Extensive training, mentoring and advancement opportunities

'Recruitment process offers quality and reliability'

The coronavirus also threw a spanner in the works at employment agency DeHotel receptionists. "When we went into lockdown in March 2020, it ended almost everything we had been working on for over three years. Within a month, over 90% of applications had been cancelled. In the months that followed, we lost our staff due to a shortage of work," says co-founder Harun Faqiri. Fortunately, today the company has picked up where it left off.

Harun Faqiri founded DeHotelreceptionists in 2017 with his business partner Shafiël Mahabier. In a short time, they grew into a strong player in the Dutch market. After the corona low, they only started to grow. "Bit by bit, we could start again in May 2022. But how to tackle this? In the labour market, hotel staff could not be found. People had switched jobs or they were at a test site of the GGD as that paid very well." 

Reliable recruitment process

Harun and Shafiël started looking for solutions to restore optimum service to the hotels. "This is one way we got in touch with status-holding immigrants. They are eager to work and are more than 100% committed. Besides, most of them already speak fluent English, which comes in handy in the Randstad! We now have a large pool of staff ready to go. From the hospitality world or just new to our industry: through our recruitment process, you don't notice any difference." 

To ensure good and experienced staff, DeHotel receptionists put a lot of time into recruiting their staff. "We train staff on well-known reservation systems like Mews and Opera. And before they actually start working, we send staff to a hotel and offer them a try-out shift. That way, we determine together whether the job and the person fit. We are convinced that the extensive training, guidance and advancement opportunities result in quality and reliability for the hotels."

It is and remains a temp agency so the flow of staff is well and truly high. "You always have to take into account that someone can drop out on the day. That is why we make sure we are available 24/7 and have someone as back-up every day to guarantee 100% staffing. Up to two hours before the start of a shift, hotels can request shifts from us." 

One Stop Shop

Where they started by offering night shifts, they are now focusing more on the One Stop Shop concept. "Hotels can come to us for all their staff: night shift, day shift, breakfast staff or someone for housekeeping. This way, they only have one point of contact. In addition, there is no purchase obligation: where the need is there we help you."