Tanja Furby

10,000-plus hotel employees walked off the job Sunday. Some 9,500 of those strikers went back to work today. Strike over? Not exactly. Workers say they've made no progress toward contract negotiations, and #labor disputes continue at all of the affected hotels. In San Diego, Hilton workers opted to strike until their contract demands are met. And elsewhere, the union didn't rule out the possibility of "more disruptions" in the future. Rolling, multi-wave strikes are a thing — and are often successful. We saw this last year when UNITE HERE Local 11 began #strikes in Southern California. Workers walked out in waves, and different hotels called for strikes at different times. (Those walkouts were the largest multihotel strikes in U.S. history — until this weekend.) In the months since then, #hotel employees in SoCal have won unprecedented wage increases and job protections. It's also worth noting that hotel workers in some cities (Providence, New Haven and Oakland) have yet to walk out at all, though they've voted to authorize strikes. In summary: There's still a lot going on! And just because 9,500 people went back to work doesn't mean the drama is over. As always, you can count on Hotel Dive for all the latest.

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A challenge for businesses from all sectors is the difficulty in finding skilled staff. For the hospitality industry, there are four key questions that can pave the way to success in overcoming this challenge. #UKbusinesses #skilledworkforce #Labourgovernment #hospitalityindustry #skillsagenda

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Cost saving measures without affecting quality. Not as easy as it sounds. Everyone can cut costs but very few knows how to manage costs. Over the years I have seen laughable measures taken such as cutting drinking straws in half, switching off half the carpark, lobby and corridor lights (you should have just installed half the amount of lights in the first place!), reducing the quantity and quality of purchases etc, etc. However, by by asking the right experts in their industries, it is possible to reduce costs without sacrificing quality. One of the hotel's biggest expenses is energy consumption so energy efficient lights and appliances such as air cons will definitely help, just ensure the right brightness, you neither want to blind your guests or make hotel darker than the Addams Family mansion. Having a proper inventory management system is something we often overlook. Getting your inventory levels absolutely right, for everything you need or sell will prevent overstocking and reduce waste. One department I alway regularly review inventory levels is the maintenance department. For example, I will ensure that we will always have a minimum of 6 bathroom exhaust fans in stock, especially in older properties. Some hotels won't even keep stock of such items as it is not an essential item, until it becomes an urgent item when 3 rooms are suddenly out of order without warning due to the exhaust fans breaking down. Waiting for requisition to be opened, 3 quotations to compare prices, delivery of item etc, may take 3 to 4 days. (Worse on weekends and long stretches of public holidays). And not everything that you need urgently will be available to be purchased by running to the nearest Mr DIY. But when you have the stock in hand, the 3 out of order rooms can be sold to your guests within the same day. The profit you will make from this 3 rooms x 3 days of delivery time will enable you to purchase another 10 exhaust fans instead.

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The hospitality industry, once a symbol of prosperity and vibrant community life, is facing unprecedented challenges. Sadly, hotel insolvencies are climbing, and beloved pubs and bars are closing their doors. The landscape has shifted dramatically, making it clear that running a hotel today is no longer just a lifestyle choice—it's a significant business risk. I remember when a hotel brigade could easily consist of over 100 chefs, constantly debating the teachings of Escoffier. Even at the Earls Court Exhibition Centre, we had a brigade of 50 chefs, a stark contrast to the last time I visited, where a mere 2 chefs were supported by temporary hires. The Savoy still boasts a brigade of around 120 chefs, and The Ritz operates with about 60, but such large teams are becoming rarities. Minimum wages, skill shortages, and Brexit have gradually reduced brigade sizes, forcing many chefs to multitask. In recent years, we've lost many famous venues, and even Michelin-starred chefs are reporting that they barely break even. Our industry faces increasing challenges daily. When will the government provide the support we need, including greater mobility of staff with Europe and a much-needed reduction in VAT? Despite these pressures, renowned establishments and high standards keep our industry afloat. However, the ever-increasing operational difficulties are straining what was once the backbone of our country. Several factors are driving this change: - **Rising Inflation:** Increased costs across the board are squeezing profit margins. - **High Interest Rates:** Financing for operations and expansions has become more expensive. - **Skyrocketing Utilities:** Energy and utility bills are at an all-time high. - **Higher Minimum Wages:** While fair pay is crucial, it adds pressure to already tight budgets. - **Reduced Customer Spending:** People are going out less, impacting revenue. - **Brexit-Induced Staff Shortages:** Finding and retaining skilled staff is more challenging than ever. - **Impact of COVID-19 and Other Black Swan Events:** The pandemic and other unforeseen events have left lasting scars. In this difficult environment, it’s no surprise to see a pub close and a supermarket open in its place. Supermarkets thrive with high profits, low staff headcounts, and self-service models—traits that starkly contrast with the labor-intensive hospitality sector. As more people choose to eat at home, the need for innovation and resilience in our industry has never been greater. Let’s come together to support each other, share solutions, and advocate for policies that help our beloved industry weather this storm. #Hospitality #IndustryChallenges #SupportLocal #BusinessResilience #Community --- Feel free to tweak this to better match your personal voice or specific focus!

