Earlier in April, the Carew Inn near Tenby posted a sign that read: “Please help us! We cannot open seven days a week as we do not have enough staff.” They advertised a competent “nothing flashy” chef, waiter and kitchen assistant.
The owner of the Carew Inn, who also owns the Tudor Lodge in Jameston, said: ‘We are struggling to find part-time or full-time staff, they just don’t show up.
“And I think all businesses in the region are finding the same, especially in hospitality. But I think it is also the case in other sectors.
“Being in this tourist area also makes it harder. There are fluctuations in trade and on holiday weekends we are inundated.
“And then in two weeks, all the tourists will be gone so we don’t need that many tourists.
“You can’t keep whipping the loyal staff you have and we have a very loyal and hardworking core of staff so we don’t want to finish them off.”
Speaking to Wales Online, the owner added that the challenge also comes from the fact that when new staff arrive it takes them a bit of time to get up to speed.
They said, “They don’t have the experience. During the lockdown, we lost a lot of weak but very experienced part-time staff. I think people have re-evaluated life.
“In recent months, we have not opened on Sunday evenings or Mondays for catering.
“We do our best to open seven days a week because we have to earn money during the summer.
“If you can’t do it seven days a week now, come winter, the bills still have to be paid, one way or another.”
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Eileen Warren, who runs The Stables restaurant in Tenby, also told Wales Online she could only open three days a week at the moment and said many pubs in the seaside resort had “serious staffing problems “.
Emma Thornton, chief executive of Visit Pembrokeshire, added that there were still concerns over staffing this year.
She said: “This remains a major problem for trade in Pembrokeshire, as it is in all of Wales and the UK.
“There are fewer people looking for work and despite the evolution of the isolation rules, absences due to Covid continue to be a real challenge.
“Hospitality and tourism is one of the most diverse and rewarding industries in which to work, but I think we still have some way to go to change the perception of the sector.”
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However, Ms Thornton added that businesses in the area were looking forward to the Easter and summer season with “cautious optimism”.
She said: “There is an eager expectation for this Easter break from trade in Pembrokeshire given that the last two Easters have been significantly affected by Covid-19 and these are a critical few weeks for our tourism businesses.
“We expect it to be busy, but maybe not as busy as last year; inevitably, with the openness of the world, people have more choices about where they vacation and increased fuel and energy costs impact household discretionary spending.
“Having said that, we’ve had a wonderful opportunity to really put Pembrokeshire on the map over the past two years as a beautiful year-round destination and we’re continuing to build on that.”
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Source: www.express.co.uk
This notice was published: 2022-04-17 22:42:58
