Restructuring Recruitment of Employees in the Hospitality Industry: An Innovative Strategic Approach

The hospitality industry is currently experiencing a global shortage of employees and high staff turnover, primarily due to long working hours, seasonal demand, and challenging work environments. This shortage makes it difficult to find and retain qualified staff, particularly during peak seasons, which can impact the quality of service and guest satisfaction. The main recruitment challenges are retaining employees in critical positions such as reception, maintenance, food and beverages, as well as non-professional roles like cleaning workers and housekeeping staff. Therefore, strategic planning is crucial for recruiting employees in the hospitality industry. A study was conducted in Eilat, a resort city in southern Israel, to examine employee retention in 4 and 5-star hotels. The research, based on interviews with hotel staff, identified several key factors that can help retain employees. These include enhancing the sense of appreciation and the meaning of work, preventing burnout by balancing work and rest hours, and strengthening the sense of procedural fairness among hotel employees. Hiring unskilled workers, especially during peak vacation periods, poses a challenge. To address this issue, hotels in Eilat have hired Jordanian workers due to the close relationship between Israel and Jordan. Strategic planning, particularly the cross-border workforce approach, can be replicated in other parts of Israel and around the world. Collaborative efforts between countries can serve as a model for other regions facing labor shortages in the hospitality industry. Legal and regulatory requirements for cross-border labor, cultural sensitivities, language barriers, and effective communication strategies should be considered to ensure the successful integration of workers from different backgrounds.