What to Do When Your Hotel Is Short-Staffed

A short-staffed hotel can lead to stressed employees, reduced quality of services, and ultimately negative guest experiences. Take the following steps as a hiring manager to get your hotel staff back on track when you’re low on workers.

Plan for Staffing Shortages

Plan to prevent serious understaffing issues and guest complaints. If you’re anything less than 100% certain of the loyalty and availability of your hospitality staff, prepare your hotel for the possibility of last-minute employee drop-outs or scheduling changes. Planning can save you from staffing emergencies and the issues that can come with being short-handed – especially around holidays and events.

Take Immediate Action

The moment you realize your hotel isn’t going to have enough employees to cover a shift, act fast to save the situation. Immediate fill-ins are available through the right staffing solution. At CBS Staffing, for example, we hire and train the team members you need. That way, they’re ready to work on short notice. You can focus on managing your staff while we take care of understaffing emergencies with instant, high-quality employees.

Perform Damage Control

If you’re short-staffed and in a serious managerial pickle, don’t worry. There are ways to make the most of an understaffed team while you wait for reinforcements without negative impacts on your guests. Prioritize the services that absolutely must have manpower – the most urgent situations such as handling guest complaints and attending rooms. Then, put the right people on these jobs to handle them efficiently and effectively. Emphasize the importance of teamwork and communication during staffing shortages.

Prioritize Customer Service

A short-staffed hotel can become a serious issue when customers catch wind of what is happening. If understaffing leads to poor customer service, your hotel can suffer the most business damage. Make guest services a priority when you’re low on staff, assigning fill-ins to take over other guest-related jobs for the day if necessary. Cross-train your staff for just such emergencies.

Partner With a Trusted Hospitality Staffing Agency

The best thing you can do to protect your hotel as a hiring manager is partnering with a trusted hospitality staffing solution. CBS Staffing can provide quick solutions to short-staffed hotels, supplying high-quality, well-trained, and efficient employees to fill in staffing gaps right away. Our hospitality job categories include room attendants, floor supervisors, housemen, lobby and laundry attendants, janitorial staff and supervisors, stewards, prep cooks, banquet staff, porters, and hotel engineers.

Before a bad Yelp review can put a dent in your monthly revenue, solve understaffing problems with help from a trusted hospitality industry staffing solution: CBS Staffing. We can fill in your hospitality staffing gaps. Contact us today to discuss your immediate and long-term staffing needs.