Gig Economy Platforms: A New Way to Hire Part-Time Hotel Workers

You run a hotel business and hire part-time hotel workers quickly for an upcoming busy season. You could stick with the usual routine of placing job ads and interviewing candidates for part-time roles. But that takes forever! Instead, have you considered leveraging gig economy platforms? These online marketplaces connect you directly to pre-vetted workers ready to take on short-term hospitality gigs like bellhop, housekeeping, or customer service assistant. With just a few clicks, you can instantly tap into a flexible workforce.

Say goodbye to the hassle of recruiting and hiring part-timers. Using an on-demand staffing platform, you can quickly scale up or down as your business needs change with less time. You get to try workers out with no long-term commitment. It’s a fast and easy way to get the manpower you need exactly when you need it. So why not give the gig economy a shot for your next round of hires? You may find it’s an efficient and budget-friendly solution to your staffing woes.

The Difficulties of Hiring Part-Time Hotel Workers

Severe Manpower Shortages

Hotels in Singapore face a severe manpower crunch, especially for frontline roles like housekeeping, F&B and customer service. With COVID travel restrictions, many foreign workers couldn't renew their permits after being unable to visit families for over two years. Hiring locals for part-time roles hasn't filled the gap as the long hours and modest pay make these jobs unattractive.

High Turnover Rates

Part-time hotel staff often view their jobs as temporary, lacking the commitment of full-timers. Hotels grapple with high turnover rates of around 73% on average. This high turnover makes it hard for hotels to operate at full efficiency.

Scheduling Nightmares

Scheduling is a huge headache when relying on part-timers with limited availability. Covering critical hours like lunch and dinner rushes becomes challenging. Hotels need to get creative with performance incentives and rewards to motivate part-timers to take up desired shifts.

FastGig offers a fully managed service that handles sourcing, qualifying, scheduling, allocation, attendance, fulfilment, and payroll! Speak with us here.

Transforming Hotel Jobs

To tackle manpower woes, a Jobs Transformation Map aims to redesign hotel roles, leverage tech and upskill workers. With subsidies and management support, hotels can redefine part-time roles, upskill teams and offer better career progression to retain talent.

Common Part-Time Hospitality Roles Needed in Singapore

Housekeeping Attendants & Cleaners

One of the most common part-time roles required in Singapore's hotels is housekeeping attendants and cleaners. Their main responsibilities include cleaning guest rooms and public areas like lobbies; ensuring everything is spick and span. Other ad-hoc duties can involve washing linens, cutting fruits, and basic food preparation. Pay ranges from $9-12 per hour for these blue-collar roles.

Front Office Superstars

Another key area where part-timers are needed is the hotel front office. Roles like telephone operators and guest service officers are regularly posted. As per SingAsia Management, these part-time staff handle check-ins, checkouts, guest requests and queries - basically being the face of the hotel. The expected pay for housekeeping attendants and cleaners is around $9 to $12 per hour.

Service Crew Multitaskers

Hotels also require part-time service crews for their restaurants, cafes and other F&B outlets. According to FastJobs, these roles involve customer service, food prep, cashiering and more - a real mix of duties. Hourly rates can go up to $13 depending on the establishment.

Other Roles to Consider

Apart from the core operational roles, hotels offer part-time opportunities across different departments too. For instance, Park Regis Singapore lists openings for technicians to handle maintenance and repairs. There are also part-time sales executive roles to provide administrative support. So keep an eye out for these varied openings as well.

Benefits of Hiring Flexible Part-Time Hospitality Staff

The Growing Demand for Flexible Options

Do you know how employees these days value flexibility more than ever? 85% desire some form of flexible work arrangement, higher than the global 66% average. And a third will consider quitting if that flexibility gets revoked!

This shift in priorities has seen an increase of gig workers looking for alternatives besides just food delivery and transportation gig roles.

Expanded Talent Pool

By going the gig route with platforms like FastGig, you unlock a massive database of over 300,000 pre-vetted candidates looking for flexible hospitality roles. Their roster has room for last-minute additions too - no more understaffing woes!

You get to "try before you buy" as well. Extend full-time offers to your star performers after seeing them in action first. This staffing model is a win-win for everyone.