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Hospitality is notoriously known for its long hours and lack of work life balance. After all, in the business which has to look after its customers 24/7 and 365 days, it is not easy to give the employees flexibility required to, what we often call in the industry..... have a life. This is especially true for women, with a smaller percentage making it to the top. The main reason is because hospitality working hours are not child friendly. One thing though I noticed, all the women colleagues who made it, had extremely supportive husbands and parents , who dedicated years of their lifetime helping looking after their grandchildren. So many talented women were not able to climb their career ladder as high as they could, as they did not have this flexibility. So how can we improve the work life balance for the hospitality industry? How can a receptionist, a housekeeping attendant or a restaurant manager work from home? Of course, the answer is, they can't. Most of our jobs require physical presence of the employee and there is no escape from that. But, there is a way to make life better for hospitality employees, which is the implementation of a flexible work schedule. Learn to make concessions to balance between the operational needs of your property with your employee's personal priorities. Perhaps your FOM has to take care of her kids going to school in the morning + ensuring her elderly parents are bathed and meals taken care of, don't have to start work at 9am but at 11am instead? We need to make decisions to allow flexibility like this for the right reasons. Is there are need to have the mgmt briefing on a daily basis with the tech that we have today or can she join in via zoom from home? But, the F&B manager cannot be using the excuse that since the FOM is allowed to come in later, he should be allowed to do the same.He can, only if he is in the same predicament. And different departments with different peak operations hours needs to be thought out and planned in a fair way. It is not difficult, just a bit of common sense. And if you work in a big city and there are no major operational needs before 9am, doesn't it make more sense to start after 10am? Do you need to spend hours everyday stuck in a traffic jam, like now?? 30 years ago when traffic jam has already existed, I loved the 11am - 7pm shift while working in TGIF Jalan Sultan Ismail. Smooth traffic from my house in PJ to work, after work a bit of happy hour, makan dinner and a nice drive home. As for the daily operations staffs, perhaps with, a few well thought out system rules and an investment in time and money to cross train as many employees as we can (a huge benefit to both the employee and the employer), we will suddenly be able to free our employees to take control of their work life balance? It is just our mentality that has to change. As we face an increasing war on attracting and retaining top talents, work life balance could become our industry's secret weapon.

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Calls for the hotel sector to buy more from local suppliers There are calls from the private sector for policy that will ‘cause the hotel sector to buy a certain percentage of their consumption from local suppliers’. This comes against the background of fears that the wider business community weren’t getting a fair share of the benefits of the tourism industry. These calls were issued at a meeting between Cabinet and Private Sector Organisations last month. In a response Tourism Minister Dr. Ernest Hilaire ‘reminded the meeting that the recently implemented Revised Tourism Incentives Act, seeks to tie incentives and concessions to volume of local purchases’. Meanwhile Chamber members raised concerns over the impact of crime on business operations, the inability of the private sector to source skilled and reliable labour and high energy costs. In its June newsletter the Chamber noted that while members appreciated outreach from the Ministry of Commerce there were observations that “many of the issues of concern to the Chamber are longstanding and well-known, yet it is the inaction on the part of the public sector that has made these issues ‘recurring’ topics of discussion”.  In his address Prime Minister Philip J. Pierre is quoted as touting the benefits of a Minimum Wage suggesting that "businesses may see an increased outlay in the first few months, but in the next few months, will see increased expenditure in their business as people, now with higher incomes will spend more". (paraphrased). The Prime Minister took time to remind the meeting of the extensive investment in vehicles and other material support to the police which his government has and continues to provide in a response to rising crime. One Private Sector agency spoke of the need to focus more effort at early childhood education as a key strategy in averting deviant behavior in later years. SLISBA also spoke of its plan to rally its members to support a camera instalment program on island. On the matter of difficulty in finding appropriate labor, Minister Hilaire discussed the challenges in continuity of programs geared towards upskilling citizens. The Baker’s Association was extremely vocal regarding their inability to find adequately trained bakers.

