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How should you select seasonal staff for your property?

The tourism industry, which keeps developing each day, does not have to rely on specific seasons for more business anymore. Businesses are busy in all seasons, while new hotels with thousands of bed capacity are opened each year. The ever-growing chains of the industry host more domestic and international guests as the traveling options have developed.

With all these developments, the industry has become an attractive venue of business for many people. Seasonal workers are needed especially during the periods when the number of regular staff members are not sufficient to handle the busy times.

So, which qualifications are required for a seasonal worker? The answer is in our article.

Seasonal jobs refer to jobs in the property that are intense during peak seasons and hardly or by no means needed during other times, a cycle which is repeated regularly. Seasonal workers are involved in any kind of activities intended to serve local and foreign tourists, including hotel businesses making profits only in the winter or summer, restaurants, the food industry, summer schools, swimming pools and yacht tourism. This leads the properties to revise their HR and CR polices.

How should the relations with seasonal workers and customers be managed and what should be considered when dealing with newly-recruited workers within the ever-growing tourism industry?

Qualifications of a seasonal worker

Young and dynamic personality is among the primary criteria for a staff member that will work in the tourism industry seasonally. Above all, background and internship experience also do matter. Therefore, graduates from tourism schools are within the more preferred group as they are one step ahead of their peers who are not. In addition to all these qualifications, speaking a foreign language is a must in the tourism industry, while speaking more than one foreign language brings a huge advantage.

The advantages of educated and experienced workers

Studying at a tourism school or being a graduate is a significant criterion for the HR management of a property. Students who have the chance to become interns while studying can grasp the subtle aspects of the industry and become effective assistants in seasonal work. While more experienced ones are preferred in this industry, those without any experience can be hired by determining how ambitious they are and considering their knowledge and interests, but it is critical to assess applicant motivation across all recruitment stages.

Can your staff members communicate with your guests?

As hotel staff, you should always have sound relations with your guests staying at your property as part of your business.  But how can you introduce your corporate culture to your seasonal workers consisting mostly of young people. The level and form of customer relations can be taught by the hotel management to seasonal workers with constant trainings, published manuals and procedures, yet this should be conducted within the frame of a regular and disciplined schedule.

Determining and managing the mostly-inexperienced seasonal workforce has its own kind of challenges. Customer relations management undoubtedly affects your hotel’s reputation, so it is critical to properly analyze how motivated a person you plan to hire for your team is. Why do they want to work with you? Do they aim to become permanent in this industry? What type of advantages that you will offer them alongside the remuneration will appeal to them?

Naturally, your visitors seek for the best quality service from your property. Your property management team’s willpower is a determining factor in your staff members’ relations with your customers, and it is in your hands to pass this knowledge onto your staff in the best way possible and ensure that they are trained accordingly. With its knowhow and experience, HotelRunner is there to help you conclude the season with your customers satisfied. You can sign up for our website, become online immediately and start discovering our services.

Rıza Kaynak

Director of Demand

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