A higher percentage of hoteliers are expressing sentiments of job insecurity compared to last year, in light of the current geopolitical and economic situation.
In the 2015 edition of the Hotelier Middle East Salary Survey, 23.8% of participants said they felt less secure than they did 12 months ago. This year, 38.8% expressed the same.
Sources have told Hotelier that the job market isn’t conducive to new opportunities at the moment, while others have reported pay freezes in their companies.
While the start of the year saw a definite uncertainty when it came to occupancy and ADRs, most hoteliers have said they have seen better results coming through from March onwards, with forward bookings giving them hope for the rest of the year.
Agreeing is Six Senses Zighy Bay resort manager Greg Kocsis, who said the outlook for the next few months is positive, adding that the only downside is that “the perception about the region is mixed because of the sad events over the last few months”.
This mixed perception might be why confidence is still down. Last year, 13.5% said they feel more secure than they did 12 months ago. In 2014, that was 20.7%. This year, it’s gone down to 11%.
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However, the number of hoteliers who are anxious about keeping their jobs has reduced to 10.3%, from 11.1% last year. It still has not gone back down to 2014’s low of 4.6% hoteliers who were anxious about their jobs.
Last year, 0.5% of our respondents were told they were being made redundant, and this year, 2.2% have been given this intimation.
In spite of potential challenges, a similar percentage of hoteliers said they are completely happy to remain in their current roles (18.3% this year, compared to 18.6% last year). However, 35.9% said they are actively looking for new opportunities in the market.
The good news is that the forecast in terms of regional hotel performance for the long-term is positive. STR’s Rossmann said Dubai and Jeddah, for example, are showing high margins of over 40%. “There will be some headwinds, but there are still very high profit margins.”
Read the full results of the Hotelier Middle East Salary Survey 2016 in the June 2016 edition of Hotelier Middle East.
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