Hoteliers in Majorca are renting properties for two to three-year periods in order to guarantee that there is accommodation for their employees during the main tourism season. The hoteliers want to ensure that the employees live as near as possible and that they don't have to pay "abusive rents". Generally speaking, the accommodation is for staff who come to the island for the season.
The increased cost of renting, brought about - it is said - by the impact of holiday rentals, has led unions to call on hotel companies to make sure that employees have somewhere decent to live and at a reasonable price.
This sort of arrangement has existed for years, but recently it has been the case that tenancy contracts are for the whole year rather than, for example, six months. The Majorca Hoteliers Federation says that this is the only way that some hoteliers can ensure that there aren't problems with housing employees.
There are hotel chains, such as Hipotels, which have their own apartments for employees and which are rent-free. There is no consequent deduction from salaries. Some thirty employees are catered for with these apartments, while other staff - on fixed contracts - live in the general vicinity of the hotels.
In instances where staff don't live nearby, there is an issue with transport, which is why the federation has asked the transport ministry to change public transport schedules so that it is easier for employees to get to and from work. This is a particular issue for hotels in the Alcudia Bay area, with staff travelling from Inca and other interior towns.
The federation's vice-president, María José Aguiló, points to the benefits of improved public transport for other residents, for tourists as well as for staff. She hopes that the government's transport plan will reflect the demand for improvement as it will improve the overall image of Majorca as a holiday destination.
In the Balearics as a whole, there are some 60,000 workers in the hotel sector. Of these, it is said that up to 20% experience problems with finding accommodation.
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Nothing new here. Restaurants and bar owners were doing this in 2006 to 2008 when the last peak in property rental happened. Employers rented or purchased properties to house their staff.
Did wonder if Key Personnel should be accommodated at their Hotels ?. Surely, they have assessed the costs of keeping key staff at their Hotels.As opposed to renting Apartments, and refunding travel costs etc.