HOSPA
and desire to implement new working models and adaptable shifts
now common across the industry. For many businesses, Thursday has become the new Friday as remote workers extend their weekends, and this shift has reshaped the patterns of leisure and corporate hospitality alike. Although tricky for many front-facing team members to work from home, it is now a lot more acceptable – and even expected – to complete desk- based projects from the relative quiet of a home office. Employers have also embraced more flexible and part- time working/job sharing than ever before. Mental health awareness has also risen to the forefront of workplace priorities, driven by younger generations who value wellness and balance over-rigid schedules. Employers are increasingly focusing on fostering positive workplace cultures, and inspirational leadership is more important than ever in recruiting and retaining top talent in a competitive labour market that has a different expectation from previous generations. Yet, staffing shortages remain a significant challenge. As a sector, we were still reeling from the impact of Brexit, which restricted our access to the excellent talent pools on the continent where hospitality is well regarded as a vocation as opposed to a stop gap job, when the pandemic emerged to compound it. With seemingly endless rounds of lockdowns and an uncertain future, many talented individuals chose to leave the industry to pursue other paths, and this is something that still has an impact. Our talent pipelines remain strained, particularly for skilled roles such as chefs. The industry is working hard to address this, from offering enhanced training programmes to positioning hospitality as a desirable, long-term career – but considerable work remains for us to do.
The role of technology
The pandemic turbocharged the adoption of technology in hospitality, with robotic process automation (RPA) and artificial intelligence (AI) playing transformative roles. RPA and AI is now used for everything from labour scheduling and fraud detection to personalised guest interactions. Chatbots, for example, provide instant responses to booking inquiries, while AI-driven analytics offer deeper insights into customer preferences. Without the pandemic, the adaptability
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innovations may not have been as great. However, despite its huge benefits to productivity, technology is not a one-size-fits-all solution. Guests have diverse expectations: some prefer the efficiency of digital check-ins, while others cherish the personal touch of a warm greeting. Striking the right balance between automation and human interaction is critical – especially for an industry such as hospitality, which is built on catering for others’ needs. The pandemic, as well as making operators more open has also opened the minds of guests, too. In an ideal world though, the guest should be able to choose their level of interaction with either a human or a machine. Despite these rapid advancements, access to technology is still easier for the larger establishments and groups. Smaller operators, often constrained by budgetary limitations, face the challenge of implementing advanced technologies that keep up with the bigger hospitality brands, though accessible, cost- effective options are emerging that will help level the playing field to some extent.
Economic recovery
The post-pandemic recovery has been a rollercoaster. Initial fears of prolonged downturns were mitigated by ‘revenge spending’, as cash-rich customers eagerly returned to hospitality venues throughout 2022 and
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