“In some disciplines — usually the most technical, like the kitchen — it can be very difficult [to find the right talent],” Strachan continues.

“Places in engineering can also be problematic because you are competing for AC technicians, joiners, painters and so on – they can work in any industry not just hospitality. Take a place like Dubai where traditionally you used to have restaurants just in hotels but now you have restaurants — and good restaurants — in malls; there is huge competition for talented chefs and also for staff in other technical areas.”

The competition for staff members with technical skills has been made no easier as job opportunities in traditional source markets improve. In fact, says Matthew Smith, Fairmont vice president human resources Europe, Africa, Middle East and Asia Pacific, the economic improvement in these markets may see staff pursue careers outside of the hospitality industry.

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“I think as economies in those [traditional] source markets are improving, people who would have been exploring opportunities to go and work overseas now have opportunities domestically in industries that they may find more attractive like banking, pharmaceuticals, technology, or finance or in a number of other highly valued jobs,” he explains.

However, many hoteliers argue that these challenges are nothing new — finding staff with the right qualifications has never been easy in the regional hospitality industry.

“We would say that finding top talent has always been difficult. Our organisation is highly focused on selecting top talent and that has never been easy, so the fact that the numbers [of potential employees in source markets] are changing may not impact the numbers of the most talented colleagues as they have always been in very scarce supply,” Fairmont’s Smith asserts.

“It has always been difficult to find the right candidate in the hotel industry,” agrees City Seasons Muscat human resources manager Abdullah Al Balushi.

“This is due to high demand and lack of talent in the market.

“The situation was eased slightly during the recession, due to a 40-50% redundancy in the hospitality industry which therefore meant there were more people looking for jobs in hotels.”

But at times when the job market has been saturated with these hospitality professionals, they are often drawn to well-known brands, meaning that the staffing crisis is even more poignant for smaller chains or boutique hotels.

“I think that Hilton does have an advantage because we are seen as a global company, and a great trainer, and we have that established in the market already,” explains Hilton director of human resources Middle East and Africa, Tracey Lloyd.

“An element of that is that people know us from their own country, so wherever you are recruiting from, the people there understand what the Hilton brand name is all about because they have probably got a Hilton in their local town and they understand who we are and what we might be like to work for globally,” she adds.

It is no surprise that potential employees are attracted to multi-national companies; they are reputable, have properties all over the world, and the scope for personal development is undoubtedly higher in a company which has thousands of roles to fill.
But even bigger brands are stepping up their staffing schemes, to ensure that they attract — and retain — the very best talent.