UAE jobs: Hotels are filling positions with short-term contracts as peak season comes early

Dubai: The busy season has come in nice and early for part-time jobs in the UAE’s hotel industry, with demand for experienced personnel being such that the pay and perks too have risen.

At this time of the year, hotels do hire more part-timers, on contracts that extend to the first couple of weeks of the new year. But this year, the hiring process started early, more so because hotel operators don’t want to be caught short when peak occupancy levels hit. This year’s November and December bookings already show this to be the case as the countdown to the COP28 summit (November 30 to December 12), the F1 Abu Dhabi (November 26) and Dubai Airshow (from November 13-17) start.

“During the high season, we maintain strong occupancy rates ranging from 80 to 90 per cent,” said Intiaj Mondal, Director of Talent and Culture at Rixos Bab Al Bahr Hotel. “These rates are projected to go even higher this November and December.

“To meet this, we adjusted our workforce strategy by outsourcing and hiring part-time staff.” He said the hotel conducts monthly forecasts to align staffing needs with the budget. 

High occupancy equals more part-timers

Hotels like Park Regis Hotels Business Bay recruit part-time workers if the occupancy levels soar above 85 per cent. Kamran Ghani, Partner at Park Regis Hotel Business Bay, said: “The market forecast looks promising in Q4-23, especially around COP28, with the ADR (average daily rate) growth of approximately 2.5 per cent and occupancy remaining stable.”

Part-time job roles and what they can fetch:

Higher intake than in past years

Recruiters and hoteliers have said part-time recruitment activity this year is higher than last year.

Nikhil Nanda, Director of Dubai-based Innovations Group, an employee outsourcing and recruitment services firm, said, “Seasonal and part-time hiring has increased this year due to events such as COP28. As a result, the part-time hiring season has also started much earlier than usual.”

Hotels have intensified their hiring efforts for short-term contract workers to cater to both leisure and business travellers. Savio D’souza, Director of Talent and Culture at Grand Plaza Movenpick Media City said, “We usually hire casual staff during high seasons, which is Q4 and Q1. This year, we are discussing the possibility of bringing in part-time employees, particularly for back-of-house roles, to optimize operations further.”

Part-time vs. full-time

Even though overall recruitment activity has increased this past year across various positions and departments, Nanda said hotels haven’t bolstered recruitment activity for full-time workers ahead of the busy season.

“Hotels are well aware of the dip during the low season where they do not want to deal with hiring-and-firing activities year on year,” said Nanda.

“They would rather pay a slight premium over the winter season by taking on part-time staff instead of increasing their fixed overheads.”

Mondal also said that manning remains consistent during the summer months.

Roles where part-timers are needed

Hotels require additional assistance in housekeeping, stewarding, F&B, guest services, receptionists, public attendants, lifeguards, etc. “Most part-time recruitment happens in the F&B services and back-of-house roles,” said Mondal. “This is commonplace before the festive season (Christmas and New Year) or Spring.

“We also recruit a certain amount of staff in the housekeeping and security divisions. We focus on casual staffing in areas such as housekeeping and F&B, requesting staff on a regular, often weekly, basis to maintain cost-effectiveness.”