Why seasonal hotel staff do not come back

The answer

Seasonal staff leave because rotas change at the last minute, not because of pay.

Nobody asked for more money. They asked for the week's shifts by Wednesday, a late bus, and an invitation back in November rather than February.

What people said

8/10 Rotas are published less than three days ahead 8 of 10 people Strong signal

The week's rota usually appears on Friday evening or Saturday, for a Monday start. It cannot go out sooner because it waits for the arrivals list, which waits for reservations to lock on Thursday afternoon.

“Rota comes out Friday teatime, sometimes Saturday morning, and I start Monday.”Room attendant, 2 seasons

Show all 4 quotes and their conversations

1. “Rota comes out Friday teatime, sometimes Saturday morning, and I start Monday.”

   Room attendant, 2 seasons

   Open the conversation

   Excerpt from the conversation with: Room attendant, 2 seasons · Coastal resort hotel, 60 rooms

   Lontra

   Tell me about a normal working week this season, starting from when you find out your shifts.

   Room attendant

   Rota comes out Friday teatime, sometimes Saturday morning, and I start Monday. It goes on the board in the housekeeping room and somebody puts a photo in the group chat. Nobody tells you it's out, you just have to look.

   Lontra

   What happens to it once it's out?

   Room attendant

   It moves. The message comes at nine, ten at night, 'can you swap Wednesday, we've got a coach in'. Last month I had three of those in a week.

   Lontra

   This is the rota you shared. For RA2, Wednesday says 16:00-22:00, was off, and Thursday starts at 07:30. Is that yours, and what happened there?

   Room attendant

   That's mine. Sunday night message, evening turndown cover because the person who does it was off. I said yes. Home at eleven, back for half seven. I'd said yes before and I didn't want to be the one who says no.

   Lontra

   What does it mean for your days off, when the rota isn't out yet?

   Room attendant

   Nothing I can book. I looked at a day trip once and never did it because I didn't know my Tuesday.

   Lontra

   Do you think you'll come back next season?

   Room attendant

   I'd think about it. Pay was fine. But by February I'd already got something else lined up, and the hotel's email came late February.

2. “Never more than two days ahead.”

   Restaurant server, first season

   Open the conversation

   Excerpt from the conversation with: Restaurant server, first season · Seafront hotel, lives in the staff house

   Lontra

   How do you find out when you're working?

   Restaurant server

   There's a rota in the restaurant office. Never more than two days ahead. Sometimes I find out on a Saturday that I'm on Sunday breakfast.

   Lontra

   How does that fit with the rest of your week?

   Restaurant server

   I live in the staff house, which is three miles out, and the last minibus is half ten. So if I'm on a late I wait for a lift or I walk. And if you want to say to a friend let's go out Thursday, you can't. I just say maybe.

   Lontra

   When your shifts change, how do you hear?

   Restaurant server

   Group chat. Or the supervisor catches you on the stairs.

   Lontra

   Has a change ever caused a problem?

   Restaurant server

   Once I'd swapped an evening with someone and then the supervisor moved me as well. We both turned up. It got sorted but it was awkward.

   Lontra

   What would you change first?

   Restaurant server

   Honestly I don't mind the hours. The hours are good. It's the not knowing. Give me the week by Wednesday and I'd be back.

3. “The rota goes out Friday evening, if I'm lucky.”

   Head housekeeper, 6 seasons

   Open the conversation

   Excerpt from the conversation with: Head housekeeper, 6 seasons · Writes the housekeeping rota for 60 rooms

   Lontra

   You write the housekeeping rota. When does it go out?

   Head housekeeper

   The rota goes out Friday evening, if I'm lucky. I can't do it before front office gives me the arrivals, and that's Friday afternoon.

   Lontra

   What does the arrivals list change?

   Head housekeeper

   Everything. Forty rooms on Tuesday or a coach of thirty on Wednesday, and I need six attendants or I need four. Half the bookings come in the last week.

