Slobodna Dalmacija reports that with the hope that the COVID-19 pandemic is behind us, 20 hotels from Brela to Gradac on the Makarska Riviera are looking for about 900 seasonal workers, of which 500 are in Makarska alone.
Director of the Makarska hotels Biokovo and Miramare, Drago Nosić, revealed that both hotels in the coming season would need from 30 to 50 seasonal workers, which were not needed last year, as Miramare closed after only one month of operation.
“We currently have 38 full-time employees and this summer, if all goes well, we will need 30 to 50 seasonal workers, mostly chefs, waiters, and receptionists,” says Nosić, adding that Miramare will open its doors in May, and perhaps earlier, depending on the opening of borders.
“For now, there is no crazy demand for accommodation, but we should hope for the best,” Nosić points out.
Given the current epidemiological situation, Hotel Romana opens on June 12, and Romana Apartments will open as the measures loosen.
According to Ines Buntić, work coordinator of Romana d.o.o., the company currently has 29 employees for an indefinite period of time. With the opening of Hotel Romana, they would need about 60 employees for an indefinite period of time.
“In the season, we plan to employ between 160 and 190 seasonal workers with a minimum net income of 5,000 to 7,500 kuna, with the fact that we offer accommodation or transportation, meals, as well as rewards for a job well done. We will soon open tenders for staff, given that within the Romana Beach Resort, there is Hotel Romana with 297 accommodation units, Romana Apartments with 111 accommodation units, wellness, nine restaurants, as well as other accompanying facilities and catering and tourist content, such as an exchange office, souvenir shop, hairdresser, and more,” said Buntić, who adds that Romana will look for chefs and support staff in the kitchen, waiters, bartenders, maids, cleaners, receptionists, employees on the maintenance of outdoor areas and swimming pools, sales clerks and other necessary staff.
The Park Hotel will open its doors in April and will have 30 to 50 part-time employees, who work for 10 months a year along with 25 full-time employees. According to the Park director, Marina Josipović, the hotel will need only a few seasonal workers, maids, chefs, and waiters.
“It will not be a problem for us to find staff because more people are registered on the labor market than last year,” Josipović points out.
Hotel Osejava will also open its doors to the first guests at the beginning of April. If it’s anything like 2019, it will need 15 seasonal workers who will work with 20 full-time employees, which was confirmed by the director Ivana Pivac Ivandić.
“We need cleaners, maids, waiters, and bartenders, and the salary of seasonal workers is from 5,000 kuna and up, with the offer of accommodation and food,” Ivandić emphasizes, adding that a group of foreign guests will arrive on April 1. They also had reservations for March 1, but there are more and more cancellations by Germans, Austrians, and Scandinavians.
Hotels Valamar Meteor, Dalmatia, and Riviera will most likely need about 200 seasonal workers. According to Joško Lelas, a member of the Imperial Riviera Management Board and director of the “Hotels Makarska” Makarska Branch for Tourism, Meteor should be open in April, while the opening of Dalmatia and Riviera is still in question.
“It is too early to talk about seasonal workers, but in 2019 we had about 200 of them, as well as 100 permanent employees,” said Lelas.
Hotels in Baška Voda, Slavija, and Horizont, will need about 100 seasonal workers who will work with 100 employees registered indefinitely. As the President of the Management Board Jakša Medić revealed, Baškovo hotels have about 30 permanent seasonal workers.
“We act like our season will be great, although the announcements for April and May are not very good. Of the seasonal workers, we will need chefs and waiters the most, and we plan to open the Slavija Hotel on March 26, when a group of Slovak cyclists arrives, while we plan to open the Horizont on May 1,” said Medić.
One-hundred-seventy-five seasonal jobs are currently open in four Brela hotels and five in Tučepi’s Bluesun hotel. According to long-term practice, it is expected that this year at least three-quarters of that number will be permanent seasonal workers, returning from season to season and working with 320 employees employed indefinitely.
According to Stanislava Čulin, Bluesun’s head of public relations, the needs have remained the same.
“We are looking for waiters, assistant waiters, bartenders, chefs, and kitchen helpers. In addition to the salary, the seasonal workers are provided with accommodation in a hotel for employees in Zadvarje. They have organized transport to the hotel and back several times a day.
They are also provided with meals at the hotels where they work, their travel expenses to and from are covered, and if they live more than a 15-minute walk away from work, they are also provided with transportation. They are paid on time, accurately, and for all overtime hours worked, either monthly or through a redistribution model of hours,” says Kristina Radha Milinković, from Bluesun’s Human Resources Department. The opening of the first Bluesun hotels in Tučepi and Brela and each destination is planned for the beginning of April, just before the Easter holidays, while other hotels will open around the May holidays when demand is traditionally higher.
According to Stjepko Šošić, director of revenue management at Bluesun Hotels & Resorts, this year’s pre-season is greatly influenced by the current epidemiological situation and will be adjusted to further development.
“We are in daily contact with partners and guests, interest in travel is great, but it all depends on the epidemiological situation in the main markets, the degree and dynamics of vaccination, and measures to cross borders,” says Šošić.
Furthermore, Medora Hotels and Resorts Podgora will need 130 seasonal workers according to current projections.
As Vladimir Miklić, head of revenue management and direct and online sales said, there are currently 72 full-time employees in Medora hotels. In terms of seasonal workers, the most needed are housekeepers and in the food and beverage department.
“In addition to the salary, we provide all our employees with comfortable accommodation near the workplace, food, and the opportunity for further training and career development, as well as a motivating work environment with a competitive salary,” said Miklić, adding that the Medora Orbis camp plans to open in early April and the hotel Medora Auri in late April.
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