The UK Governments’ so called “freedom day” has arrived and no doubt many will be looking towards a long awaited holiday. With the inherent problems of foreign travel given the ever moving “traffic light” system, the “staycation” market is looking healthy, or is it?
Helen Martin a reporter for the Edinburgh Evening News recently penned an article relating to the situation in Scotland, she stated: Now that the industry is re-opening there’s a huge recruitment drive that is desperately seeking staff for everything from golf club catering, major restaurants, hotels, pubs, time shares and many other tourism businesses. And that is certainly not based on the effects of government lockdowns and restrictions.
Earlier Helen penned an article highlighting the limitation of staycation holidays in Scotland because of the lack of staff, resulting in tourists paying more for a week’s accommodation, with certain hotels and restaurants rejecting bookings because they could only deal with 50 per cent of their normal number of customers.
In the article Helen admitted that she herself owned a time-share in the Aviemore area known as the Dalfaber Village Club. She went on to say last week we had a letter from the chairman and member representatives warning owners of limitations, It began: “Regrettably Aviemore (in fact the whole UK) has a considerable shortage of staff in all areas of the hospitality business which is having a severe impact on certain areas of the Macdonald Hotel & Resort business, especially during summer months.
Brexit not Covid?
So how has this happened? Answer Brexit, this has been a huge blow for the hospitality sector which has relied on workers from the EU. Pre-Brexit, non-UK workers made up 25 per cent of the hospitality workforce.”
According to Helen she was surprised because her part of the Dalfaber timeshare depended on more like 75 per cent of non-UK workers, from receptionists to gardeners and everything else!
The letter continued: “Due to harsher migration laws (and the pandemic) almost 300,000 workers have left their jobs and returned to their home countries since March 2020.” So this begs a further question, with the resorts closed surely they have saved money on wages which would have been funded by maintenance fees? With the resorts shut through Covid they had no rush to employ staff thus saving the wages that would have otherwise been paid to the migrant workers.
By way of further explanation, the loss of EU staff has caused so much more work for the fewer remaining staff in four timeshares and six hotels in the same area, owners of timeshare are advised to come for six days rather than seven, leaving more time for cleaning.
Apparently owners need to assist by stripping beds, emptying bins and leaving the lodge in a “reasonable manner” because the timeshare now has to source local cleaning agencies rather than staff. In recruitment, Dalfaber now offers better rates of pay, with staff benefits and live-in accommodation – which was not offered to previous EU workers.
And of course, because of Brexit, EU workers can’t come back even when Covid is under control. So, the pandemic will not be the problem for the business in the future. Brexit means running hospitality businesses will cost a lot more, and its possible customers will have to pay more too.
As a parting shot, Helen states the tourism and hospitality businesses and sectors should start to blame Westminster, rather than the Scottish government, for the hellish impact on their establishments, careers and income.
Costing a lot more?
Helen states that running a hospitality business will cost more in the future, we certainly can’t argue that. Migrant workers are not normally employed for their excellence and skills in the industry but for the fact that they cost less than local staff. Any accountant will tell you that one of the largest expenses of running a business are the walking overheads meaning the staff. If staff costs rise prices must increase to ensure the correct profit margin on services.
The forced closure of venues has already had a dramatic affect on the corporate bottom line. To get back on the straight and level will, by necessity, need price hikes. Factor in the additional staff costs and you can see where this is going.
Impact on timeshare owners
Personally we find it quite ridiculous that for those who have a seven day allocation are now being asked to cut their holidays short by one day. Add in stripping beds and emptying rubbish one has to wonder where all the pre paid maintenance fees have gone.
Speaking of maintenance fees, when there is a requirement to shore up a financial hole caused by Covid and Brexit what easier way than to increase maintenance fees. As an ordinary holidaymaker you can make the choice to book or not. If the price being asked is too high, don’t book, go elsewhere, unfortunately this option is not available to timeshare owners. The annual maintenance fee is a contractual liability of being an owner and in order to maintain ownership rights these fees must be paid.
Opinion
Our opinion is that in general there will be a price hike in fees for next year and beyond. If the fact quoted by Helen “resorts can only deal with 50 per cent of their normal number of customers” is true then even payment of annual maintenance fees will not guarantee your holiday.
At the risk of sounding boring we once again say that timeshare ownership is or even has become yesterday’s product when viewed in the context of today’s holiday market and the products available.
Although unforeseen, Brexit has obviously had a serious impact on the hospitality industry and it will be interesting to see how timeshare resorts recover. Employing local staff to fill gaps is certainly going to put the salary bill up. Locals will be unlikely to work for the same wages afforded to their Eastern European counterparts; this of course presupposes that there is a pool of local workers to draw down on.
Yes, freedom day is here for some but there is no freedom for those locked into long term timeshare ownership contracts with the bleak expectation of no holiday this year and once again an early Christmas present in December when the 2022 maintenance bill lands on the mat.
For more information regarding this article or assistance in any other timeshare related issues please contact the TCA on 01908 881058 or email: info@TimeshareConsumerAssociation.org.uk