By Editor

 

Thai hotels are suffering from severe staff shortages as the hospitality industry struggles to recover from the fallout of Covid-19, according to the Thai Hotel Association (THA).

 

About 68 per cent of hotels surveyed said they are short of staff to cover all departments – including maids, receptionists, cleaners, cooks, waiters and technicians.

 

Hotels are especially in need of workers with service and language skills, said the association’s president Marisa Sukosol Nunbhakdi.

 

“Most hotels are under pressure from labour shortages in almost all departments, as related businesses in their local areas have yet to reopen,” Marisa said.  She was citing results of a THA survey conducted on 118 hotels between July 17 and 25.  The survey found that only 33 per cent of hotels had raised their wages in a bid to attract staff.

 

Results also showed that hotel occupancy rate in July averaged 45 per cent, up from 38 per cent the previous month. The forecast for occupancy rate in August was 42 per cent.  Marisa attributed the recovery to the country’s full reopening on July 1, when the Thailand Pass entry system was scrapped, as well as government subsidies for domestic travel.

 

“Most hotel customers are Thais although the number of foreign guests is increasing — mostly from Asia and the Middle East, followed by western Europe,” she said.  Average room rates have risen since last year but are still lower than pre-Covid times. Hotels have delayed price increases due to low purchasing power and occupancy rates, Marisa added.

 

Recovery in the Thai hotel sector will strengthen this year but is still reliant on Thai tourists, according to Siam Commercial Bank’s Economic Intelligence Centre (EIC).  The EIC has raised its forecast for foreign arrivals this year from 7.4 million to 10 million.

 

It also identified many “challenges” for the Thai hotel industry, including higher operating costs, a labour shortage, and tougher competition as luxury hotels cut prices and others reopen after the pandemic.

 

Source: https://royalcoastreview.com/2022/08/severe-staff-shortages-reported-in-thai-hotels/

 

-- © Copyright Royal Coast Review 2022-08-08

 

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And then one wonders why...maybe poor pay for employees.

16 minutes ago, ThailandRyan said:

And then one wonders why...maybe poor pay for employees.

I think when they refer to staff shortages they really mean short of Burmese, Cambodians and Laos people willing to work for half the Thai minimum wage.

17 minutes ago, Excel said:

I think when they refer to staff shortages they really mean short of Burmese, Cambodians and Laos people willing to work for half the Thai minimum wage.

I agree with that. My GF who is from Myanmar has friends who instead of working g for the hotels as before have taken jobs for Thai Chinese households as housekeepers or salon workers where they make more than in a hotel and get a room included.  

back home we're hiring signs are all over the place.....ya but are you paying ? 

 

after what people just went through not many are willing to work for crumbs anymore. 

 

can you blame them ? our system is broken but those in power care not. 

Edited August 8, 20223 yr by stoner

The cost of living going up daily , wages just the same or even less

than before Covid , and working 6 day weeks , it was 5.& half days

when I started working 60 odd years ago , some hotels not

even giving staff share of service charge ,

 

regards Worgeordie

Considering that there was next to zero financial aid for the hotel industry it's hardly surprising that workers were laid off and disappeared to make a living elsewhere. Minimal wages are on offer at most places so hardly any incentive to go back to the industry right now.

 

1 minute ago, Rampant Rabbit said:

reality, laziness........only this  morning been to a  bamboo  house  manufacturer, he  cant find  staff.......they come he  shows them what to do then they leave, hes  turning away  work. 

But how much is he wanting to pay them per day ?

Half a million young people seeking jobs prefer admin to tourism

https://thethaiger.com/hot-news/economy/half-a-million-young-people-seeking-jobs-prefer-admin-to-tourism

2 minutes ago, Rampant Rabbit said:

My  Burmese   lad gets 15k a  month 2  hour  lunch break, motorbike, 7-11am 1-5pm, electric  water accomodation and fish, one person, 6  days a  week with a lot of downtime. Thats 500 a  day everyday inc  sunday based on 30 day  month.

Thais wont do this work even at that price.... too lazy....and these  days  mostly fat as  well when they send me facebook  pictures  when I  have been  looking for  staff in recent  years.

So you are paying a decent wage. My point was that no longer will Burmese, Cambodians and Laos work for half the minimum wage that I suspect which is why those hotel owners are complaining.

2 minutes ago, Rampant Rabbit said:

Burmese  Laos and Cambodians  would rather work in a factory than outdoors, doesnt matter  doing what in the factory and ONLY  if they can get overtimes work also, as  soon as overtime dries  up theyll  leave too.

Err we are not talking about outdoor work are we ? Is the hotel business outdoor work which is what the thread is about ?

I wish they would publish where these jobs are ... I'm sick of hearing "I can't find work" - but as a foreigner - ignorant as to how things work here -  I don't know what suggestions to make.

Just now, Rampant Rabbit said:

Well  Im talking about workers  in general its  not  limited to  just hotel work

Well I am trying to keep to the thread's subject, hotel workers, but up to you if you choose to attempt to deflect that away to some other area in an attempt to suit your own narrative.  Why don't you start a separate thread for general workers in Thailand, may suit you better.

