How we can make working in hospitality more attractive

Damon Lawrence, Homage Hospitality

"You've got young kids today that would rather work in an Amazon warehouse than at a beautiful hotel at the front desk."

Damon Lawrence started his career in hospitality as a front desk agent for the Donovan House, a Kimpton Hotel in Washington DC, before working at Ritz-Carlton, IHG, and Dusit International. After working in these roles, Damon started his own hotel development group, Homage Hospitality, as well as Unflagged Academy, a mentorship platform for the next generation of hospitality leaders.

Today, he shares with us what we might do to make working in hospitality more attractive to more people.

🎧 Listen to this 4-minute episode on Apple Podcasts or Spotify

The big idea: Flexible work scheduling could be the key to attracting more talented people into our industry.

  • "I got my sister a job at the Ritz Carlton and she couldn't stand it.

  • "We haven't done a good enough job of being creative in how we allow flexibility in the workspace for people.

  • "It's not about the physical space that you're in, it's about the work-life balance and the work experience.

  • "We need to do a better job of creating a better work experience.

  • "For a lot of people, hospitality is a stepping stone to something else and this is not necessarily their trajectory.

  • "Most people want more flexibility to pursue their passions.

Today's challenge: Is offering more flexibility something you could provide to attract more team members?