The most competitive hospitality employers never stop asking themselves “How can we attract and keep the best hotel employees?” Competitive salary and healthcare benefits tend to be the first strategies that come to mind, but a recent statistic presents another opportunity. According to the Bank of America Institute, the average household cost of childcare has increased by 32% in the last five years.
If a hotel could alleviate this strain for employees with children, how would that impact their retention and productivity? No doubt, the benefits could be immense. Here are six strategies hotels can use to provide impactful employee childcare benefits for their employees.
- Onsite Childcare
- Contracted Partnership with Care Center
- Childcare Flex-Spending Account
- Built-in Sick Child Days
- Flexible Parental Leave
- Employee Resource Groups
Onsite Childcare
Some large hotel chains already offer childcare at their headquarters. However, hotel companies could reap even more benefits at the property level, where employees feel the financial burden of childcare more acutely. Hotels could offer subsidized childcare rates for employees or even open enrollment to the surrounding community. No matter how they implement this progressive benefit, they will surely be a highly sought-after employer.
Contracted Partnership with Care Center
Not many hotels are ready to take on the challenge of doubling as a daycare center. However, hotels still looking to offer simple but highly impactful childcare solutions are partnering with local childcare centers and providers. These partnerships can offer subsidized rates for employees, create back-up childcare options in an emergency, and reduce the stress of searching for care.
Childcare Flex-Spending Account
Not all families are comfortable leaving their young children in a center-based care environment. Yet hotels can still support these families with options like childcare flex-spending accounts. Like HSAs, these accounts allow parents to select the type of childcare right for them, like home daycares or in-home caregivers. As with the latest healthcare benefits trends, the most competitive childcare benefits are all about personalization.
Built-in Sick Child Days
Any parent can attest to the staggering volume of viruses that children acquire throughout the year. Some parents are lucky enough to have family or close friends they can rely on when a child is sick. Others must weigh the cost-benefits of either using their own sick days, sacrificing their paycheck, or scrambling to find and pay someone to watch their child. Hotels can provide designated sick child days to reduce the stress of this situation.
Flexible Parental Leave
Many new parents would find more value in having extra time at home with their newborns. Instead of having more childcare options, they may prefer flexible and strategic parental leave options, like delaying when it starts or taking it intermittently with their partner’s leave. Parents can delay the need for childcare altogether, gaining more time to connect with their newborn at home.
Employee Resource Groups
Navigating childcare and the expectations of being a working parent can take a toll on emotional health. Hotel employers can actively foster employee resource groups (ERGs) that support new parents. While this may not be a childcare benefit per se, ERGs can be safe spaces for parent workers to connect and even generate new ideas to help your hotel keep up with the needs of its workforce.
Partner with Experienced Hotel Recruitment Experts
As hotels look for new ways to attract and retain talent, they must keep up with the rapidly changing benefits trends. Horizon Hospitality’s updated Compensation and Benefits Guide contains insights into which benefits today’s workers value. Click here to receive your free copy.
When you are ready to find candidates for your hotel’s key management positions, Horizon Hospitality’s hotel recruiters can help. With over 25 years of experience, the team takes a consultative approach to sourcing the perfect candidates for your hotel’s unique needs. Contact our hotel recruitment team today.