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I asked Gary McCreary how he builds strong relationships with hotels right from the start, making sure the staff and vendors are fully on board with supporting the client. 💡 He said it’s all about clearly defining your goals during that first call. 🗓️ You need to understand how the hotel operates—like when their key staff have meetings and what’s already on their calendar—so you can work with their schedule and establish a smooth flow of communication that respects their time. 👉 Gary also pointed out that taking the time to really listen to the hotel is crucial. If you don’t, it can lead to hidden issues that might not show up right away but can cause problems down the line. How important do you think building a strong relationship with your hotel is from day one?

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Want to fill up faster? 🚀 With our Occupancy Optimiser, you’ll accelerate sales rates, boost revenue, and drive higher returns. More sales mean faster cash flow, and we’re experts at making that happen. At Commercial Acceleration Ltd Acceleration, we’ve spent over a decade helping retirement communities and care homes grow occupancy. Our multi-award-winning consultancy knows how to pull the critical levers to boost sales velocity. What we do: 🔍 Insight – We dig deep into your customer journey with mystery visits and audits 💡 Diagnosis – We pinpoint the roadblocks holding back your sales 📈 Recommendations – Bespoke strategies to turbocharge your sales 🎯 Implementation – Growth levers in action: sales processes, training, marketing comms, lead generation, and more The results speak for themselves—up to 300% increase in enquiries and a 59% occupancy growth! We've been named Best Senior Living Consultancy 2023 and Best Senior Living Turnaround 2024, and it's all thanks to our hands-on, results-driven approach. Let’s work together to accelerate your commercial performance. 💥 https://lnkd.in/eXPyquwh.. #SalesGrowth #OccupancyOptimiser #SeniorLiving #RetirementLiving #CareHomes #healthcare

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It is very frustrating to see the increased hurdles being applied to the Skilled Worker Visa applications. Although I understand the need to protect jobs within local communities and to support the domestic population in terms of employment, the hospitality industry will suffer as result of these changes and that in turn will threaten the security of those already employed regardless of nationality. It feels more like political posturing than a reasoned approach to employment needs within this specific sector. Using Feldon Valley as a case study – we tried for years to recruit chefs at various levels and always struggled with Commis Chefs and the Chef de Partie role. Every CV was either a Sous Chef or Head Chef, but nobody was available to fill these other roles. We tried online websites as well as agencies and the candidates were few and far between with some of the few applicants either not responding when we contacted them or they didn’t turn up for the interview. We tried every domestic angle and avenue to recruit locally, but there simply wasn’t anyone to recruit.  The situation lead to the exploration of the skilled worker visa and we have had tremendous success bringing in highly skilled personnel to bolster the ranks and create a wonderfully international brigade of chefs that has allowed our restaurant to operate without restrictions and take vital steps in our ongoing journey to establish a destination for food in the Cotswolds. With the minimum salaries being increased to £40k for qualifying roles, it is simply unrealistic to think that this international recruitment can continue (which is probably the aim of the changes) as we can’t carry that wage structure on a restaurant menu without seeing the price of each dish rise to unpalatable levels. So what happens next if we have to recruit again – if one of our amazing team decide to move on, where do we find the replacements to maintain our operation and continue the post covid progress we have made so far – a progress largely made due to our international recruitment of skilled personnel. We have similar issues with Greenkeepers and the concern there is also the availability of skilled people within the domestic market that are available and wanting to work in this part of the country, although a beautiful location and wonderful destination for a lot of people, we have to accept that we are fairly remote, certainly rural and that is not everyone’s cup of tea. Before anyone misreads the above and jumps in on a nationalistic sentiment, I am all for recruiting locally and would love to do that. I support fully the push to increase the minimum wage and have always worked hard to push employees on from that rate, but smaller businesses will struggle to maintain pace with the changes without more support. If I can’t recruit internationally for some of the roles that I can’t fill locally or even within the UK – what then is my next step?

