Check out eCornell’s AI in Hospitality Certificate Program Starwood Hotels - starwoodhotels.com Tao Group Hospitality - taogroup.com With approximately 17.1 million employees, the hospitality and leisure industry remains one of the largest and, unfortunately, most volatile employment sectors. Front-line turnover rates continue to hover around 50% to 80%, and there are an estimated 986,000 current job openings in restaurants and hotels alone. The combined impact of turnover and vacancies threatens both operational stability and industry growth. This Keynote will examine current labor market conditions and explore innovative solutions reshaping hospitality workplaces. From leveraging new technologies to reimagining traditional workforce management approaches, our panel will analyze strategies to address these challenges. The discussion will highlight both immediate solutions and long-term initiatives that are creating more stable, adaptable work environments. What You&#x27;ll Learn Easy-tech options for responding to the current dynamics, including demand forecasting, AI-enabled hiring, and auto-scheduling Proven no-tech initiatives, such as predictable scheduling, multi-skilling, shared labor pools, and educational pipelines Policies and practices that promote workplace flexibility and responsiveness Follow eCornell on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, and X.

Solving the Hospitality Staffing Crisis: Tech and No-Tech Solutions for a 50-80% Turnover Industry

Cornell Keynotes

# Full Transcript

**Podcast:** Cornell Keynotes

## Transcript

Welcome to Cornell Keynotes. Today we're joined by Bruce Tracy, professor at Cornell's Nolan School of Hotel Administration, alongside Cleo Knowles, chief people officer at Starwood Hotels, and Jake Besham, chief administrative officer at Tau Group Hospitality. Together, they tackle one of the hospitality industry's most pressing issues. With frontline turnover rates hovering between 50% and 80%,

and nearly 1 million job openings in restaurants and hotels alone, the sector faces unprecedented workforce challenges. Our panel explores innovative solutions reshaping hospitality workplaces, from leveraging new technologies to reimagining traditional workforce management approaches. Much of what they discuss connects to hospitality management and human resource principles taught in the Cornell General Managers Program. Check the episode notes for more details, and now, here's our panel's

discussion with Bruce Tracy, Cleo Knowles, and Jake Besham. Let's start, Jake, with your take on the current state of play regarding employment, and just give us an overview of what you're looking at, both externally and what you're hearing from some of your own team members. Sure. Thanks, Bruce. And thanks everyone for joining on this very timely topic. I think what we're seeing in the hospitality industry now is really a mirror of what we're seeing in the economy.

You mentioned it being a volatile workforce segment, and I don't think that I can disagree with you on any of that. It has a branding problem. It's settling in post-pandemic, but I think the hospitality industry has a branding problem. As we've seen the economy convert into a K-shaped economy, I think we're seeing that in the hospitality sector as well.

And I think the answer I would give you would differ based on market segmentation, whether you're in the luxury segment or you're in the middle tier or value segments of our business. But speaking about the branding problem specifically, it's an industry that's lost its shine, Bruce. I remember when I was coming up and you got my first job as a bellman at the Hilton Salt Lake City, and I was 20 years old, and there was a glamour to the hospitality business.

I remember the first time a general manager walked into the hotel and the pocket square and the Italian suit and the level of everything that we did in terms of service. And some of that shine has worn off our business. And people no longer view our industry as a safe bet. I think that we've not fully recovered from the pandemic in terms of trust of the workforce.

I think people that were hospitality veterans saw that the impact the pandemic had and the economic volatility post-pandemic has had on our business. But let's face it, we all know this. It's an industry that has long hours, requires nights, weekends, impacts on your social life, high stress. And then when you look at some of those things in regards to the newest generation ...

Solving the Hospitality Staffing Crisis: Tech and No-Tech Solutions for a 50-80% Turnover Industry

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Solving the Hospitality Staffing Crisis: Tech and No-Tech Solutions for a 50-80% Turnover Industry

Transcript

Built for investment professionals

Every day you wait, your competitors are findingedge in conversations you're not hearing.

Every day you wait, your competitors are finding
edge in conversations you're not hearing.