If you’re a short-term rental host, you’ve probably noticed that the hospitality industry desperately needs labor. Unfortunately, the hospitality shortage has become a real problem, with short-term rental businesses struggling to find qualified staff.

Fortunately, there are ways to overcome this hospitality shortage as a short-term rental host. This article will discuss strategies to successfully navigate the hospitality shortage and continue to provide your guests with excellent hospitality services.

Host Tools provides an automated, unified calendar for short-term rental hosts, allowing you to seamlessly list on all major channels. Start your free trial today!

What Caused the Hospitality Shortage?

It is no secret that the Covid-19 pandemic shifted how we work forever. Folks jumped onto the “Great Resignation” train, leaving hospitality positions in their wake. The hospitality sector is still struggling to hire new staff a few years later. Additionally, the rise of remote work has made hospitality jobs less attractive as potential employees opt for remote work/life balance.

How Does Hospitality Shortage Affect Short-Term Rental Hosts?

It’s obvious that fewer people looking for work means fewer qualified candidates. But what does this mean for you as a vacation rental owner?

It means that top-notch guest experiences will be more challenging to provide.

As a result, you may experience the following:

Loss of income

Finding staff to clean and prepare your rentals between guests might take longer, leading to fewer bookings. If you can’t get your property cleaned immediately, it means you may have to block off your booking calendar for days.

An increase in recruiting costs

Glassdoor says it costs over $4,000 and requires 24 days of training to fully onboard a new employee. With a rotating door of low-quality staff, short-term rental hosts may find themselves spending too much money and time recruiting staff rather than focusing on creating a guest experience.

A decrease in guest experience

As hospitality workers become harder to find, vacation rental hosts may experience more negative reviews as they struggle with turnover and inconsistency in staff performance. Without top-notch hospitality personnel, it becomes difficult to consistently provide a guest experience of Superhost quality.

8 Ways to Beat the Hospitality Shortage

1. Automate your listing with Host Tools

Host Tools make life easier for hosts by automating nearly all of your hospitality tasks. Hosts can set up automated check-ins, keyless entry systems, automated communication with guests, and manage cleaners.

2. Use a professional cleaning service

With Host Tools, you can integrate with professional cleaning companies like TIDY or Turno (formerly TurnoverBnb). Working with a professional cleaning company is a wise way to combat the hospitality shortage because a backup cleaner will be provided if your regular cleaner can’t make it.

3. Create additional streams of income

To help maintain your income, consider additional ways you make a dollar. For example, offering upsells like late check-out is an easy way to add a few extra dollars to a stay. Or, offer hospitality airport transfers or a luxury breakfast. Of course, if you’re suffering from a labor shortage, you, as a host, may need to step up and complete these tasks instead of a property manager.

4. Invest in your employees

If you find a high-quality employee who you really love, you want to find ways to ensure they stick around. Investing in hospitality personnel is a great way to ensure they stay around. Offer bonuses, incentives, and benefits to make them feel like an integral part of your hospitality team. Another great option is to provide upskilling opportunities like conferences where employees can connect with other industry professionals and improve their craft.

5. Build your brand

Creating a brand is important to differentiate yourself from competitors and build loyalty with hospitality personnel. Having a vision, mission statement, and company culture (no matter how small your team is) can make it easier to find quality hospitality personnel, and keep them around for the long term.

6. Invest in your local community

If you partner with local coffee shops and restaurants for your guests, consider working with your partners to provide employee benefits for your staff. For example, offer discounts to hospitality personnel if they visit your partner’s coffee shops. This simple gesture can help hospitality personnel feel valued and appreciated, which may make them more likely to stay with you for the long haul.

7. Be flexible

Allow hospitality personnel to work alternate shifts or take on part-time roles. Finding hospitality personnel willing to work around your schedule can be a challenge, so it’s important to offer flexibility in terms of scheduling. Obviously, with cleaning a rental unit, some tasks need to be completed during certain times, but if you can provide flexible shifts, personnel may be more excited to work with you.

8. Offer competitive wages

Another great way to beat hospitality shortages is by offering competitive wages for hospitality staff. This can help ensure you attract the best hospitality personnel in your area, and it may even help keep them around for the long term.

Final Thoughts

Quality hospitality personnel is essential to providing Superhost-quality hospitalityservices, and with hospitality shortages becoming more commonplace, hosts need to remember these eight ways to beat the hospitality shortage:

• Automating hospitality tasks with Host Tools

• Using professional cleaning services

• Creating additional streams of income

• Investing in employees

• Building your brand

• Investing in your local community

• Being flexible

• Offering competitive wages

With the right mix of hospitality solutions, hosts can create a hospitality team that provides an A+ experience for their guests.

Host Tools provides an automated, unified calendar for short-term rental hosts, allowing you to seamlessly list on all major channels. Start your free trial today!