GRA - Back of the house?

For some reason the Guest Room Attendant (GRA) has been branded as a ‘back-of-the-house, non-tipping position.’  This is absolutely incorrect. 

First off, the GRA is far from ‘back-of-the-house.’ 

The GRA is a front line employee who interacts with hotel guests each and every day whether management wants to accept it or not.  The fact of the matter is - it happens.  And many times, GRAs interact with guests more than the beloved concierges do.  Why?  Because they are easily accessible and perceived by the guest to be ‘unbiased.’  The GRA is often the first hotel employee a guest sees in the morning and the simple question of “Where is a good place to grab a quick breakfast,” or “How do I get to your (fill in the blank) restaurant?” are answered.  I would call this front-line. 

Secondly, GRAs are tip earners. 

Yeah - they do not earn as much as a cocktail waitress, bartender or valet, but they do earn tips.  Pretty much everyone I know tips their GRA a few bucks each night or leave the loose change from their fun-filled night of gambling on the nightstand as a way of showing appreciation for keeping their room in order.  I am sure the tip volume varies from property to property and even city to city.  But GRAs do make tips. 

So why have we branded the GRA position as a back-of-the-house, non-tipping position?  I don’t get it.  This very well may be the fundamental problem that led to the stereotyping of GRA jobs being for Mexican women.  If the average Joe (or Josephine) knew that they could contribute to the overall guest experience and earn additional income (tips) by doing so, the GRA position would be a much more appealing job.  More applicants would apply and we would not have the critical shortages that we have in this profession. 

Recruiting Nevada’s goal is to help change this.  We feel that we can:

• Get the GRA recognized as a front-line employee who positively contributes to the overall guest experience
• Reverse the current recruiting pattern and attract a cross-section of highly motivated workers
• Correct the critical workforce shortage that has plagued the hospitality industry for many years
• Decrease unnecessary turnover caused by the cannibalization of each others talent
• Improve retention levels and overall productivity levels
• Add profitability to the bottom line through continuity

Again, this is an open case study that we will be sharing with our readers as we make the journey.  Thank you for all of  the feedback from last week’s post.  We will figure this out together. 

This is Part 3 of a series on the Housekeeping shortage.