Meadowlands-Area Hotels Have Dire Need For Employees

SECAUCUS, NJ — This Friday, there will be a hiring fair in Lyndhurst for the Meadowlands hotel industry, which is in dire need of workers right now.

According to the Meadowlands Chamber of Commerce, which is hosting Friday's job fair, there are literally hundreds of front-desk jobs, housekeeping jobs, restaurant work and bus driving positions that employers are desperate to fill. Demand will likely only increase as American Dream gains more shops and becomes a travel destination.

"Some hotels have actually had to turn away customers and not book rooms because they cannot get the rooms cleaned fast enough, or they don't have enough front-desk staff," said Jim Kirkos, president and CEO of the Meadowlands Chamber of Commerce. "People are getting out and about again after the pandemic and our local hotels are struggling to capitalize on that because of a labor shortage."

His group represents 34 hotels in the Meadowlands. This includes hotels in Hoboken, Secaucus, northern Jersey City and all the hotels around the Jets/Giants football stadium and the racetrack.

"Every single one of them is experiencing a labor shortage," he said. "They're struggling. They're looking for front desk help, cleaners, hotel managers, those that have restaurants are looking for food and beverage people — all the typical operations of running a hotel property.

"You shouldn't have to not book rooms or not be open for lunch because you don't have the staff," he added.

Coach USA will also be there Friday and they told Kirkos they will "hire people on the spot" to drive their motor coaches, clean the buses and do maintenance work.

Salaries at the job fair will range from $15 to $25 an hour, and Coach is offering a $5,000 signing bonus if drivers say they can get their CDL immediately.

Here is the list of hotels participating:

• Spring Hill Suites East Rutherford/Carlstadt (Concord property)
• Residence Inn East Rutherford (Concord property)
• Holiday Inn Hasbrouck Heights (Concord property)
• Renaissance Meadowlands
• Red Roof PLUS+ Secaucus
• Envue, Autograph Collection
• Real Hospitality Group (represents Fairfield Inn North Bergen as one of their properties)

Also participating:

• Butler Hospitality
• Skopos Hospitality (represents five restaurants: The Barrow House, The Vanguard, Cowan’s Public, Franklin Social & Gus’ Last Word)
• Coach USA

SpringHill Suites in Carlstadt will be hiring on Friday.

“Our current staffers are doing the jobs of two or three people. The money is there, we’re ready to hire and jump-start the economy, but the workforce just isn’t willing to commit," said Lauren Fundler-Kleiman, director of sales & marketing.

“The hospitality industry has already been hit hard by the pandemic," she continued. "But we’re bouncing back. As the vaccine rate continues to increase, we’re booking more rooms, even with the rise of the Delta variant. The real issue is finding enough staff to fill our open positions and meet the rising demand of our new bookings. We have five hotels in the area and every single one of them is hiring — dozens of positions available. But it has been a struggle to fill even one open job."

"There will be about 10 separate hotels participating; they will have booths set up," said Kirkos. "Basically, walk in with a resume, walk out with a job."

The nation's extended unemployment benefits ended at the start of September. There were 10.9 million job openings nationwide in July, another record high. And 1.8 million of those jobs are in the hospitality industry alone, according to the most recent statistics from the U.S. Labor Department.

No hospitality jobs were added to the most recent August employment report, where the economy added only 235,000 jobs — a number that was well below economists' expectations.

Kirkos said he think it's a "range of factors" behind the hiring woes.

"The pandemic has made people think about different careers; then there was the extra unemployment the state and federal government gave out. And I also think there's still a pandemic mindset that has people wanting to stay home more and be with their families."

"But we can't have hotels turning away guests or restaurants not serving lunch because they don't have the staff," he said. "We have to continue to build our economy — we need to get back to work."

What: Meadowlands hotel industry job fair

When: Friday September 17 from 12-4:30 p.m.

Where: Meadowlands Chamber HQ - 1099 Wall Street West, Suite 100, Lyndhurst, NJ 07071

For those seeking employment please bring copies of your resume. Walk-ins are welcome and registration is not necessary. For those using mass transit, the Meadowlands headquarters is a short walk from the New Jersey Transit bus stop at Polito Ave servicing the 76, 190, 191, 192, and 199 bus lines.

The New Jersey Meadowlands, home to the Giants/Jets football stadium and concert space, plus the racetrack and proximity to New York City, Hoboken and Jersey City, is known for its vibrant hospitality industry that includes 11,000 hotel rooms, countless restaurants and some of the world’s most iconic entertainment venues.

Booth space is limited to the first 20 hospitality businesses who express interest to Kelsey Sarro at KSarro@meadowlands.org or 201.939.0707.

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