There summer season both at the seaside and partly also in the mountains has already started although it has certainly not entered the hottest phase (in every sense), but in particular The first alarm signals are already arriving from Lignano and Grado. It’s not about the climate, however, even though May was certainly not brilliant and partially failed to meet expectations, but it’s about the workforce. That’s right. The fact of not being able to find qualified personnel is nothing newbut for the current year the increasingly real risk is of not even having people for the more generic roles, such as dishwashers. But not only. Furthermore, another phenomenon is also taking place that is certainly not pleasant for those who have already planned the season in terms of hospitality in their facility. In practice more and more often we are witnessing the “subtraction” of personnel from one place to another, perhaps raising the monthly salary a little more. Last, but certainly not least worrying, is the fact that several hotels have seized the opportunity and decided to keep only the hotel, removing the kitchen service. In short, the restaurant is closing. Six, seven and sometimes even nine fewer employees: lower costs, but above all no hassle in looking for high-level professional figures such as chefs who are among the most sought after.
THE HOTEL keeper
To tell you how the situation is, Raffaele Quanto, hotelier for around 45 years in Lignano, a 50-room hotel with restaurant. «The difficulty is decidedly considerable – he begins – and not only in finding qualified personnel, I am thinking of chefs, waiters, secretariat, reception, but also to bring home unskilled figures such as dishwashers, cleaning and room service. There’s a fight to be had. If last year was complicated, even listening to my colleagues I can say that this season is even more difficult. Personally I have decided not to open the restaurant anymore. Nine fewer employees to find and – honestly – even less expenses. As I did – he continues – others have decided to do too.”
ROOMS
But there are also those who have decided not to open all the rooms in order to have fewer staff because they have not found any on the market and also those who, instead, will only open all the services for a certain number of customers and above. «We make do as we can – continues the hotelier – even if the objective is always to never disappoint the customer’s expectations. I must say that fortunately we can also make do with pensionersi, people who have already left the profession, but who know it and They’ll come for a few hours to give you a hand. What is certain is – explains Raffaele Quanto – that until a few years ago students came in large numbers and there were no problems, they were the arms to keep the business going. There was an excellent relationship that then lasted over the years. It must be said that they came to work because they had a goal to achieve. Personally I believe I was one of the biggest financiers. By paying their salaries I allowed the purchase of who knows how many scooters. Today the limitations for hiring a minor are such that they make the desire disappear: they cannot work more than a certain number of hours, they cannot work at night, they cannot have contact with alcohol. All absurd limitations. Fortunately in Lignano there is a large community of Albanians and Romanians who have been doing the seasons for many years, they are reliable and safe and therefore compared to other situations we are definitely at an advantage. Finally, I can add – concludes the hotelier – that foreigners who don’t know each other are also hired, but they are often not reliable and because they leave you when perhaps there is more work”.
PRESIDENT
«Let’s make one concept clear – explains Enrico Guerin, regional president of hoteliers – we can find workers, there is no shortage of staff for unskilled jobs. The problem is that there is little market for higher professionalism, we fully agree on this. If anything, there is another more serious problem: there is a lack of experienced staff. If you hire a young person who has never worked in this sector, you waste more time keeping up with him and teaching him the trade than doing it yourself. A waste of time that makes the difference in the height of the season, when the machine needs to be well oiled. Let’s not forget one more aspect, the pandemic has forced a lot of people out of the market who have dedicated themselves to other things, for a thousand reasons that we are not going to discuss. A void that has not been filled and which therefore weighs on the overall organization of work. The students? If they are minors there are too many limitations that do not allow them to be used fully.”
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