2016 in Branson
In 2016 Branson hotels sold 10% more rooms than in 2015. People who stay in our hotels also eat at our restaurants and visit our attractions. This of course sounds like great news until you learn that nearly every industry was already short of workers even before the increase of visitors.
So, what happened at restaurants? Managers had to leave sections closed while guests waited in line because there weren’t enough servers to wait on all the tables. This resulted in frustration for guests and lost revenue for businesses. What happened at hotels? Managers were forced to leave rooms unsold because there weren’t enough housekeepers to clean them in time for more arrivals.
Labor Shortage
Good news/bad news: The good news is that it looks 2017 is going to be another strong year and likely even busier than 2016. The bad news is that Branson will not be receiving any of the 300 international, H-2B (visa designation) employees that we had last year.
There is another visa program the can help Branson limp through the summer. The J-1 visa program allows for international university students to come to America and work while their school is on summer break. This is loosely similar to a foreign exchange student program whose main focus is creating an opportunity for students to be exposed to American culture, but allows them to work to help offset the cost of the program. The time frame of students’ summer breaks varies slightly based on the country of origin, but translates to early-to-late summer for us. We will likely be receiving 100-200 more students this year than in 2016, but that will still leave us busier with fewer workers.
Puerto Rico
Branson business owners are trying to get as creative as possible, as quickly as possible. Their latest effort involves reaching out to Puerto Rico (PR). Puerto Ricans are United States citizens, so they don’t need a passport to travel here. A business owner can buy someone a plane ticket to get here, then start them working right away. This ends up being a numbers game because sometimes Puerto Ricans gladly take a free plane ticket then disappear during a plane switch-over in another city. Even considering this it’s worth the risk to possibly have another employee who can help turn more tables at restaurants and rooms at hotels.
Transportation and Housing
It sounds like Branson might be able to eke by, so what’s the problem? Both the H-2B and J-1 visa programs have qualifications. Before being granted temporary, international employees employers have to prove that the workers will have access to reliable transportation (often in the form of a shuttle/taxi service) and safe, affordable housing (they can’t be stuck in a roach motel).
The Taney County Partnership (TCP) has stepped up to save the day by helping to facilitate a job fair in PR. They’ve contacted politicians to help Branson find the PR government officials who can help us pull this off in April 2017. Because the reputation of both the TCP and Branson are at stake, the TCP has decided to adopt the same transportation and housing stipulations that the visa programs have.
This is where the affordable housing crisis comes in. Apartments are full. There is at least one employer that figured this out years ago and got on waiting lists for area apartments. As they became available he rented them year-round, even during the off season when they set empty, just to make sure there was a place for his workers to stay during their 3 – 9 months here. So, if employers don’t want to pay for empty apartments to sublet to workers, then what are their options? You can’t put them in regular hotel rooms because #1 the times of year the workers are here are the times every room needs to be sold as many times as possible to make up for off-season losses and #2 the housing stipulations of these programs dictate that workers need to have access to a kitchen so that they can cook meals.
Wisconsin Dells
An organization called CENET is facilitating the J-1 international student program. CENET has reached out to Wisconsin Dells who uses thousands of J-1 students each year and has implemented some creative housing solutions for this same situation. Wisconsin Dells has been very useful in helping us begin to put together a strategy to solve this affordable housing issue.
The Best Solution
I believe there is still another solution which is best, and the first employer to institute this strategy will win. This strategy will not only guarantee that a business is fully staffed, but also that they get their choice of the best employees in Branson. If you’re interested to know what this is, just shoot me an email and I’ll fill you in for free. Thanks for taking the time to read!