A shortage of staff mean some hotel rooms can't be serviced. Photo / File
Hotels say they are short close to 2700 workers and have to limit rooms as restaurants plead for tens of thousands of Kiwis to join that industry.
And today the National Party launched a petition to turn up pressure on the Government over what it says is a critical shortage of workers in tourism and hospitality which it says risks undermining the experience of visitors and leaves struggling businesses poorer.
Hotel Council Aotearoa said the country’s 360 hotels need 2670 more workers to operate at full capacity.
The typical 100-room hotel in New Zealand has 7.5 staff vacancies, on average. This is on top of shortages being experienced in other forms of accommodation, including motels, holiday parks and backpacker lodges.
The council says, pre-Covid, 27,318 people were employed in New Zealand’s tourist accommodation sector, but that figure dropped by 54 per cent in the first 12 months after border restrictions began, according to the government’s Tourism Satellite Account.
“Hotel teams have done an extraordinary job of keeping the lights on,” said the council’s strategic director James Doolan.
“Hotel leaders are deeply concerned about staff burnout and service failures.”
Hotels that are physically isolated in destinations with low permanent populations are among the worst affected. Some hotels have reported operating at 30 per cent below pre-Covid workforce levels.
In response to worker shortages, hotels have been forced to temporarily close restaurants, adjust room-cleaning schedules, stop offering room service or even limit the number of rooms sold on some nights of the week.
“These measures are heartbreaking for an industry still trying to earn its way out of trouble after the Covid pandemic, closed borders and lockdowns,” said Doolan.
Wages have increased substantially since pre-Covid and some hotel sector employers are offering help with accommodation, incentive bonuses and other benefits to attract people willing to move for work, he said.
The Restaurant Association today said the recovering industry estimates that a further 30,000 workers are still needed to in restaurants cafes and bars, across the summer months.
“We’re calling on any Kiwis who might want to earn a bit of extra money over the next few months to give hospo a go,” said Marisa Bidois, the association’s chief executive.
National’s tourism spokesperson Todd McClay said critical staff shortages meant hotel rooms won’t be cleaned, restaurant tables will be empty, and people will be waiting for hours because businesses don’t have the staff they need.
Working on figures from across the tourism and hospitality, businesses are short 65,000 workers this summer, with the number expected to grow.
The party has launched a “Where are our workers this summer” petition calling for the public to show support for the sector. It would be forwarded to relevant ministers.
“National would have listened to the sector when they first raised concerns and freed up immigration settings earlier to meet the predicted labour shortages,” said McClay.
A spokeswoman for Tourism Minister Stuart Nash said he was travelling today and couldn’t directly respond to National’s claims.
However, she directed the Herald to a September speech where he announced a further $2 million (on top of $5.2m over the past three years) to Go with Tourism, which helps attract and match potential employees with employers in the tourism and hospitality sector.
In November, Immigration Minister Michael Wood said workers were returning.
“Over 17,000 working holiday visitors have now arrived in country, out of the 36,000 approved since March, providing much need labour during a time of global shortage,” he said.
Since the beginning of November, there had been weekly arrivals of more than 1200 visa holders. Monthly arrivals have built, from 1000 in July to more than 4000 in October, he said.