Digital Tipping Will Not Solve the Hotel Labor Shortage
Skift Take
Digital tipping will not solve the hotel labor shortage problem, but it certainly can’t hurt. At the very least, it gives customers options.
Travel Tech Briefing
Editor’s Note: Exclusive reporting on technology’s impact on the travel industry, delivered every Thursday. The briefing will guide executives as they decide if their companies should “build, buy, or partner” to stay ahead.The Agrarian Hotel, a 50-room hotel on the central coast of California, late last year added a feature that allows guests to tip housekeepers and other staff digitally.
The hotel is one of several that have added the feature recently. In The Agrarian’s case, it was a way to combat an industry-wide labor shortage by helping staff earn more money.
“We can't necessarily compete with the wages that the big hotels locally will be able to offer. We have lost several over the years to greener pastures and making more money at other local larger hotels,” said Sean Dasmann, general manager of the hotel. “A way to give them a raise without it costing us, as the management or ownership, any money is a great selling point right there.”
The hotel had been using other products from hotel tech startup Canary Technologies, and added the dig
