Spain holiday warning as hotels forced to close entire floors due to shortages

HOTELS in all Spanish holiday hotspots are being forced to close entire floors due to shortages – which could spell a summer holiday for tourists.

A lack of employees could mean a lot Hotels Some of their floors may have to be closed or even the entire workshop closed Summer as it is difficult for them to find the necessary staff to be able to work at full capacity during this time the holidays Season.

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There are fears that this could push up prices for accommodation in the open shelters due to increased demand.

The General Secretary of the Hotel and Tourism Federation of the Valencian Community (Hosbec), Nuria Montes, told the Spanish newspaper ABC that they “have great difficulties in finding workers”.

The employer representing hotels in Alicante, Valencia and Castellón estimates that the region lacks around 20 percent of the workforce normally employed in tourist accommodation during the high season, equating to a workforce of up to 17,000.

“It’s difficult for us to fill the less-skilled jobs like housekeepers, cleaners or kitchen help, but there’s also a shortage of skilled staff like kitchen managers, receptionists with languages, maintenance managers,” Montes said.

Desperate hoteliers have even taken to bringing forward their hiring season, hiring as early as March rather than waiting until May. But the search for employees continues.

Montes points out that there are also hotels that have had to close entire floors that “can’t be commercialized because they don’t have staff to take care of them.”

While acknowledging that there are “many causes” for the potential closures, she describes the dilemma as “a trend that has since been noted.” Pandemic“ – a time when many tourism industry workers left the industry after closures in search of other options and never came back.

Opinion is shared with the analyst firm McKinsey, which – in a recent study – described the Spanish hospitality industry as “underserved”.

The research found that the country’s hospitality industry employed about 73,400 people (5.5 percent) fewer in February 2022 than before the pandemic, in February 2020.

“Employment in the hotel industry follows seasonal demand peaks closely, but dropped to zero with the onset of the pandemic and there has been a talent drain to other industries since then,” the report said.

“Particularly affected are lodging and food and beverage businesses, which have seen the largest drop in job availability and the highest unemployment rates in the industry due to staff shortages.”

Likewise, policymakers in the Balearic Islands imposed a ban on new holiday rentals last week, which could make it impossible to snag cheap accommodation in Spanish hotspots like Mallorca and Ibiza.

The promotions have been fueled by an increase in host families, which has pushed up costs rent across the country.

This is particularly the case in popular destinations in the Balearic Islands, making it difficult for Spanish locals to afford a living there.

The Socialist President of the Balearic Islands, Francina Armengol, announced last Wednesday the proposed measures to curb the tourism boom and promised to prevent the opening of new tourist accommodation that is part of a tourist offer Law adopted in 2022.

Hotels in the Balearic Islands are also being forced to scrap complimentary in-room products to reduce waste.

Here’s another reason your Spain vacation is about to get more expensive.

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