NEWS


corridors, the hotel experience, tourism sustainability and the recruitment market EMPLOYMENT EXPERTS


RESORT HOTELIERS


Mandy Kalliontzi


Travel


Barbara Kolosinska


Travlaw’s Matt


Gatenby


Claire Steiner


Eleni Andreadis


Weekly’s Katie


McGonagle


Ami Naru


Recruiters say sector ‘will need good talent’ again


T


ravel staff made redundant or fearing for their job security are “not alone” and should not give


up hope of re-employment in the sector, experts told a C&M Travel Recruitment Candidate Webinar. C&M Travel Recruitment


director Barbara Kolosinska admitted the pandemic had been “dire” for travel recruitment. “We went from 1,000 vacancies to zero,” she said. “It was the most challenging three months of my career.” But she said the situation was


starting to improve amid signs of recovery, particularly for vacancies in the domestic and luxury sectors. Jobs were “beginning to trickle


back”, she said, predicting that redundancies would lessen once quarantine was lifted. But travel management companies


and long-haul operators could take longer to recover, she warned. Travlaw partner and head of


employment Ami Naru said “it will get worse before it gets better” but that “employers are desperately trying to keep staff”.


travelweekly.co.uk She urged staff to talk to


employers about alternative solutions such as a salary reduction, reduced hours, unpaid leave or a sabbatical. “A lot of people [on furlough]


have taken it very negatively but they have been put on furlough because employers don’t want to get rid of them,” she said. “On furlough you are still an employee.” HR specialist Claire Steiner, UK


director of Global Travel & Tourism Partnership, urged employees not to give up hope. “It is not personal to you, it’s


about protecting the business,” she said. “We will get to the stage of rehiring. Because of the situation we are all in, you are not alone.” She encouraged employees to “be


brave” and apply for jobs they might not previously have considered. “Opportunities come from


adversity,” she added. “You might have to leave the industry; we hope you will come back in. There is a war on talent out there. Our wonderful industry is just on pause; we will need good talent [in future]. Please take heart; there will be opportunities.”


Sean Moriarty


‘The hotel experience this year will offer huge value’


R


esort-based holidays could offer better value for money this year thanks to greater


privacy, increased staff-to-guest ratios and more à la carte dining, according to some of the trade’s top-selling short-haul hotels. Sean Moriarty, chief executive


of Quinta do Lago in the Algarve, said: “The entire region is stepping up. You’re going to have service better than ever before; you’re going to have more staff; there are going to be no queues – it’s probably going to be a greater leisure and luxury holiday than you’ve ever experienced, so there’s going to be huge value for money this year.” Two of Sani Resort’s five hotels


– Porto Sani and Sani Asteria, in Halkidiki – were set to reopen on July 1, with occupancy limited to 65% capacity. Head of sustainability Eleni


Andreadis said: “Our main challenge has been to reassure guests that the Sani experience is going to be just as good and possibly even


More staff, no queues – you’re going to have better service than ever before


better, because there will be an even greater sense of privacy.” The resorts will test staff and


guests, deep-clean sunbeds and other areas, update its app with restaurant menus to minimise contact, reduce spa slots to allow for 30 minutes’ cleaning between appointments, and move kids’ clubs and sporting activities outdoors. Aldemar Hotels, which has five


properties and sources 10% of its guests from the UK, was due this week to reopen Knossos Royal in Crete and Olympian Village in the mainland Peloponnese region. Commercial director Mandy


Kalliontzi said served buffets would help guests “feel safe”, while saunas, hammams and gyms would reopen but spa treatments would be limited to private cabins.


2 JULY 2020


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