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Hotels turn to robots and room cleanings every 4 days to ease staffing shortages

npr.org

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Re: Hotels turn to robots and room cleanings every 4 days to ease staffing shortages

#91

Post by Qwertious »

Natsu wrote: post #36
matt3210 wrote: post #31

Its not a shortage of workers, it's a shortage of underpayable workers.

> Hotels have raised hourly wages by 25% since early 2020, and employers are offering greater flexibility in scheduling. Still, workers are nowhere to be seen. I dunno, my pay sure hasn't gone up by 25% in the past 2 years.

What was it up from? If for example they offered the US federal minimum wage in 2020, and the shift hours were unreliable and inflexible, then I could imagine even an extra 25% wouldn't make it worthwhile.

The article says up from $10. I don't know whether that's a decent wage in the US, but it sounds low and $16 is just barely above the proposed compromise new US minimum wage figure, so it sounds not-hellish but not "do it just for the money" level.

Also, I noticed they said "25%" but $10 to $16 is 60%, and if you're griping and can say "we raised by 60% and nobody bit!", then you say that instead of "we raised by over 25% and nobody bit!". So I'm skeptical of the figures - maybe that 60% is best-case or something, and most people are offered $12.50 or something.

Re: Hotels turn to robots and room cleanings every 4 days to ease staffing shortages

#93

Post by [deleted] »

ninth_ant wrote: post #81
Natsu wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Hotels have raised hourly wages by 25% since early 2020, and employers are offering greater flexibility in scheduling. Still, workers are nowhere to be seen. I dunno, my pay sure hasn't gone up by 25% in the past 2 years.

The rate it’s gone up is a red herring. If people don’t want to take the job at the posted rate then they are underpaying. Instead of comparing if your pay has gone up 25%, ask if you’d rather take one of those jobs than yours. Because apparently that’s an option if you want. There are almost certainly miserable working conditions, bad hours, and still an overall low wage. If people are able to find better jobs, then…

[deleted]

Re: Hotels turn to robots and room cleanings every 4 days to ease staffing shortages

#94

Post by factsarelolz »

supertrope wrote: post #89
Natsu wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Hotels have raised hourly wages by 25% since early 2020, and employers are offering greater flexibility in scheduling. Still, workers are nowhere to be seen. I dunno, my pay sure hasn't gone up by 25% in the past 2 years.

Would you work for $16/hr with no health insurance? Hotels are notorious for not only not offering steady 40 hour employment but sending staff home if room count is low or calling people in with minimal notice.

This job seems great for moms that want to work part time while their kids are in school. 11 am - 3pm.

Re: Hotels turn to robots and room cleanings every 4 days to ease staffing shortages

#95

Post by lotsofpulp »

midoridensha wrote: post #83
rurp wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes several million workers died, retired early, or weren't allowed to immigrate to the US.

>or weren't allowed to immigrate to the US. Which is exactly as it should be. ~Half the country doesn't want them. If that results in hotel stays being absurdly expensive (or perhaps changing laws so that hotel rooms don't need to be cleaned between guests), then so be it. America is democratic, and the people have spoken, so now let them suffer the consequences.

> or perhaps changing laws so that hotel rooms don't need to be cleaned between guests

I do not think there are any laws requiring this. It probably just has not been price competitive enough to hand a customer the housekeeping cart at check in.

Re: Hotels turn to robots and room cleanings every 4 days to ease staffing shortages

#96

Post by Qwertious »

missedthecue wrote: post #3

I wonder where everyone has gone. The lazy answer is that companies aren't paying enough. But how is it better to sit at home making $0 than working and having an income? How do they afford rent or electricity or pay for car insurance? The workforce participation rate is still well below pre-pandemic levels. Millions of people just up and left the workforce. It's not as if they are looking for work at the right wage,…

(With apologies to Louis Rossmann)

1. If you were near retirement age when the 2020 lockdowns hit (or if you were overdue for retirement), then suddenly you're effectively retired for a couple of months, and you might as well just make it official once the retirement ends. 2. Most people who retire have gotten a few promotions over the decades, so when someone is promoted into the spot of the retiring person, you now have one less unskilled worker as an indirect result. 3. Some people were only working their job because they thought it was a more reliable income compared to starting their own business. If they're laid off without warning, then they start their own business or freelance. Some of them will be successful and earn more than they were being employed for, so they're gone. 4. They were forced to spend time with their families and other non-work stuff, which reminded them of the stuff they actually care about, and shifted their priorities. 5. If any industries are affected by the above, then the higher wages attract workers and the effect ripples through to every industry with unskilled labor. Or at least most of them.

Those are some of the causes.

Re: Hotels turn to robots and room cleanings every 4 days to ease staffing shortages

#97

Post by shagie »

feet wrote: post #73
shagie wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The mode was in the 85 and over. The mean was less. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1191568/reported-deaths-... https://blogs.worldbank.org/developmenttalk/too-young-die-ag... You will note that for the US, approximately 25% of the excess deaths in 2021 were from people 64 and younger. That is still a large number. Also note: > And among high income countries, one notable outlier is the United States, which has a…

Which doesn't even mention the fact that many people can't afford to retire at 65 or had to come our of retirement to work

The stereotypical housekeeping staff is the trifecta of minority, older, and low income.

Re: Hotels turn to robots and room cleanings every 4 days to ease staffing shortages

#98

Post by supertrope »

Aerroon wrote: post #37
nitwit005 wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Particularly as a lot of that is just keeping up with inflation. Many industries seem to prefer going bankrupt than pay their lowest level employees well.

If entire industries are going bankrupt then it indicates that the service they provide is not economically feasible. The end result is that consumers just have less choice due to reduced services.

Or it’s just a correction following a long boom. Full service, discount pricing, ubiquitous availability, and 10% CAGR in new locations can’t go on forever.

Re: Hotels turn to robots and room cleanings every 4 days to ease staffing shortages

#99

Post by trevyn »

alphabettsy wrote: post #54
notwokeno wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm actually not even sure that's it. What do you get with the tokens you're paid in? The ability to participate in society. There's no longer a society to participate in though as all the social institutions have been deconstructed. Marriage, land ownership, religion, tradition, real communities, family is still nominally there but there's little left of it. It's not like people are going to starve to death if they…

> Marriage, land ownership, religion, tradition, real communities, family is still nominally there but there's little left of it. Curious about where you live and where you grew up? I ask because none of these rings true for me. Many of my friends have bought homes and started families, along the way, they’ve created their own traditions, and are part of communities where they know their neighbors. And this isn’t in…

The point is about a snowballing larger societal collapse, led by the US and UK. (But it will reach everywhere eventually.)

If you and your friends are rich and dull enough, you can ostrich-hole it for a while yet.

If you want to see the canary in the coal mine, try befriending someone who works in the service industry.

Re: Hotels turn to robots and room cleanings every 4 days to ease staffing shortages

#100

Post by enumjorge »

factsarelolz wrote: post #94
supertrope wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Would you work for $16/hr with no health insurance? Hotels are notorious for not only not offering steady 40 hour employment but sending staff home if room count is low or calling people in with minimal notice.

This job seems great for moms that want to work part time while their kids are in school. 11 am - 3pm.

If we ignore the low pay, physically demanding work, bad benefits and and unpredictable work schedule, then yeah I guess these jobs sound great for moms.
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