules. On the other hand, Ann, and Blum (2019), evaluated senior employees and their motivation for working in the hospitality industry. They found that most of the senior employees were motivated by the company’s mission and values and opportunities for promotion. The authors found a high turnover rate among young workers who did not stay long with one hotel or even with one job. This may be due to a lack of training or recognition from management. The authors conclude that managers should focus on motivating their employees to work harder and become more productive. In addition, managers should be aware of what motivates each employee to tailor their motivational strategies accordingly.

Furthermore, the hotel sector is an important component of the hospitality industry and significantly impacts the economy. The hospitality business includes hotels, restaurants, cruise ships, and other lodging facilities. The labor force in this industry includes employees who work in these businesses. The article by Bartlett et al., 2016 provides a comprehensive overview of the labor force from a broad perspective, including demographics, skillsets, and education needed for future jobs in this field. The authors argue that hospitality is an ever-changing field with an increased need for skilled workers who can adapt to new technologies and new ways of doing business (Bartlett et al., 2016). They also note that there are many challenges facing the field today, including advances in technology that have created new opportunities and brought with them many challenges. According to Cetron et al., 2020, there is an increasing need for skilled workers due to several factors, including:

●  As a result of globalization, tourism has grown;

●  Increased demand for entertainment venues such as casinos and hotels;

●  An increase in retirees moving into retirement communities which require more services such as health care and entertainment facilities;

●  Growth in technology has transformed how people communicate with each other, including via mobile devices.

One of the main ways hospitality industries adapt is by increasing their use of technology (Cetron et al., 2019). This can include using tablet computers for check-in at hotels or mobile apps such as UberEats or GrubHub to deliver food orders directly to customers’ homes.

The hotel business is one of the most dynamic industries in the world. This may be attributed to rising tourism and worldwide trade. The hospitality industry is a significant source of employment, providing jobs for millions of people across the globe (Gibbs & Slevitch, 2019). The labor force within the hospitality industry is comprised of both permanent and temporary employees. These employees can be classified into different groups based on their level of education or training and their age or gender. In this article, we will focus our attention on seasonal workers and how they are affected by changes in seasonality. Seasonal workers work during specific times of year but not all year round (Fatma et al., 2016). Seasonal workers have little control over their schedules because they only work based on when demand for services increases. Seasonal workers are often subject to having part-time jobs with low wages and few benefits. Seasonality refers to fluctuations in demand for products or services over time due to climate, holidays, or school calendars. Seasonality can affect both supply and demand for goods and services as well. Hospitality is not just limited to hotels and restaurants. Still, it also includes other types of businesses that provide services to the public, such as airlines, cruise lines, casinos, amusement parks, and travel agencies (Kim et al., 2016). The labor force in hospitality is an essential part of the hospitality industry. Hotels must provide their customers with quality service because without them. There would be no one working at these hotels or restaurants. The hotel industry also has many different jobs that need to be filled by people who are well trained to be able to do their job correctly. As Kim et al. (2016) stated, if you want your business to be successful, having good employees is very important because you will not be able to run your business without them.

Consequently, the hospitality industry has always been a labor-intensive one. This is especially true in the hospitality industry of Turkey, which has been a developing country for years. In addition to the workers employed directly in hotels, tens of thousands of people work in related industries such as logistics and transportation, catering and food services, tourism agencies, travel agencies, and tour operators who provide services for foreign tourists. The current state of the Turkish economy is not good. Inflation has reached record levels, and unemployment is on the rise despite all efforts by government institutions to reduce it. There is also a growing concern about foreign tourists visiting Turkey due to negative media coverage (Israeli et al., 2018). As a result, many hotels struggle financially and need all the help they can get from human resources management strategies like employee engagement strategies. The journal article by Hitrec T. (2017) focuses on how hotel and restaurant workers are affected by seasonal variations in employment and wages and how managers can manage their workforce during peak periods to enhance productivity and reduce turnover rates. The research findings indicate that seasonal fluctuations affect both the supply and demand for labor within the hospitality industry. During peak periods, there is an increase in employee demand, which results in higher pay being offered to potential employees.

In contrast, during off-peak times, there is a drop in demand for workers, resulting in lower pay being offered to prospective employees; Individuals are more inclined to leave their jobs when they are dissatisfied with the money they are paid. This leads to increased turnover rates among these hotels or restaurants because unhappy workers feel underpaid for their efforts. Managers should make sure that they have enough staff members on hand, so that customer service does not suffer as a result of this research; It is important that you provide your visitors with easy accessibility to your company. This will ensure they do not miss out on any potential consumers because it is difficult to discover someone.

In conclusion, this paper has discussed the hospitality industry’s labor force, especially the seasonality of the hotels. The labor force in the hospitality industry is comprised of all the people who work in the hotel, including owners, managers, and employees. The labor force is a large part of any business in any industry. Hotel labor is seasonal in that the hospitality industry has high unemployment during the summer months and low unemployment during the holiday season. Therefore, hotels must hire employees willing to work these seasonal shifts. In recent years, there has been considerable concern about how seasonal employment affects individuals who work in hospitality industries such as hotels and resorts. Seasonal employment refers to temporary jobs that require workers to be available only during certain times of the year. This type of employment makes it difficult for workers who rely on these jobs for their livelihoods because they may have difficulty finding permanent work or maintaining. 

References

Ann, S., & Blum, S. C. (2019). Motivating senior employees in the hospitality industry. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management.

Bartlett, K. R., Johnson, K. R., & Schneider, I. E. (2016). Comparing strategic human resource development approaches for tourism and hospitality workforce planning. Journal of Human Resources in Hospitality & Tourism, 15(4), 440-461.

Cetron, M. J., Davies, O., DeMicco, F., & Song, M. (2020). Shaping the future of hospitality and travel: trends in energy, environmental, and labour force and work. International Hospitality Review.

Dogru, T., Mody, M., Suess, C., McGinley, S., & Line, N. D. (2020). The Airbnb paradox: Positive employment effects in the hospitality industry. Tourism Management, 77, 104001.

Fatma, I. K. A., Kadir, S. A., Sariman, T. A. M., & Yuliana, S. (2016). Analysis of Wage and Labor Productivity in the Hospitality Industry. International Journal of Scientific and Research Publications, 6(8).

Gibbs, L., & Slevitch, L. (2019). Integrating technical and emotional competencies in hospitality education. Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Education, 31(2), 99-110.

Hitrec, T. (2017). Journal review: Journal of Human Resources in Hospitality & Tourism. Tourism: An International Interdisciplinary Journal, 65(4), 509-509.

Israeli, A., Kırlar Can, B., Ertaş, M., Sel, Z. G., & Tütüncü, Ö. (2018). Hospitality crisis management in Turkey: a comparative approach.

Kim, W. G., Choi, H. M., & Li, J. J. (2016). Antecedents and outcomes of migrant workers’ sociocultural adjustment in the hospitality industry. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 58, 1-12.

Sharma, S., & Sharma, R. (2019). Culinary skills: the spine of the Indian hospitality industry: Is the available labour being skilled appropriately to be employable?. Worldwide Hospitality and Tourism Themes.