Just now, Rampant Rabbit said:

The  point is its not just Hotel workers its ALL  workers

Think you need to get your eyesight checked and pretty quickly. the threads subject is "severe-staff-shortages-reported-in-thai-hotels"

12 minutes ago, Rampant Rabbit said:

Well  put it this  way.....no  job  no  money.......is it really  better to do nothing, then how do you survive......Id do any job  if  I had  no  money and then look for  better, what I wouldnt do is  sit  on my rse

ill take a stab and stay you are not a poor asian fellow are you ? 

 

grew up in the west ? pull yourself up by the bootstraps kind of thing. 

3 minutes ago, Excel said:

Think you need to get your eyesight checked and pretty quickly. the threads subject is "severe-staff-shortages-reported-in-thai-hotels"

dont worry can see  how deeply  disturbing  this is to you...removed  all  my replies

29 minutes ago, vinny41 said:

Half a million young people seeking jobs prefer admin to tourism

https://thethaiger.com/hot-news/economy/half-a-million-young-people-seeking-jobs-prefer-admin-to-tourism

Not surprising at the moment, young people are probably seeking some stability and security after the last couple of years.

 

Tourism has taken a massive hit, there has been mass redundancies across the industry and it is still in the early stages of its recovery. It might take another 1-2 years before it is seen as a stable form of employment.

 

Once the tourists return for a consistent period and in large numbers, I think it will become attractive again to potential employees. 

Similar problems in the U.K., staff were laid of during Covid, they found better terms and conditions elsewhere so never returned. Brexit was another factor, a lot of foreigners returned home as they needed a visa but probably have found work in their home country now. One of the biggest shortage is collecting fruit and vegetables on farms. Years ago students used to do it but the foreigners mostly Eastern Europeans housed in port aka ins were recruited as they were cheaper.

During lockdown of the COVID crisis many Thai workers returned to their villages of origin. Perhaps those workers have found that their quality of life in the village is much better than quality of life, alone without family,  living in one room, perhaps sharing with strangers, on low pay in expensive dangerous cities. They get work on farms which always need workers and go home to their families every night.

4 hours ago, Excel said:

I think when they refer to staff shortages they really mean short of Burmese, Cambodians and Laos people willing to work for half the Thai minimum wage.

But it's the same in many countries. It must be great if you're job seeking. It seems that gone are the days when 200 people would apply for one position. But where are the people who used to fill these positions? What are they doing now instead? Strange. If they were at the lower end of the skills sector, maids or in the UK for example airport baggage handlers, they can't all have found better paid jobs elsewhere.

 

I did anticipate a massive shortage of hotel staff in my native London as the vast majority of the staff employed by the hotels, and not just at the lower levels, were from the EU and I presume they can no longer get jobs there without jumping through hoops.

43 minutes ago, RobU said:

They get work on farms which always need workers and go home to their families every night.

I think that much farm work is seasonal, such as rice or sugar cane growing, and even then it's left largely by itself to grow. The only intense work is when it's time to harvest whatever is grown. That's my impression gathered from the fields that surround my house and the family members who farm. So, how much work is available for people to go back home to is questionable. The lack of it is surely why they left in the first place.

Tell me about it.

My cleaning staff are being 'stolen' by the local hotels and they are even after accounts people. On my third one in four months.

6 hours ago, webfact said:

“Most hotel customers are Thais although the number of foreign guests is increasing

TAT will be disapointed to hear that 'their' incoming tourists are electing not to stay in hotels.......

the shortfall are all on OF with filters...when their sponsors turn up to realise whats in front of them is the unfiltered version...the shortfall will be back.

5 hours ago, Excel said:

But how much is he wanting to pay them per day ?

Most Thai's know what he is paying, that's why so many are going to other countries to make some real money.

Pay is too low- hours are too long- conditions too poor and chance for promotion scarce  with no real in-house  training.

Conditions  are scandalous with barriers to employment  such as person character guarantees being demanded, staff having to buy uniforms....etc

8 minutes ago, The Hammer2021 said:

Pay is too low- hours are too long

Might be but paying them more does not help the performance either + they will then just leave for holiday 2 months long, as you pay them too much.

6 hours ago, stoner said:

back home we're hiring signs are all over the place.....ya but are you paying ? 

 

after what people just went through not many are willing to work for crumbs anymore. 

 

can you blame them ? our system is broken but those in power care not. 

The problem is that people were probably forced to live in a way that they had never tried and thought would be impossible or lead to absolute misery.  They then likely got used to it and now have little motivation to go back.

40 minutes ago, vandeventer said:

Most Thai's know what he is paying,

Which is  ?

5 hours ago, vinny41 said:

Half a million young people seeking jobs prefer admin to tourism

https://thethaiger.com/hot-news/economy/half-a-million-young-people-seeking-jobs-prefer-admin-to-tourism

Tourism hasn't returned to normal yet, so it's hard to say if young people don't want to work in tourism, or if they simply don't feel like they can take the risk.