Annual leave quota high for hoteliers

The vast majority of Middle East hoteliers receive more than 25 days annual leave per year, according to findings from the Hotelier Middle East Salary Survey 2009.

Almost three quarters of respondents (74.3%) said there were able to take more than 25 days of holiday each year.

Commenting on the results, Switzerland-based Hospitality Graduate Recruitment managing director Jeff Ross said: “This is definitely much higher than in other regions and is a strong benefit for Middle East workers”.

He urged employers to maintain these standards and “not use the current trading environment as an opportunity to drive down salary packages, when there are many (desperate) job seekers out there and the strong bargaining position has now returned again to the employer”.

Only 1.6% of respondents said they received less than 10 days of annual leave.

However, working 50-hour plus weeks is considered the norm in the hospitality industry, with the vast majority of respondents (67.5%) falling into this category.

Only 28% said they work between 40 and 50 hours a week.

A total of 431 hoteliers from across the Middle East and North Africa responded to the survey.

For a full report on the Salary Survey 2009, see the June issue of Hotelier Middle East.