Top 4 Housekeeper Recruiting Strategies Hotel Managers Swear By

As a successful hotel manager, you know housekeeper recruiting strategies are critical to keeping your hotel guests happy.

Not to mention, having enough housekeepers is essential to giving your guests a world class experience.

However, you can only achieve this goal if you have enough people in this key role. 

According to a national survey by the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA), cleanliness is one of the top factors for guests. That means housekeepers are the most important hire for the success of your hotel.

Wizehire is trusted by the nation’s top hospitality brands and has helped hotel managers successfully hire thousands of high-quality housekeeping staff and other key hospitality roles.

Use these four housekeeper recruiting strategies you’ll keep your guests happy.

• Recruiting strategy #1: Build a strong referral network through your contacts
• Recruiting strategy #2: Post a compelling job ad to attract the largest number of applicants
• Recruiting strategy #3: Seek out fresh talent in your community and college classrooms
• Recruiting strategy #4: Leverage an online recruiting solution to streamline your hiring

1. Build a strong referral network through your contacts

Use your professional network for housekeeper recruiting

Your employees and business partners are two of the best referral sources for recruiting high-performing housekeepers. They already have intimate knowledge of your hotel’s operations, standards, hiring practices, and company culture. 

How to recruit housekeepers from your professional network

• Start recruiting during onboarding. Tell new employees to spread the word about your open role.
• Consider in-house talent. Departments with more staff may have talent you can cross-train.
• Create an employee referral program. Here’s an example of a solid hotel referral program.
• Build alliances with your competition. Partner with a rival, strengthen your network, and generate collaborative resources.
• Leverage company meetings. The more people who know you’re recruiting, the wider your net.
• Always be recruiting. Tell your employees that you’re always looking for more housekeepers.

Everybody from bellhops and managers to your competitors are important connections you can use to recruit candidates for your hotel.

Your personal network

Local family, friends, and acquaintances, can also be a great source for employee referrals. They understand what your core values are as a business owner, so they’ll be able to recommend candidates with the qualities and character you’re looking for in a housekeeper.

• Ask your inner circle if they know a potential candidate. Tell local family and friends you’re always hiring more housekeepers and to send potential candidates your way.
• Treat every social interaction like a recruiting opportunity. Use parties, special occasions, and events to meet new people who may be great referral resources.
• Follow up on your recruiting. Periodically reach out through phone calls, text messages, or in-person around three times a year to remind them you’re hiring. Persistence is key.

Over time, you’ll create a strong referral system. Since you’ll “always be recruiting” with the help of other people, you’ll never miss out on hiring great housekeeping talent.

2. Post a compelling job ad to attract the largest number of applicants

Posting on multiple job boards will maximize the amount of applicants you get. The bigger talent pool you can build, the better chances you have at filling the role faster and finding a great culture fit. To reach the most candidates, post on both general and hospitality-specific job boards.

General job boards

General job boards are popular with job seekers in every industry, so advertising on them will ensure your job ads are seen by the most people. Some of these include LinkedIn, ZipRecruiter, Glassdoor, etc. You can easily attract a high volume of candidates with transferable skills for housekeeping roles.

Wizehire tip: Want to get more housekeeper job applicants? These 3 things will help you!

1. Create an optimized job ad. Wizehire’s housekeeper job description is proven to help hotels attract more qualified candidates. Copy and customize our free template to create a job ad in minutes.
2. Include compensation. Find out what nearby hotels pay their housekeepers so you can offer your job applicants a fair and competitive wage. You can also talk to a hiring strategist at Wizehire for 1-on-1 advice. 
3. Write an awesome employer value proposition. Housekeeper job applicants want guaranteed or predictable work shifts, training opportunities, and pathways to grow in their hospitality career.

Hospitality-specific job boards

Niche job boards like HCareers, HSSStaffing, and HospitalityOnline are specific to the hospitality industry. While they’re less popular with general jobseekers, they’re dedicated to the hotel industry, so advertising there will ensure your job posting is seen by the most qualified applicants.

3. Seek out fresh talent in your community and college classrooms

Workforce development centers

Workforce development centers are employment agencies that are partnered with your state government. They have a pre-existing talent pool of young adults, veterans, and other individuals with a strong work ethic who may be a great culture fit and have a transferable skill set that would align with a housekeeping position at your hotel. 

Community colleges

Community colleges have a large revolving talent pool of educated and diverse students who are always looking for jobs. They provide free or low-cost access to career fairs, online job listing services, and great on-campus recruitment opportunities. Many community colleges have hospitality programs, too, so you can connect with department faculty who may be interested in setting up internships or externship programs for your hotel.

4. Leverage online recruiting solutions to streamline your hiring

Hospitality recruiting firms

Hospitality recruiting firms are local staffing agencies that specialize in the hotel industry. They’re operated by experienced teams of professional recruiters who can help you find qualified housekeepers. But they are expensive. Recruiting firms can cost up to one third of the salary of every employee you hire. However, if you have a big budget and high employee turnover, you can always consider them.

Online recruiting platforms

Online recruiting software gives you the power to post your ad to multiple job boards easily and funnel your applicants into one place. Many have tools that assist with applicant screening, candidate management, and new employee onboarding. This can help busy hotel managers keep track of their hiring process.

Natalia Chung