How to leverage financial benefits to retain hotel talent now.
By Phil Mark
Ever feel like you’re playing whack-a-mole with staffing issues? One minute you’re celebrating a fully booked weekend, the next you’re scrambling to cover a no-show or onboarding yet another new hire. For hotel owners, especially franchisees, the daily grind of managing a workforce can feel like a constant battle against high turnover, endless payroll complexities, and the never-ending search for reliable talent.
But what if there was a way to flip the script? To transform these pain points into powerful opportunities for growth, stability, and even excitement within your team? It’s not a fantasy – it’s a strategic shift that savvy hoteliers are already embracing to build stronger, happier, and more productive workforces.
The Silent Drain
Employee turnover is more than just a number; it’s a significant drain on resources. The true cost of turnover includes:
- Recruitment costs: Advertising, interviewing, background checks – it all adds up. 4 can lead to decreased service quality and frustrated guests.
- Training time: Every new hire requires hours of your valuable time, or your managers’ time, to get them up to speed. That’s time you could be spending on guest experience, marketing, or strategic planning.
- Lost productivity: A new employee isn’t immediately as efficient as a seasoned veteran. Gaps in staffing can lead to decreased service quality and frustrated guests.
- Morale impact: Constant churn can create instability and lower morale among existing team members, leading to a vicious cycle.
For a busy hotel owner, this cycle feels exhausting. You’re constantly pouring energy and money into replacing employees, rather than investing in the ones you have.
Reclaiming Time
Beyond turnover, there’s the hidden time sink of payroll management. While essential, it often consumes more resources than it should.
Manual timecard adjustments, missed punches, and disputes can lead to hours of administrative work for payroll teams, creating opportunities for inaccuracies and an insurmountable volume of small, time-consuming tasks.
Employees facing unexpected expenses often turn to their employers for early access to their pay. While hotel owners want to support their teams, these ad-hoc requests can disrupt payroll processes and create extra work.
What could your payroll department achieve if they weren’t constantly putting out fires related to time and pay? More strategic financial planning? Improved budgeting? Better focus on employee benefits administration? The possibilities are endless when you streamline these core functions.
The Power of Financial Flexibility
How can hoteliers tackle these challenges head-on? The answer lies in offering employees greater financial flexibility and control over their hard-earned money. This is where modern solutions, such as on-demand pay and comprehensive financial wellness benefits, come into play.
Most hotel employees live paycheck to paycheck. An unexpected car repair, a medical bill, or even just a mid-month grocery run can put a strain on their finances. Waiting two weeks for their next payday isn’t just an inconvenience; it can be a source of significant stress.
Offering a benefit that allows employees to access their earned wages when they need them immediately addresses a critical pain point in their lives. This isn’t a loan – it’s their money, available on demand.
For hotel owners, this leads to:
- Boosted recruitment: In today’s competitive labor market, unique and valuable benefits stand out. Offering immediate access to earned pay is a powerful differentiator that attracts top talent. It shows you genuinely care about your employees’ financial well-being.
- Reduced turnover: When employees feel financially secure and supported, they’re more likely to stay. They know they can cover an emergency without resorting to high-interest loans or feeling desperate. This builds loyalty and helps reduce the constant churn.
- Improved timeclock compliance: When employees know their earned wages are accessible, they have a stronger incentive to punch in and out accurately. This means fewer manual adjustments for your payroll team, leading to higher timeclock compliance and greater efficiency.
- Fewer payroll advance requests: A structured, easy-to-use system for accessing earned pay eliminates the need for those disruptive, one-off payroll advance requests. Payroll teams can focus on their core responsibilities, saving valuable time and reducing administrative burden.
Global Reach, Local Impact
For many hotels, a significant portion of the workforce sends money abroad to support their families. This can be a complex, costly, and time-consuming process using traditional methods.
Certain payroll benefits allow employees to send money to loved ones, directly from their earned wages with just a few taps on their phone.
Employees can support their families abroad with ease and peace of mind. Lower fees and better exchange rates compared to traditional remittance services mean more money reaches your employees’ loved ones. Plus, team members will no longer have to make a trip to a money transfer agent or deal with complicated paperwork. It’s all integrated into their financial wellness platform.
These benefits are more than a perk; they’re a profound demonstration of your commitment to your international employees, fostering a sense of belonging and appreciation that translates into a more dedicated and stable workforce.
The Future of Hotel Workforce Management Is Here
The hospitality industry thrives on exceptional service, and that begins with a happy and well-supported team. By embracing financial wellness solutions that address the real-world needs of employees, hotel owners are offering more than a benefit. They’re making a strategic investment in the heart of their business.
Less turnover, more efficient payroll, and a more engaged and motivated workforce are tangible outcomes that directly impact your bottom line and the overall success of your hotel. By providing employees with the power of choice and control over their earned wages, you’re doing more than solving pain points – you’re building a foundation for a thriving, resilient, and truly exceptional hotel operation.
Phil Mark serves as director of franchise business development at DailyPay, a Bronze Industry Partner, where he brings his expertise in the franchise space to help owners solve some of the most pertinent business challenges in modern-day workforce management. DailyPay’s full suite of financial wellness offerings supports employees at every stage of the financial journey, from immediate needs to savings and long-term stability. Phil can be reached at phillip.mark@dailypay.com or dailypay.com/industries/franchise.
Image: VectorMine/stock.adobe.com
Leave a Reply