Today, as part of our weekly blog series, Good Works and Great Ideas, which we publish every Friday, we focus on how hoteliers are strengthening their hospitality network and using it to assist employees affected by COVID-19. We also discuss the latest insights into how you can adapt your business as we shift into a new normal of meetings and events, and look towards the hospitality industry recovery.
Good Works: Discover how hotels and organizations are creating a hospitality network around the world
As great ideas help to restart group business, good works help us survive and stay positive during times of struggle. This week, our good works focus on how hotels and organizations are stepping up to help hospitality workers who may have been furloughed or laid off with opportunities for professional development or employment.
1. Hilton and Wyndham help furloughed workers with access to other jobs
Furloughed Hilton employees in the United States were given access to an online resource center and expedited hiring process at companies like Amazon and CVS, which are planning to hire short-term workers to address increase in demands due to the pandemic.
"The recognized quality of our team members, including their hospitality and service culture training, make them ideal candidates to quickly step in and assist organizations in these temporary assignments," said Nigel Glennie, vice president of corporate communication at Hilton, in an interview with USA TODAY. "We hope to expand the program globally, adding more companies, and we plan to welcome these team members back when travel resumes."
Similarly, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts has partnered with organizations across the country to give employees access to job opportunities in industries such as retail, grocery, and senior living. Through the partnership, employees whose positions were furloughed or eliminated can find work at places like Amazon, Walgreens, Walmart, Lowe’s, and others. Wyndham is also working with the American Hotel and Lodging Association (AHLA) and the AHLA Foundation to find and make available other opportunities on the AHLA website.
Get started building a hospitality network today!
2. Global Meetings Industry Day goes virtual
Meeting Professionals International hosted a 12-hour event for 11,000 meetings and events professionals around the world. The program focused on education, inspiration, and networking during the pandemic. The event functioned as a resource pool to connect members and non-members with professional development and education, panel discussions, and conversations on recovery.
In total, MPI delivered 18 education sessions centered on topics relevant to addressing the COVID-19 pandemic — like crisis communications, business agility, virtual event planning, and sustainability. Attendees were also provided with eligibility to get 12 certification hours.
3. Hotel employees learn new skills from home
The Hamilton Hotel in Washington, D.C. has remained open during the pandemic, and most employees are splitting their time between working at the property and working from home. While at home, they’re participating in training programs through the newly established Hamilton University.
Courses include training in food and beverage, safe serving and food handling practices, guest-interfacing skills, and learning second languages through Rosetta Stone. The program was designed to keep the hotel’s staff engaged (and employed) during the pandemic, and to give employees the chance to feel invested in their careers and their future with the Hamilton.
Great Ideas: Explore how hoteliers can get involved and build a resilient hospitality network of their own
Great ideas empower us to thrive and move toward a better day. Building a powerful hospitality network for your employees and connecting them with the tools they need to succeed is an important element of resilience and recovery. We’ll highlight a few ways hoteliers can provide resources for their employees affected by furloughs and layoffs, and offer a few more examples of other hotels putting these ideas in practice.
1. Offer education and training
If providing your own courses and curriculum like the Hamilton Hotel isn’t a possibility for you, refer your employees to external resources and help them seek out additional opportunities for professional development. There are many online courses and programs hospitality employees can participate in to further their education and careers – some available at no cost. For example:
- Alison.com offers a free online course in hospitality management. It’s an entry-level course, but don’t let that fool you – it’s about 80 hours of coursework. When complete, participants can choose to purchase the official diploma to include on their resumé.
- Oxford Home Study Centre offers a short course in hotel management, also free of charge. It’s completely online and is about 20 hours of coursework. Main topics of study include an introduction to hotel management, an overview of key front desk operations, and the responsibilities of the housekeeping department.
Hotelier tip: Help employees further their professional development by either providing your own in-house training program or connecting them with other available online courses and resources. Empower your employees and help them pad their resumes, so they can further their careers or find alternate employment. The Cvent Community is a great place to connect and network with your peers and grow your industry expertise with dedicated training. We are currently offering free Cvent Certifications online to all event and hospitality industry professionals who could benefit from the opportunity to demonstrate their expertise and expand their skills.
2. Connect employees with alternative work
The most important thing a hotel can do for furloughed or laid off employees is to help them find work. Fortunately, you don’t have to be a large company, like Hilton or Wyndham, to make a difference.
