Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts has been ramping up hires in 2021, with new job postings doubling from 431 in February to 889 in March. The Canada-based company is hiring several senior-level personnel and support staff across its 119 hotels and 44 private residences, according to data and analytics company GlobalData.
The company listed around 4,000 jobs between January–June (till June 14), which is more than what it posted in 2020. Hiring is concentrated in the U.S. and Canada, with an increase of 47% and 25% in job postings, respectively, till June, when compared to January and December 2020. Hiring in Asia-Pacific (APAC) countries, such as Thailand, Japan and South Korea, has also increased in 2021 compared to 2020. Additionally, job postings are prominent in countries such as Costa Rica, Seychelles, Anguilla, Brazil and Italy.
“Four Seasons’ hiring can be attributed to the reopening of its hotels globally, after a year of lockdown-induced travel restrictions,” said Ajay Thalluri, business fundamentals analyst, GlobalData. “Additionally, the company is hiring for pre-opening teams for its hotels. The company resumed bookings, offering travel itineraries starting October 2021 until December 2022. Increased hiring in select countries can also be due to a high percentage of the population receiving a COVID-19 vaccination, besides likability of travel destinations.”
Interestingly, Four Seasons outlines that the business environment is changing, specifying that new hires should ensure efficient financial management. For example, its “director of food & beverage” job requires reacting and adjusting to changing business environments and ensuring efficient financial management.
Operational-level jobs are in high demand, especially for cooks, followed by operational managers and cleaning workers. Four Seasons is providing a $1,000 signing bonus for jobs such as servers, housekeeping staff, stewards and valet attendants. The company is also staffing hotel residences and owned residences for assisting and conducting orientation for new unit owners and the handling of condominium day-to-day issues to ensure smooth operation.
Thalluri said, “Four Seasons has been reopening several of its hotels and is slated to open new ones in the U.S., Italy, Mexico and Japan. The company could look at more hires in the coming months to meet its pre-opening team requirements.”