   Lontra

   What happens when it changes after you've published?

   Head housekeeper

   I message the ones I need. I know it's late. The same people say yes every time, which isn't fair on them, and I know that too.

   Lontra

   Have you tried fixing part of it earlier?

   Head housekeeper

   A fixed core. Four set shifts each, and I flex the rest. We did it two years ago and it fell away in June when bookings jumped. Nobody said stop, it just went.

   Lontra

   Do people come back?

   Head housekeeper

   The good ones, if they hear early. I ask them in November, face to face, before they go. Group HR emails in February.

4. “Day before. Sometimes the same morning.”

   Porter and driver, first season

   Open the conversation

   Excerpt from the conversation with: Porter and driver, first season · Does transfers between three hotels

   Lontra

   How do you find out your shifts?

   Porter and driver

   Day before. Sometimes the same morning.

   Lontra

   What decides it?

   Porter and driver

   Transfers. Guests, the airport, between the hotels. Depends who's arriving.

   Lontra

   Do you work at other hotels in the group?

   Porter and driver

   Two of them. I'm on their rota and ours. They don't match.

   Lontra

   What happens when they don't match?

   Porter and driver

   I go with whoever messages first.

   Lontra

   How do you get back to the staff house after a late transfer?

   Porter and driver

   Walk. Or wait for the van to come back.

   Lontra

   Anything you'd change?

   Porter and driver

   One rota. Not two.

6/10 Shifts change after the rota is out, by group message in the evening 6 of 10 people Strong signal

The published rota is a first version. Cover is arranged the evening before, in a group chat, and the same willing people tend to say yes. First-season staff say they find it hard to refuse.

“The message comes at nine, ten at night”Room attendant, 2 seasons

Show all 4 quotes and their conversations

1. “The message comes at nine, ten at night”

   Room attendant, 2 seasons

   Open the conversation

   Excerpt from the conversation with: Room attendant, 2 seasons · Coastal resort hotel, 60 rooms

   Lontra

   Tell me about a normal working week this season, starting from when you find out your shifts.

   Room attendant

   Rota comes out Friday teatime, sometimes Saturday morning, and I start Monday. It goes on the board in the housekeeping room and somebody puts a photo in the group chat. Nobody tells you it's out, you just have to look.

   Lontra

   What happens to it once it's out?

   Room attendant

   It moves. The message comes at nine, ten at night, 'can you swap Wednesday, we've got a coach in'. Last month I had three of those in a week.

   Lontra

   This is the rota you shared. For RA2, Wednesday says 16:00-22:00, was off, and Thursday starts at 07:30. Is that yours, and what happened there?

   Room attendant

   That's mine. Sunday night message, evening turndown cover because the person who does it was off. I said yes. Home at eleven, back for half seven. I'd said yes before and I didn't want to be the one who says no.

   Lontra

   What does it mean for your days off, when the rota isn't out yet?

   Room attendant

   Nothing I can book. I looked at a day trip once and never did it because I didn't know my Tuesday.

   Lontra

   Do you think you'll come back next season?

   Room attendant

   I'd think about it. Pay was fine. But by February I'd already got something else lined up, and the hotel's email came late February.

2. “But you don't, first season. You want them to ask you back.”

   Breakfast cook, first season

   Open the conversation

   Excerpt from the conversation with: Breakfast cook, first season · Hotel restaurant, sometimes moved to dinner

   Lontra

   What's your week like in the kitchen?

   Breakfast cook

   Breakfast, six till two, when it's a good week. They moved me to dinner twice when the second cook was off. Rota came out Saturday for Monday, and the dinner ones I found out about on a Sunday night.

   Lontra

   How did they ask you?

   Breakfast cook

   The chef's message. 'Can you do tomorrow dinner.' You can say no but.

   Lontra

   But?

   Breakfast cook

   But you don't, first season. You want them to ask you back.

