Hello Malcom,

        In reading your forum post, I was sorry to hear that you have become so “disillusioned” with the hospitality industry. It sounds like you are, indeed, disillusioned. While I have no doubts that you have experienced, or possibly heard about the sort of things you mentioned in your post, it is a false assumption that the entire industry operates in the fashion you have described.
        First of all, minimum wage is not the norm for any department in the industry with the exception, perhaps, of tip-based positions. If the employee receives even one gratuity in an hour, then he or she has essentially exceeded minimum wage. I understand that there are taxes on the gratuities in the United States, and this effects things as well. However, the point remains the same. Employees that fall under this category are not minimum wage employees. As far as other waged positions are concerned, they tend to vary from region to region. Analysis shows us that while there are instances where housekeepers, kitchen help, and other positions might receive minimum wage for their work, this is not the norm. The quality of wages often directly reflects the quality of the resort.
        This brings us to the industry turn-over that you mentioned. The magic of this industry is that one can start at a lower quality resort with the bare minimum in education and skills possessed, then work their way up based on his or her experience alone. I, for one, have done this successfully and I am not alone. Once you reach the level of upper management in a large company with multiple properties, you will find that the company, itself, would prefer to move you from property to property to round out your skill set and provide fresh perspective for its own investments. This serves the employee very well.
        Regarding immigrant workers: it is true that the vast majority of non front-line positions in the industry are held by immigrant workers. This is not unique to our industry and I think it says more about American society than it does about the hospitality industry. Simply put, immigrant workers share a work ethic lost by Americans long ago.
        In terms of under staffing, such as one worker doing the work of four as you mentioned, this can be the result of any number of different things. Unions, for example, can affect this both positively and negatively. If you have a set amount of workers and half of them call in sick on weekends; the rest of the staff is forced to cover because the union won't allow the employer to fire them unless they commit some heinous offense...repeatedly. Also, in some regions, there is simply a shortage of workers. Some of the prime resort locations globally are in remote locations. Logistically, you can see where this can pose problems in terms of finding qualified workers.
        Lastly, I would like to respond to your statements regarding increased price for the customer without increased income for employees. My first impulse is to respond to this with two words: profit sharing. Yet, in truth, your successful companies do reflect their profit margin directly through wage raises annually based on their above-budget earnings. This rewards the employees that are not willing to invest in their own company or retirement.
        So, why don't schools ask questions about your concerns? Well, I would imagine that schools are looking at the industry as a whole. Good schools will direct you to properly run organizations. Good instructors will teach you to see the big picture and realize that the things you have mentioned are not normal for the industry and are, in fact, the dividing line between the successes and the mere survivors.
        I hope this helps with your “disillusionment.”

Sincerely,
        Daniel L. Black
Received on Tue Apr 11 19:20:37 2006