Four Key Takeaways from the Future of Hospitality Workforce Summit - 11.1.2024

Last Friday, hundreds of leaders from across the hospitality industry came together for a day of strategic learning and planning for the future of hospitality. I was one of the fortunate professionals who attended and spoke at the Future of Hospitality Workforce Summit in Danville, VA. The event brought together hundreds of leaders in the hospitality industry and was hosted by Virginia Tech and Averett University.

To see leaders from some of the largest and well known companies in the world come together with leaders in education and workforce was inspiring (A special thanks to the leaders and team form Caesars who attended and have grown their investment from $400M to nearly a billion dollars in the region to bring in their new casino).

After an incredible welcoming Starlette B. Johnson and several insightful panels, I was honored to serve as the keynote speaker sharing insights in the current and future state of the market and how essential technology (including AI) and best practices are for scalable success. Here are four key takeaways from the event and industry:

1. The Hospitality Boom is Officially Here

?Out of all the data points shared throughout the day, this key chart on the projected growth for a changing workforce over the next decade sparked discussion in and after the summit. According to www.bls.gov, Leisure and Hospitality is projected to be the the 3rd?highest growth industry over the next decade trailing only Professional and Business Services and Healthcare and Social Assistance.

2. Hospitality Careers are Hidden Gems for Graduates

You only have to look at the growth in the community and workforce provided by Caesars Entertainment including their creation of a hospitality program at Averett University as an example to the growth and investment many universities have in hospitality and tourism programs.

Dr. Kristin Lamoureux led an impactful closing session on building a workforce through education. She highlighted the fields of studies at both her school along with several other universities putting an emphasis on hospitality and tourism. Some key elements shared.

1. As priorities shift in new graduates seeking work/life balance, careers in the hospitality industry are appealing to college students and graduates.

2. The opportunity to have a career with a flexible schedule, ability to travel and have meals paid for is attractive to a much larger group of students than 10 years ago.

3. Earnings potential in the hospitality field is much higher than most would think (a new grad could make over six figures a few years out of college and maintain work/life balance).

This echoed the sessions from leaders from Texas Roadhouse, Caesars Entertainment and more by sharing their examples of numerous employees. Youshique Gilbert , Alyssa Mossa, Emily Ferk , Paul Cooper and Bob McDonald paved career paths for recent college graduates through their organizations and this held several key learnings.

3.????The Path to Revenue Lies in Hiring (and Retaining) Talent

In an industry where many restaurants and hotels operate on on razor thin margins, one key takeaway sparked again by the bls.gov centered around the easiest way for a restaurant to increase their profits was to tackle the challenge of hiring and retaining talent. This proved to be the main talking point of the event and this spilled into every break and hallway conversation. This is the top priority of leaders heading into 2025 and the data backs up the impact it can make.

4. Companies Embracing Technology (and AI) Are Succeeding

?During my keynote, I highlighted the key data points mentioned above, the challenges but also the trends on those hospitality organizations achieving success. The one common outlier is those hospitality organizations that have adopted new technology to become more efficient and seen a higher level of measurable success.

In the past decade restaurants have seen the adoption of a POS system as a clear differentiator from the manual processes they had leveraged for decades before. That has allowed them to become more nimble and take on more to-go orders which was a life-saver during and after the pandemic.

That same mindset is now sweeping the industry when it comes to the way restaurants attract, engage and hire. Many hospitality companies are thriving powered by hiring solutions like Cnect that leverage #AI to help scale the process and provide every applicant with a human touch. One key best practiced focused around turning rejected applicants into revenue for restaurants. That is another conversation that has continued well past the event and if you'd like to find out more send me a quick message.

In closing, this was one of the most impactful and strategic events I've ever been a part of. The wisdom and insights from CEO's to hiring leaders to education and city/regional leaders was collaborative in the spirit of driving the hospitality industry towards a decade of explosive growth. I was honored to serve as the keynote speaker and to meet and continue conversations with so many incredible leaders.

Whether you're a leader in hospitality from Ceasars to your local diner, the modern workforce is changing and companies that can adapt through technology and best practices are findings ways to thrive. I hope you enjoyed this recap and please reach out with any questions.

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Andre J. Boulais

Chief Revenue Officer at Cnect

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