Demand for tourism workers exceeds supply

• Tourism was a $18.5 billion industry in 2014.
• The industry accounts for almost 200,000 jobs in Wisconsin.
• The Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development says it expects jobs in the hospitality sector to grow by 9 percent by 2022.

LIBERTY GROVE – An online classified listing caught Emma Lewis’ attention.

A resort in Door County was seeking seasonal help. It would mean moving from Two Rivers for the summer and fall, but it looked like a job she’d enjoy.

“It’s been the perfect fit,” said Lewis, who works at the front desk at Rowleys Bay Resort in northern Door County. “The main reason I was drawn to this area, was the beauty. I’ve been here before visiting, I loved it, I saw the opportunity and I took it right away.”

Lewis, who was working as a healthcare provider, was left without a job for a few weeks after the patient she was caring for passed away. The need for a new job brought her to the hospitality sector where workers are in high demand across Wisconsin.

The chronic shortage is prompting businesses and educators to develop new strategies to attract workers and train the next generation of managers in a quickly growing industry.

“Pretty much in every department, right now, I’m short one or two people,” said Jewel Peterson Ouradnik, owner and manager at Rowleys Bay Resort. “The people I have are amazing, but there’s not quite enough of them. Ever. We’re busier than ever this year, and its been a great summer, but getting enough staff to cover our needs has always been our challenge.”

The 75-room resort includes lodging, five cabins, a buffet-style restaurant and pub. It is operated by 45 staff members, about 15 fewer than the ideal staffing level.

“We know how to do the jobs our staff is doing. I answer the phone and take reservations, I know how to clean the rooms, I train the bakers every year, ” she said. “You have to do everything, and your staff needs to see you’re willing to do everything. I’m the boss with a plunger.”

Tourism, a $18.5 billion industry in 2014, accounts for almost 200,000 jobs in Wisconsin. The Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development said it expects jobs in the hospitality sector to grow 9 percent by 2022.

“Business isn’t the issue, it’s employees,” said Susie Watson, a consultant working on brand strategy and marketing with Rowleys. “Up here in the north end (of the county), it’s been tight for many years.”

The resort — which in recent years has embraced a decidedly mid-20th century theme to its advertising and portions of its decor — offers on-site living quarters to staff, many of whom are from overseas, or from places other than Door County.

The resort is about an hour away from Sturgeon Bay, the largest city in the county, and many nearby residents are retired.

“We want to hire Americans above anything, we want to keep our jobs in the States, but the complication is there just isn’t enough Americans, so we hire international students mainly for the entry-level jobs,” Peterson Ouradnik said. “I spent all winter interviewing by Skype ... to find out if they’re a good fit for us.”

Employees come from places like Turkey, China, Romania and Uzbekistan.

Seeking talent

Employers are always on the lookout for fresh talent, which means students with a background in hospitality find employers competing for their attention.

“Our placement ... is 99 percent,” said Kristal Gerdes, chair of the University of Wisconsin-Stout School of Hospitality Leadership. “We actually have more jobs than we have graduates for. Often employers are sending us messages asking if we have students to do extended internships or full-time employment.”

The college prepares students for management and leadership positions with salaries that average $40,000 to $55,000. The school has about 800 students in three program areas.

State wage data shows pay ranges for other positions vary, from $8.13 to $13.61 for retail positions to $8.26 to $13.08 hourly for tour guides. In Door County, wages for both retail and tour guide positions are higher than the state average. Maids and housekepers earn from $8.09 to $14.01 hourly in Wisconsin.

In contrast, meeting, convention and event planner positions are expected to be high -growth occupations, with forecasts predicting 32 percent growth from 2012 to 2022, with annual salaries ranging from $27,340 to $50,940.

“Our placement is for management positions, maybe from a front desk manager and continuing on up,” Gerdes said. “The jobs are out there.”

The search for employees reaches to areas other than Door County.

Blue Harbor Resort, Spa and Conference Center in Sheboygan, The Osthoff Resort in Elkhart Lake and Destination Kohler — all in Sheboygan County — recently partnered with nearby Lakeland College to help train a new generation of employees.

