A Perthshire hotel is “on its knees” as it deals with huge staffing shortages that mean it is losing upwards of £40,000 a week.
The Kenmore Hotel currently has 30 vacancies, ranging from a £30,000 salary sous Chef to £10-per-hour waiting and cleaning staff.
It is losing a staggering amount of money each day as it doesn’t have the staff to serve food or open its bar.
There is a widespread shortage of staff in the hospitality industry which has led to other venues cutting opening hours.
‘Soul destroying’, says Kenmore Hotel manager
General manager William Inglis said the hotel – one of the oldest in Scotland – is “on its knees”.
He said: “Things are really bad. We’ve had to close the food offering – the pub and the brasserie – and we’re only doing bed and breakfast at the moment.
“The area is busy at the moment even though we’re at the end of the season.
“It is soul destroying we’ve had to cut back so much.”
The staff shortages have had a huge financial impact on the business, which is losing tens of thousands of pounds a week.
Mr Inglis said: “We’re losing £40,000 a week and that is a conservative estimate. It is unsustainable.
“Not only are we losing money because there’s no food offering, people are cancelling.
“We’ve got a very understanding owner who is committed to the hotel – he’s had it for 27 years.
“But we should really be making money in the summer to see us through the slower period in the winter.
“Those reserves are not going to be there this year.”
Brexit factor for staff shortage
Mr Inglis shared the hotel’s plight on social media. The post has been shared more than 11,000 times in less than 24 hours.
He said beforehand, job adverts – including ones for chefs last year – had gone unanswered.
Mr Inglis said Brexit has been a factor in the shortage of staff, but said other factors were also at play.
“There’s a combination of factors,” he said.
“Hotels are operating at full tilt. Every venue in the UK needs more staff than it would have done three years ago.
“There’s a little bit of Brexit – a lot of people have left the country. A lot of people are choosing other careers.”
He was grateful for the “phenomenal” response to his online plea for workers to come forward.
The general manager said: “There is still a skills shortage. A lot of people are applying without experience.
“I am happy to take people on who’ve got good spirit and are willing to learn.”
Hospitality industry ‘needs to look at itself’
Mr Inglis acknowledged that many who worked in hospitality pre-Covid may have turned their back on the industry, with venues shut for large parts of the past 18 months.
He said the whole industry needs to have a re-think.
“They had that furlough experience and they maybe joined a little bit more time with their family and friends, and have chosen a career that works for their life a bit better,” he said.
“The industry does need to look at itself. We do need to pay a fair wage and look after our staff better.
“All the hotels I have managed, we’ve always put the staff first, but not everyone operates like that.”