3 challenges for the hospitality industry in 2023

The job market in 2022 was unpredictable, to say the least.  All industries had to compete for talent, inflation reached a 40-year high, and despite the looming threat of a worldwide recession, the market regularly saw job increases well above what economists predicted, and the unemployment rate in America dropped to 3.7 percent.  During the onset of the pandemic, few industries were impacted as much as the hospitality industry. This led to a swift rebound after vaccines became widely available and economies started to recover. Now, three years removed from...

Your employee handbook should be a living document. Now is the time for your business to review its company policies to make sure they are still up to date and in alignment with local, state and federal laws.  HERE ARE 5 KEY EMPLOYEE HANDBOOK UPDATES YOU NEED TO ADDRESS IN 2023.  1. DEI AND THE CROWN ACT.  Diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) has been a hot-button topic for employers for a long time. However, in 2023, many organizations may need to create or update specific policies (including grooming and dress...

One of the most practical ways to take care of your employees during hard economic times is to make sure you have cash reserves on hand to pay them.  If you have six months of operating expenses saved up, you can ensure that when something such as a recession happens you can take care of your employees.  Business owners should work this into their business plan. Putting money aside can be difficult when you feel the pressures of increased costs and lower revenue, but ultimately having those reserves on hand...

There are a lot of conflicting reports about the state of the current job market and its impact on a recession.  We have started to see a slight uptick in the unemployment rate and a growing trend of layoffs and hiring freezes from large corporations across the U.S.  Implementing a hiring freeze is a big decision for any business owner. Many businesses have struggled to find talent to fill crucial roles over the past two years, so while you might still need the help, ultimately you’ll need to look at your bottom line and...

The current market has created several challenges for many industries, but few have been hit as hard as the assisted living industry.  According to a National Health Care Association March 2022 report, nursing homes have lost 241,000 caregivers since the start of the pandemic, and the entire long-term care industry is facing a 15-year labor low.  This, along with additional cost burden, new technologies and a lack of the right-fit staff, makes this a challenging industry to find full-time staff. We’ve broken down some of the reasons why the industry is...

For many, the end of the year and the holiday season can be “the most wonderful time of the year,” but for business leaders and managers, the holiday season can add even more stress to their busy schedules.  HERE ARE SOME TIPS TO HELP MANAGERS GET THROUGH THE HOLIDAY SEASON THIS YEAR: MANAGING TIME-OFF REQUESTS  It goes without saying, you’re going to be getting many additional time-off requests during the holiday season. Whether that’s because people are wanting to use up all of their vacations before the start of the...

The hiring market has shown signs of slowing down with its most recent jobs report, but unemployment dropped yet again—this data coming before the impact on the market felt by Hurricane Ian.  While job creation has slowed, and many large corporations have begun shoring up their labor force or initiating a hiring freeze, the same can’t be said for small businesses as they are still actively looking to fill positions.  KEY FACTS When job growth slows, that’s an indicator that the labor market is cooling off. This has been supported...

The talent shortage for hourly workers is unlike anything that’s ever been seen before in America. This was exacerbated by COVID-19 and the “Great Resignation” or “Great Reshuffle,” which saw millions quit their jobs in hopes of pursuing something else. What ensued was a significant skills gap and talent crisis among hourly employees that left companies scrambling to fill vacancies. And there’s a lot of them. Each day, nearly 58% of America’s workforce wakes up and goes to work at an hourly job, and these jobs had high turnover rates even pre-pandemic. ...

We know that health insurance can be expensive, and finding the right health insurance for your employees isn’t easy.  There are a lot of different choices out there for insurance providers and insurance plans, and employee health insurance will always be something that’s top of mind for small to midsize business owners—especially as the U.S. eyes a potential economic recession, businesses can start to look for any possible way to save money while still offering the best to their employees.  In addition to being expensive, health insurance is also often...

This tight job market seemingly won’t let up.  Many economists saw a previous drop in the job openings in June and said this revealed early signs of recession and signaled a “cooling down” of the job market. But then the Bureau of Labor Statistics released its latest Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) on Aug. 30, which pretty much reversed those predictions, showing an uptick in job openings on the last day of July.  There were other signs too, though. Layoffs in the tech industry spooked other industries and...