PITTSBURGH (Newsradio KDKA) – Summer is almost here, and the struggle to find employees persists.
"It's incredible how difficult it is to get people to come to work right now," said John Longstreet, president and CEO of the Pennsylvania Restaurant and Lodging Association. "Back in 2019, the number one issue that restaurants and hotels told us - their problem was getting staffing - and many of them have told me today its ten times worse than it was then."
The PRLA never thought business would be in competition with the government for employees
“But that's literally what the case is right now," Longstreet said.
The association is trying to create a program that would attract employees to come back.
"We have a couple of things were working on at the state level. One is an enhanced - what's an incentive to come back to work. And the second is a child-care tax credit to help people afford to put the kids in daycare.
Moreover, the hotel and lodging industry has seen in increase in leisure travel, but business and corporate travel is still slow – which makes up for 50% of hotel business.
“That definitely has not come back yet,” Longstreet said. “Hotels have not received the direct aid that restaurants have.”
The Restaurant Revitalization Program was dedicated to only restaurants, and many hotels were ineligible for PPP loans.
Listen to the conversation above to learn more.