The president of the Greater Moncton Hotel Association says hotels are really struggling trying to find staff this summer.
Ron Toogood, owner of Coastal Inn Dieppe, says his colleagues in the industry say they are simply not getting applicants for positions and it’s a widespread problem.
“On the accommodations side, primarily the issue is with housekeeping staff or cleaning staff and we’re still having a difficult time finding people to work at our front desks.”
In many cases, Toogood says hotel operators in the region have had to close rooms.
“At one point or another this summer, we have had to shorten the hotel – in other words close rooms – because we have just not had the staff to clean them and that means we are turning away paying customers, visitors from away.”
He adds it’s been painful to do since we are now in the green phase of recovery and the industry has already been battered during the last 17 months because of the pandemic.
Toogood believes some people may be afraid to work closely with the public again while others may be content to stay home and collect government pandemic benefits.
On a positive note, Toogood says the hotel business is up substantially this year and has especially been growing in August.