Under-served Demographic of Workers

As HR practitioners, one of the challenges that is most commonly faced is trying to tap into new demographics of job seekers. The majority of gig workers are students looking for a flexible work schedule, elderly workers who are unable to commit to a fixed schedule, stay-at-home workers who only have pockets of time in their schedule after their kids are in school, and individuals going through frictional unemployment.

This group of people have trouble finding a job that fits their schedule. Creating the opportunity for gig jobs allows employers to leverage this demographic of jobseekers, allowing them to find capable workers for their business.

Challenges of Hiring Flexible Part-Time Hospitality Staff

Retention and Training

One challenge in hiring flexible part-time hospitality staff is retaining them for an extended period. Gig workers often view these roles as temporary or interim opportunities rather than long-term jobs.

High turnover means you have to constantly recruit and train new workers, which is time-consuming and expensive. Retraining workers also becomes an issue since part-time staff may only work a few shifts each week, making it difficult to reinforce learning and skills development.

However, many gig workers prefer returning to gigs they're familiar with. Once a gig worker familiarises themselves with the job, environment, expectations, and culture, 80% of them return to gigs they've performed before. It takes a business around 2 - 3 weeks to establish a dependable group of gig workers.

As part of our fully managed service, FastGig also manages the training of these new gig workers if needed. Speak with us here.

Maintaining a Fair & Positive Environment

Maintaining a fair and cohesive work environment is crucial for hiring and retaining flexible part-time hospitality workers. Right from onboarding to the actual work, ensuring a fair and inclusive environment plays a huge role in retaining existing gig workers and attracting new ones.

Providing clear guidelines, expectations and equal opportunities can help build trust and foster teamwork among this demographic of workers. This also helps attract younger Gen Z workers who value transparency, flexibility and fairness in the workplace.

Balancing Flexibility & Productivity

While part-timers offer staffing flexibility to meet seasonal demands, there are productivity concerns. The IRS defines part-time as under 30 hours weekly or 130 hours monthly - fewer hours than full-timers. This reduced availability can hamper output, requiring more part-time hires.

Additionally, hospitality roles like service crew, bellhops, and housekeeping demand considerable training in customer service, safety protocols etc. Retaining and properly onboarding a flexible, high-turnover part-time workforce adds overhead costs.

Hospitality leaders must strike a balance between allowing flexibility to attract talent and maintaining productivity with enough adequately trained staff. Creative solutions that optimize staffing efficiency while catering to employees' needs will be key.

Admin & Compliance Overhead

Administrative and compliance overhead can increase when integrating flexible part-time workers into the hiring strategy. Companies will need to evaluate existing HR processes to accommodate this workforce.

Areas that may require changes include:

• Benefits administration - Companies may need to offer prorated benefits or modify eligibility requirements to part-timers.

• Payroll - Flexible schedules mean more payroll transactions and exceptions to manage. Automation tools can help streamline this.

• Incentives - Performance incentives and rewards programs may need adjustments to suit part-timers.

• Onboarding - Flexible workers require quicker, simpler, and digital onboarding processes. Companies need to optimize onboarding while ensuring regulatory compliance.

By reviewing processes through the lens of part-time and flexible hiring, companies can identify ways to modify and optimize their HR systems to reduce administrative burden and costs when bringing on this type of workforce. Process changes should balance compliance, efficiency and employee experience for all types of hires.

Case Studies of Hotels Using Gig Workers Successfully

Gig Workers: Flexibility for Hotels

For hotels, the gig economy offers a flexible workforce that can ebb and flow with demand. According to the study by Bain and Company, increasing customer retention rates by 5% increases profits by 25% to 95%. Tapping into gig workers allows hotels to quickly scale their staffing during peak seasons or events.

Fairmont Singapore's Gig Success

The Fairmont Singapore has found success leveraging gig workers for roles like service crew, bellhops, and housekeeping. They appreciate the ability to access a wide talent pool without being bound by contracts. If a worker underperforms, they simply don't rehire them for future gigs.

