One of the world’s largest hotel groups has revealed that it’s currently seeking to fill a host of roles in its British kitchen brigades as the hospitality sector battles acute staff shortages.

French hotel giant Accor is urging UK workers to consider a career in hospitality.

A major recruitment drive

Accor, which is behind high-profile brands like Fairmont, Mondrian and Novotel, has announced the creation of more than 400 roles across its hotel portfolio, of which approximately half are in kitchen brigades. The company added that the UK hospitality sector is in full revival mode, with domestic and international tourists flocking to hotels, restaurants, bars and cafés – but warned that the industry is facing a staff shortage that threatens this recovery.

Duncan O’Rourke, CEO of Accor Northern Europe, said: “Hospitality is a career of people, passion, creativity, experience and talent. It is a sector responsible for crafting special moments that people the country and world over have longed for in the last 18 months.

“It’s a sector that brings joy and does it with heart. It is also a sector with a legacy reputation issue that is outdated. The camaraderie, talent and passion that effuses from the kitchens of hotels and restaurants is incredible, it is something I am hugely proud to be a part of and to see every day in our kitchens.

“There is talent in every kitchen, from the café, bars and restaurants to the three-star Michelin chefs. Yes it is hard work, but so is any job that is rewarding. Across the UK today, there are opportunities to be part of the industry as it rebuilds, to craft experiences that delight hundreds and thousands of guests and diners every day.”

Hospitality demand booms following Freedom Day

England lifted the vast majority of Covid-related restrictions on 19 July 2021 – so-called Freedom Day – while Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have also significantly eased their measures.

A recent UKHospitality survey, supported by CGA data, found that 56% of consumers visited a hospitality venue in the ten days after Freedom Day, up from 35% who visited a hospitality venue in the same time period after the post-lockdown reopening in the summer of 2020. However, the trade association warned that the industry remained in a fragile state with many businesses fighting for survival on a number of fronts, including a ‘critical shortage of staff’.

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