For most London businesses, customers are back but staffing still a challenge

If overnight stays were the only metric to watch, Katie Hardie would have a lot to be happy about at the Delta London Armouries Hotel, where she works in human resources. 

After two summers stricken by crippling COVID-19 shutdowns on conferences, sporting events and travel, things have started to return to normal this summer. 

She said bookings were strong over the past week as the southwestern Ontario city played host to two significant music events: The Home County Festival and Rock the Park. 

"Things are going great right now with our bookings, and we're very excited to have customers back," said Hardie. 

And while the customers have returned, the same can't be said about the staff.

Pre-pandemic, the hotel operated with about 140 workers. Right now, they have about 110. As the overnight stays increase, it adds to the staffing pressure. 

"I think there's just a little bit of anxiety about going back to work," she said. "It's been quite challenging that way." 

Globally, thousands of workers in the hospitality industry shifted careers during the darkest days of the pandemic. Few would blame them as health orders all but shut down so many of the events that generate business for restaurants and hotels. Now that business is ramping back up, some owners say they're struggling to get staffing levels back up to pre-pandemic levels. 

"I've found that people are sometimes a little bit shy to go back into an industry that wasn't stable during that time," said Hardie. She's even had applicants no-show for available positions or accept job offers only to turn them down before working their first shift. 

Hardie said staff appreciation days and recommendation incentives have helped recruit and retain staff, but she'd still like to have more workers on her roster.

Mike Smith owns four downtown London bars and/or restaurants, including Joe Kool's, Fellini's, Runt Club and Toboggan. His cash registers are ringing again, but he'd like more employees to meet the demand. 

"Staffing definitely is one of the biggest challenges right now," he said. "People retired or moved on during COVID and to fill that void, and it's taken a while." 

Smith said some staff at his establishments have had to flex into different roles to keep things running smoothly.  

Elon Shatil, on the management team at East Park, has a particular staffing challenge. He'd love to have a few more lifeguards to cover shifts at the water park. Municipalities across Canada face a pressing lifeguard shortage that, in some cases, is causing swim lessons to be cancelled. New lifeguards weren't trained during the pandemic, and that's creating staffing problems now.

"There's just a shortage of lifeguards generally," said Shatil. "We're fortunate to have what we need, but it's certainly very tight. If there are any lifeguards out there, we'd certainly welcome them to apply." 

Like many businesses, Shatil is dealing with supply chain issues — there's a global chlorine shortage — but he said that so far, they've managed to keep the park open. 

"It's not been without its challenges, but we've been able to get what we need to keep our park open," he said. "Certainly, it's been more stressful than it has in the past."