Hotels hold down staff wage bills

Almost a quarter of hotel owners have kept down staff costs in the first quarter of this year to less than a 3% increase and some have even reported a reduction, according to the British Hospitality Association (BHA).

In spite of the impact of the national minimum wage and other employment legislation, 23% of BHA members surveyed reported little impact on their wage bills. Some 10% said that their payroll costs had dropped.

"The only reason for this would be because there were fewer staff to do the same jobs," said a BHA spokesman.

The majority, however, reported increases compared with the same period last year.

Almost one-third of association members said that their wage bills had increased since January by between 3-6% and a further 22% said that the staff costs had risen by 6-10%.

And the BHA is expecting the rise in wages to continue as the competition for staff intensifies.

The spokesman added that the BHA did not foresee any levelling-off over the coming year, because of the industry's huge staffing problems.

"This will mean more pressure on wages. I just can't see them going down," he said.

Almost half of those surveyed reported better trading in the last four-month period compared with the same period last year and more than half reported an increase in their average room rate.

by Christina Golding