“With an indoor water park and a large conference center, we’ve got very good business year round, but that doesn’t mean it’s really easy to get, and keep, employees,” said David Sanderson, vice president and general manager for Blue Harbor. “The challenge becomes internal with our management team, ‘What do we do as leaders to make us more of an employer of choice?’”

He said that goes beyond pay to empowering employees, offering benefits and partnering with Lakeland College, which offers a hospitality management program.

The partnership, started this spring, offers students a number of entry-level positions or internships while also help addressing the need of finding — and keeping — qualified employees.

“If they come in as a freshman, when they graduate they’re going to have the equivalent or two years of work experience,” Sanderson said. “We think that’s a win for the employer, a win for Lakeland in its ability to recruit more students, and its a win for the employee because they should be able to leverage that into better job opportunities.”

Bob Dickson, who co-owns and operates The Shallows Resort in Egg Harbor, said the business finds the employees its needs locally, but it can sometimes be a challenge.

“Since we’re a seasonal property, in early March I’ll call everybody and ask them if they’re going to come back for the season,” he said. “That’s always a nervous time of the year. Will people return? We’ve been real fortunate and most of them have.”

The resort has 18 employees through the peak of the summer season.

“We seem to always get enough,” Dickson said. “We’ve had to stay very competitive with the wages. Luckily our people are good people and we don’t mind paying them more. They know the job and it’s too our advantage to have people who have been here before.”

Most of his employes are from Door County. Some travel to other parts of the country during the offseason to take other seasonal jobs.

“If you want to come to Door County, I guarantee you can find a job today in hospitality, a resort, or in the restaurant business,” Dickson said. “That will be even more critical when the high school and college kids go back to school. And that will happen soon.”

End of the cul-de-sac

Jack Moneypenny, president and CEO of the Door County Visitor Bureau, said county tourism officials are acutely aware of the employment and housing situation, topics that are linked.

“We’ve always been at a disadvantage in that we cannot draw from surrounding communities for seasonal help,” he said. “We live at the end of the cul-de-sac. There is one way in and one way out.”

The bureau’s website includes a listing of available jobs. Earlier this week, 234 open jobs were listed.

Moneypenny said affordable housing has been a point of discussion among Visitor Bureau board members and county businesses. But he concedes there are no easy solutions to that situation.

“The key word is affordable,” he said. “It’s hard to lure college students here to work for the summer if all of the money they make is going to be used for housing and their basic necessities.”

Dormitory-style housing has been suggested, but many questions remain over that prospect.

“That could be the answer,” Moneypenny said. “But its not as easy we’d all like to believe it is. I think it’s going to take a lot more minds than one or two sitting around a table to understand who can, and would, be a developer; where would the funding come from; who is going to be the lead on this?”

Without housing, Dickson hasn’t tapped into the foreign market for employees, but he’s been part of the discussions surrounding potential housing options in the county.

Advancement opportunities

Wisconsin Secretary of Tourism Stephanie Klett said the industry offers a number of employment opportunities, and advancements, to people who care about outstanding customer service and are good at their jobs.

She noted Door County isn’t alone in searching overseas for employees. Businesses in the Wisconsin Dells and Lake Geneva also hire workers from other countries.

“We have a labor shortage often times,” Klett said. “Seasonal jobs can very often turn into full-time jobs for people if that are good, like the work, and want to stay. If you care about outstanding customer service, in tourism, you will always have a job.”

With 244 units, Blue Harbor Resort, Spa and Conference Center in Sheboygan employs a little more than 300 people in the summer, and between 150 and 200 during the winter.

“Our business is one you can come into with a high school diploma and work your way up,” Sanderson said.

Lewis said she’s enjoyed here foray into working in hospitality and will consider coming back next year. Before that happens, she looking forward to finishing out the summer and fall at Rowleys Bay Resort.

“I really like the contact with people,” she said. “It’s something I would consider doing again. It’s a great opportunity for people like me who were left without a job... I’m sure there are more people like me who want to do something like this.”

— nphelps @ gannett.com and follow him on Twitter @ nathanphelpsPG or Facebook at Nathan-Phelps-Gannett-Media-Wisconsin