A number of respondents to the Hotelier Middle East Salary Survey have suggested they may look to Asia for better pay levels as they come under more pressure in the Gulf.
In this year’s survey, 89% of respondents said wages for line staff in the Middle East were adequate, while the corresponding figure for management was 67.4%.
One respondent said: “The government is more interested [in] build[ing] the nation and infrastructure and give maximum benefits to the locals and least benefits to the expats who[se] sweat and blood made these countries now so successful.
“[Until] now that maximum work force in any of these nations are expats and that too especially Asian expats, they are not given the same kind of financial benefits as European, British or American expats.
“There is a serious need to increase the salary wages for Asian expats in hospitality and hotel related companies and with Expo 2020 more hotels will come and more work force will be required to run these hotels.”
| Advertisement |
Another respondent added: “Asian countries (SEA specifically) are offering better salaries and you can receive a better cost of living compared to the region here.”
As The Hospitality Company managing director Eric Van Wijk explained, it was this cost of living factor which was more likely to influence any exodus to Asia than salary levels.
“I don’t think pay is higher [in Asia]. For the top five star hotels, maybe the basic salary and package might be higher. It’s really on the cost side in most of the countries; if you go live in places like Bangkok or Jakarta, you will pay less rent then you would pay in Dubai or Abu Dhabi.
“But there are also expensive cities; Singapore and Hong Kong are not cheap places to live and Japan is also more expensive.”
Search our database of more than 2,700 industry companies
