The competition and struggle to secure staffing in the hotel and hospitality industry is a “battle for bodies,” according to Kate Nicholls, chief executive of UKHospitality, the United Kingdom’s principal industry membership body.
Speaking on a panel at Westminster Kingsway College in London, Nicholls said to hire the people it needs, the U.K. hospitality industry must be “relentlessly positive and optimistic” about the benefits, flexibility, upward progression and good pay it can and does provide.
According to Nicholls, in the U.K. approximately 20% of revenue, more than 20 billion pounds sterling ($25.2 billion), is being lost due to a lack of staffing.
Panelists said employment success stories need to be told, young people are the ones to relay to other young people the benefits of a career in hospitality and one, united voice is needed across the industry to get the message out.
In the U.K., the combination of Brexit and COVID-19 have accentuated staffing issues, which…