This year has been transformative for Farnek, a leading provider of sustainable and technology-driven facilities based in the United Arab Emirates, which says it has achieved remarkable growth in its hospitality division. The company says it has secured a multitude of contracts of almost USD 20 million, showcasing the increasing demand for outsourced services.

In a press statement, Farnek says that this year alone, it has secured dozens of contracts, mobilising more than 450 staff members to serve renowned international hotel brands such as Emaar, Millennium, Sheraton, Movenpick, Sofitel, Hilton and Kempinski. It adds that the primary demand has been for services in housekeeping, stewarding, security and specialised cleaning and maintenance.

Farnek says that outsourcing staff is generally seen as more cost-effective than hiring full-time employees, with industry professionals estimating that hotels can reduce operating costs by over 30 pc. However, many hotel managers still limit outsourcing primarily to stewarding roles.

It adds that low salaries, long and often unsociable hours, repetitive duties and limited opportunities for fast-track career advancement contribute to the reluctance of younger workers to pursue full-time positions in hospitality.

According to research by Mordor Intelligence, the UAE’s hospitality market is currently valued at over USD 3.7 billion and is projected to grow to USD 9.45 billion within the next five years, reflecting Farnek’s growth in market share says the statement

“Even though the UAE is close to the enormous talent pools of Middle East and North Africa, South and South-East Asia, where workers can find better paid jobs here than similar ones at home, the exponential growth of tourism is still putting an added strain on hotel human resource departments. Training, of course, is a key issue. This can take a considerable amount of time and effort to ensure that employees are trained to comply with operational standards. Then comes the issue of retention. Invariably it takes longer to recruit staff than it does for them to leave a hotel’s service, leaving potential gaps in service delivery, during high demand periods,” says Tamer Bishay, Director of Business Development, Farnek.

Tamer Bishay

“Those hotels embracing the concept of outsourcing often do so not just for the cost-efficiency, but experience many of our outsourced staff, would have worked in a number of different hotels. They are already well trained, fully qualified, can be contracted for specific demand periods, or over a longer term, which provides an effective and immediate solution,” he adds.