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Are you setting yourself up for success, as you are looking for your next job? Company culture is pivotal in our fulfilment and success in the corporate world. A toxic environment and/or awful manager are often mentioned as key reasons people look for a new job. Fears of never finding a good company keep us stuck. But know - they do exist! So how can we figure out the truth about a company - especially when we thought we had done a good job assessing our current one? First, assess the process you followed in accepting your current job. Did you: ➡️ Look for/see red flags in the hiring process but ignored them, believing things would change? ➡️ Research the company/manager fully? If people won’t talk - consider why. Silence is often louder than words. ➡️ Ask critical questions at interview to assess if it was the right environment/manager for you? “But how do I ask about e.g. work life balance without giving the wrong impression?” Questions you can ask to assess company culture: ✅ How do you foster/cultivate a culture/environment of (insert your priorities e.g. growth, well-being and self-care, teamwork, support, innovation, recognition)? ✅ What steps have you taken to help employees attain work-life balance for optimal work performance? ✅ What do you believe employees need to thrive? What have you done/do you continue to do to provide those things? ✅ When was the last time a junior staff member's idea was implemented? ✅ How many people got promoted last year and why? What criteria do you consider for promotion? (Red flags 🚩: no promotions, achievements without considering EQ, working overtime etc.) ✅ How do you assess leadership readiness? ✅ What aspects of your management style do your team appreciate and struggle with the most? (Red flags 🚩: lack of self-awareness, hasn't sought feedback, "perfect" scores) Remember it’s not just about their words. It. is what. is being said between the lines, or not being said at all. Observe their facial expressions, tone and body language. Hesitation, defensiveness, looking to others for help or poor eye contact when answering a question. All signs something is amiss. And if they reject you based on these questions, chances are you have dodged a bullet. Need help? DM to see how coaching can help #mentalhealth #coaching #interview

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As a general manager of a club or community your number one priority is to simply add value to the lives of your members, residents and employees. The catch is to not loose yourself in the process. This is where it isn't so somplw for some of us. It's easy to lose focus on adding value to our own lives in the way of self-care, mental health and overall wellbeing. Add value for YOU first and you will be that much more effective in adding value to the lives of those you serve. #fillyoucupfirst #mentalhealthawareness #selfcare #easiersaidthandone #leadership #pma #leadwithlove

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Complexity is the enemy of execution 💡 Many of my clients feel burnt out from being sold grand ideas without the promised execution and implementation plan. In hospitality, implementation is the game-changer. Why is it crucial? 1. Consistency: Delivering a seamless guest experience. 2. Efficiency: Streamlining operations to boost productivity. 3. Satisfaction:Exceeding customer expectations. 4. Profitability:Driving growth through operational excellence. Execution isn’t just about getting things done; it’s about getting them done right. Let’s elevate hospitality, one project at a time. Contact at us at Hospo collective to talk more about your next project. #HospitalityExcellence #ProjectManagement #OperationalExcellence #CustomerSatisfaction #HospitalityIndustry

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Introduction to Consultancy Services Are you looking to elevate your bar or hospitality business to the next level? With years of experience across the globe, our consultancy service offers tailored advice to help you increase efficiency, boost profits, and enhance customer satisfaction. Contact us today to learn how we can support your business. #HospitalityConsulting #BusinessGrowth #HospitalityExperts

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I've seen a fair amount of commentary in the last 2 days regarding the new budget, but I think UKHospitality and Kate Nicholls OBE summarise it quite well in the post below. Eating out isn't a luxury, it's a necessary part of society and a vital third space for many. It's where we celebrate, socialise and unwind. Hospitality is also the third largest employer in this country and a large contributor to GVA. Here's hoping that as 2025 rolls by, Keir Starmer brings policies that support and invest in our industry. An investment in Hospitality is an investment in community and job creation. #Hospitality #UKbudget #restaurants

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What a creative and inspirational leader.

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