The lack of housing, in addition to being a serious problem for the inhabitants of Lanzarote, poses an additional difficulty for the island's hotels when it comes to finding the most suitable profiles to work in their facilities.
The president of the island's tourism association, Susana Pérez, demands measures from the administrations and describes some palliative measures that new hotels are taking in an interview with Ekonomus.
- What impact does the lack of housing on the island have when it comes to finding the best profiles to work in the island's hotels?
The biggest problems are for the new establishments that are opening. This problem existed 30 years ago, there was a need for staff and there were no homes. There were workers staying in the hotels and some had apartments outside the hotel for them. That existed and is happening again. In the Balearic Islands, the problem is even more intense, because all the activity is concentrated in 6 or 8 months.
- What palliative measures are hotels putting in place to address this problem?
The need means that some hotels are making apartments available to their workers at affordable prices on a temporary basis. Mainly among the new hotels, although there is also movement of personnel (who already have housing) from other hotel establishments.
- What measures have the Lanzarote hotel association demanded from the administrations?
The first demand is that there be more housing stock and that the necessary quota of official protection housing be increased.
On the other hand, we have asked to increase the monitoring and inspection of the more than 5,000 vacation homes registered through the responsible declaration. The Cabildo has the obligation to check a posteriori whether they comply or not. We also demand the inspection of those tourist homes, 1,000 or 2,000, that are operating on the internet and that are not registered.
- What are the most difficult professional profiles to find for the island's hotels?
Of all types. From the restaurant and kitchen area, dining room, to waiters, assistant waiters, kitchen assistants, chefs and reception. Reception fundamentally because people with a second language are needed. More or less people with English are being found, which is often basic, but a second language is missed in any position in the tourism sector, both for hospitality and dining room, as well as for reception, whether it is German or English.
- Is the lack of languages the main problem? Are there other problems?
The Canary Islands has a problem in the compulsory education system, like other regions of Spain. We should have absolutely bilingual young people, especially in English, and even more so being a tourist region. In primary and secondary school, young people should leave with that second language. From there, the third language should be reinforced at least in the tourism sector.
In addition to the lack of languages, we miss dual vocational training in the areas of tourism and hospitality. Since Lanzarote does not have a university campus, it should have a dual training offer that responds to the activities with economic weight on the island. It is arriving very late to Lanzarote.
To compensate for the lack of qualified personnel with experience, we are giving internal training, we are training people without experience, but willing to work and with attitude.