How Gig Economy Platforms Can Help Hire Part-Time Hotel Workers

Tap Into a Massive Talent Pool

One of the biggest advantages of using gig economy platforms is the ability to access a vast talent pool of part-time workers. Unlike traditional job boards, these platforms attract a diverse range of candidates looking for flexible work opportunities. From students to professionals seeking a side gig, there's no shortage of potential part-timers to fill roles like service crew, bellhops, housekeeping or customer service assistants.

Finding part-time hotel staff can be challenging. But by tapping into this gig workforce, you exponentially increase your chances of finding the right fit for your business needs - whether it's handling peak seasons or filling in for absences.

Scale Your Workforce Up and Down

Another key benefit? The ability to quickly scale your part-time workforce up or down based on demand. Hotels often face seasonal fluctuations in occupancy rates. With gig platforms, you can easily bring on additional housekeepers, service staff or bellhops during busy periods, then scale back down when things slow.

This level of staffing flexibility is a game-changer, allowing you to deliver seamless service without being over or understaffed. No more scrambling to find last-minute part-time hires or having idle employees on the payroll.

Cost-Effective and Efficient Hiring

Hiring part-timers through gig platforms like FastGig is not only convenient, but cost-effective too. These platforms provide a wide talent pool without long-term commitments. You only pay for the hours worked, eliminating expenses like benefits, training, and overhead costs associated with full-time employees.

What's more, many gig platforms handle the entire hiring process for you - from job posting and candidate sourcing to payroll processing. This streamlined approach saves time and resources, allowing you to focus on delivering exceptional guest experiences.

Attract Top Talent with Flexibility

To attract high-quality part-time talent, flexibility is key. Gig platforms cater to workers seeking better work-life balance, making it easier to offer scheduling flexibility that traditional part-time roles often lack.

By accommodating shifts and reasonable attendance policies, you'll gain a competitive edge in the race for top part-time talent. After all, in today's gig economy, workers have the luxury of choosing roles that fit their lifestyles and needs.

Leveraging gig economy platforms is a smart strategy for hotels looking to build an agile, cost-effective part-time workforce. From accessing a deep talent pool to accommodating fluctuating demands, these platforms offer unmatched flexibility and efficiency in staffing blue-collar roles. It's time to embrace this new hiring paradigm and elevate your hotel's staffing game.

FAQs on Hiring Hotel Gig Workers Compared to Part-Time Workers

What's the difference between gig workers and part-timers?

Gig workers are freelancers or independent contractors hired on a temporary, flexible basis. Part-time employees have fixed schedules, but work fewer hours than full-timers. Gig workers like service crew don't get statutory benefits, while part-timers enjoy some based on weekly hours.

Why hire gig workers over part-timers?

Hotels can access a wider talent pool of gig workers for roles like bellhops or housekeeping. Hiring is easier for short-term needs, without long commitments. Gig workers provide flexibility to scale staff based on demand - crucial during events like COVID-19.

You only pay gig workers for the job, saving costs on benefits, training and equipment. Perfect for fulfilling temporary labor gaps that don't justify hiring part-timers.

What are the downsides of gig workers?

Unlike regular part-timers, gig workers lack job security and benefits like paid leave or medical insurance. There's also more admin work - hotels must comply with regulations around wages, notice periods etc. for each gig worker.

Frequently switching staff creates inconsistency in service quality. You may need to constantly retrain gig customer service assistants on processes.

How to balance gig workers with part-timers?

The best approach blends gig workers for flexibility with a consistent part-time core team. Use gig workers for demand spikes while maintaining part-timers for baseline operations.

Job sharing can help optimize part-timer schedules. And platforms let you tap into the gig economy for roles youth find fun and flexible. Together, you get coverage and cost-efficiency.

Conclusion

So there you have it. The gig economy provides a flexible new way for hospitality businesses like yours to fill those hard-to-staff roles. Instead of the hassle of managing part-timers with unpredictable schedules, you can bring on gig workers exactly when and where you need them. They'll provide the same friendly customer service without the long-term commitment.

Give it a try - you can easily scale up or down as your business needs change. Who knows, you may find it solves your staffing woes and gives your guests an even better experience. At the very least, it's worth exploring as an option alongside your current part-time hiring.