‘Hotels may hike rates if manpower shortage continues’
KUALA LUMPUR: With bookings coming in from foreign travellers following the reopening of the country’s borders, hotels have to maintain top-notch services for guests while dealing with a severe manpower shortage.
Malaysia Budget and Business Hotel Association (MyBHA) deputy president Dr Sri Ganesh Michiel said most hotel operators, from high-rated hotels to budget hotels, were facing the same problem.
Of course, when people see travel activities resume, they immediately think that hoteliers’ businesses are picking up.
“They are, but let’s not forget that the existing competition between hoteliers and short-term rental accommodation such as Airbnb has become more intense.
“This brings up the question of how can we continue to generate income or even retain our employees? This has been highlighted for many years, but there’s no solution till today.”
He said apart from struggling to generate income, hotels also had to provide top quality service.
“We need money to hire employees and train them.
“This issue of manpower shortage creates a ripple effect that is slowly killing the industry if it goes un-addressed.”
Ganesh said hotels might have to increase their prices by 60 to 70 per cent soon if there was no assistance from the government.
“We also want to take care of our employees and nobody wants to push their staff until they’re burnt out.
“These days, everyone is looking for job security. If hotels are not generating much income, how can they afford to hire and retain their people? There’s no other way but to increase the price.
“If no action is taken now, it will lead to more hotel closures in the future as there’s a lot of pressure on hotels to maintain operations with minimum manpower during peak seasons.
“We urge the authorities to respond with help.
“Don’t come up with nonsensical policies; help us on the ground first,” he said.
