Local hospitality industry invests $30K to find employees

RELATED

Springfield hotel industry rebounds in 2021

Local hospitality industry groups are partnering on a $30,000 marketing campaign designed to shore up the workforce.

A dozen members of the Springfield Hotel Lodging Association, the Springfield Convention & Visitors Bureau and the Missouri Restaurant Association are seeking to fill more than 100 open industry jobs, according to a news release.

"We don’t feel that people realize the opportunities within our industry that are available to them,” said Alexis Deane-Downing, president of the SHLA, in the release. "We want to make it easy for them to see and easy for them to get their name to us.”

Hotels with open jobs include DoubleTree by Hilton, Fairfield by Marriott, Hotel Vandivort and Oasis Hotel and Convention Center.

The groups hired Springfield advertising agency Revel Advertising to launch a 30-day campaign that includes ad spots on music streaming service Spotify and social media platforms.

Hospitality and leisure is the fifth-largest employment sector in Springfield, with 21,500 jobs, according to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data cited in the release.

“It’s a great time to get a foot in the door,” Deane-Downing said in the release, noting career advancement could be waiting for new employees after the labor shortage is tackled. “It’s a stepping- stone into a great career with opportunity for advancement.”