The AHLA connects hospitality professionals with employers hiring for temporary positions in a variety of companies. AHLA has also provided a COVID-19 resource page and its Hospitality for Hope Initiative, both aimed at providing information and opportunities for hotels and employees during this time.
Hospitality Link is a free job site that lists roles in stores and companies that are looking for help from trained hospitality professionals. JobGet is another app that helps hospitality workers find and apply for new jobs.
After initial layoffs, The Springs Resort & Spa in Pagosa Springs, Colorado was able to rehire some of its staff to do project work, like sewing masks and upgrading the resort’s health and wellness offerings. The Springs is also guiding staff through how to apply for emergency benefits. Management has met with employees one-on-one to provide support, and has established an emergency phone line and texting platform. Hotel cars are made available to employees with urgent needs.
Hotelier tip: Provide your staff with project work, if applicable, to prepare for operations when your hotel reopens. Point them to online job boards and leverage the resources on AHLA’s website to assist them in finding temporary employment and managing their situation.
3. Provide hospitality networking opportunities
Host online networking events or virtual happy hours to help employees make connections with influential people in the industry, or assist them in finding another job, if needed. Networking at an event that is not face-to-face can be a challenge, but there are a few tools that can help to better facilitate this in a virtual event.
An app called Remo is like a virtual cocktail hour. Attendees can join “tables” in the virtual banquet room, which goes to a live video chat with whoever else is at the “table.” Another app called Hopin is used for a speed networking-type experience. The app randomly connects two participants into a live, timed video chat, where they can choose to exchange contact information before being connected with other participants. An article from Associations Now also suggests hosting a series of virtual lounges, where people are free to jump in and out. Each lounge can have different facilitators – like staff, speakers, and other volunteers – to keep the conversation going, as well as different topics of conversation for each room.
Or, consider sending out a weekly round-up of upcoming webinars in the industry and networking opportunities in the area. Some interesting webinars are:
- The Cvent Source: Group Business Insights, a webinar series which next streams on June 12, is based on proprietary data from the Cvent Supplier Network (CSN), overall meetings and events trends, and observations from proven third-party experts in the hospitality space. It also include inspiring stories about the good works and great ideas currently driving the hospitality community forward — just like the ones mentioned in this post.
- ROC@Home Live on June 17 is an opportunity for hotel revenue professionals to reset, refocus, and reenergize, with a toolkit to guide engagement with your team and regional live expert sessions. Join a global community of hospitality leaders who make revenue recovery their top priority.
- Travel’s Path Forward: Hotels is an on-demand recording of the online event from Skift. Hear from industry leaders, Skift editors, and research analysts about how hotels can prepare for recovery and how the industry may change. Skift also has The Longview with Rafat Ali, which is a livestream event every Friday at 3 p.m. featuring conversations on the global travel industry and how to find opportunities in these times.
Hotelier tip: Schedule virtual happy hours and hospitality networking events for your staff with influencers in the industry. Helping foster those connections can put employees on a path to recovery and learning new skills. Communicate upcoming webinars of interest and share any local networking opportunities with your employees.
4. Set up a relief fund
Many hotels and brands have acted swiftly to help their staff members financially during this time. Many have established their own funds in order to assist employees affected by the pandemic. Here are a few examples:
- In April, Accor announced the creation of the ALL Heartist Fund, which devotes funds to those employees experiencing financial stress due to COVID-19. Other hotel brands have established their own similar funds. MGM Resorts pledged $1 million to its own emergency relief fund to provide employees and their families with short-term assistance during unexpected hardships and emergencies.
- The Hyatt Care Fund provides grants and prioritizes employees who are not working and are not eligible for government assistance. Through these grants, employees are able to pay for rent, groceries, childcare, and other monthly payments. Initial contributions came from the Hyatt Hotels Foundation, salary reductions of Hyatt’s senior leadership team and Board of Directors, and donations from Pritzker family foundations.
Hotelier tip: If you’re able, consider setting up a fund to assist employees with short-term grants while they grapple with any financial hardships. Or, something as simple as offering free meals or groceries, or small grants to assist with rent or utilities, can go a long way. AHLA’s Hospitality for Hope Initiative is a good alternative place to point if something like this isn’t doable for your hotel.
Use this hospitality network information to help employees!
Up next, discover some tips for working remotely in the hospitality industry, and learn all about the future of safe meetings and events. And be sure to check back next Friday for the latest edition of our blog series, Good Works and Great Ideas.