   Lontra

   How does that sit with where you live?

   Breakfast cook

   I'm in the staff house, and breakfast at six means the quarter past five minibus. If I'm moved to dinner I'm there late and I've missed the last one back.

   Lontra

   What would you change?

   Breakfast cook

   Tell us the week on a day when I can plan, and then keep to it. And ask me properly, not at ten at night.

3. “I'm the one who sends the evening message.”

   Duty manager, 5 seasons

   Open the conversation

   Excerpt from the conversation with: Duty manager, 5 seasons · Sends the evening cover messages

   Lontra

   When does the weekly rota get finalised in your hotel?

   Duty manager

   Departments write their own. Most go out Friday, some Saturday. So yes, less than three days before the Monday start.

   Lontra

   What stops it going earlier?

   Duty manager

   The forecast. Reservations lock on Thursday afternoon. Before that I'm guessing, and if I guess high I've got people on shifts with nothing to do.

   Lontra

   And after it's out?

   Duty manager

   I'm the one who sends the evening message. I know it's late. It goes in the group chat because it's the only way to reach everyone.

   Lontra

   How many of those in a week?

   Duty manager

   Four, five in July.

   Lontra

   What would help?

   Duty manager

   If I could say at the start of the week this is the fixed part and this is the maybe. Right now it's all just rota, and some of it is a maybe that I haven't said.

4. “Most weeks one or two.”

   Receptionist, 3 seasons

   Open the conversation

   Excerpt from the conversation with: Receptionist, 3 seasons · Town hotel, front desk

   Lontra

   How would you describe working here to someone thinking of coming back next year?

   Receptionist

   Honestly it's a good job. Pay's fine, the team's good, the view's nice. The rota doesn't bother me, you get used to it. Three seasons, I know how it goes.

   Lontra

   How do you hear about your shifts?

   Receptionist

   Reception rota goes up Thursday for the following week. Then it changes. Someone's off, a coach turns up, the night person swaps. I get a message, usually in the evening.

   Lontra

   How many changes in the last month?

   Receptionist

   Eight? Ten? I didn't count. Most weeks one or two.

   Lontra

   You said the rota doesn't bother you, and now one or two changes most weeks. Which is closer?

   Receptionist

   Hm. It matters. I say it doesn't bother me because I've decided it doesn't. But if you ask whether it's the reason I'm not sure about next year, then yes, it is.

   Lontra

   What would you need in order to decide?

   Receptionist

   Knowing a pattern. Five on, two off, same two days. I'd stay for that.

   Lontra

   When did you hear about this season, last winter?

   Receptionist

   Late February I think. By then I'd had another offer. I stayed because I know the place, but it was close. Ask our team leader about the Thursday rota, she's done four seasons and she'll tell you why it holds.

5/10 The staff house minibus decides which late shifts people can take 5 of 10 people Strong signal

The last minibus to the staff house leaves at 22:30. Closing shifts in the kitchen and bar end later, so staff walk, wait for a lift that is not guaranteed, or swap with someone who has a car. The rota does not show the bus.

“the last minibus is half ten”Restaurant server, first season

Show all 4 quotes and their conversations

1. “the last minibus is half ten”

   Restaurant server, first season

   Open the conversation

   Excerpt from the conversation with: Restaurant server, first season · Seafront hotel, lives in the staff house

   Lontra

   How do you find out when you're working?

   Restaurant server

   There's a rota in the restaurant office. Never more than two days ahead. Sometimes I find out on a Saturday that I'm on Sunday breakfast.

   Lontra

   How does that fit with the rest of your week?

   Restaurant server

   I live in the staff house, which is three miles out, and the last minibus is half ten. So if I'm on a late I wait for a lift or I walk. And if you want to say to a friend let's go out Thursday, you can't. I just say maybe.

   Lontra

   When your shifts change, how do you hear?

   Restaurant server

   Group chat. Or the supervisor catches you on the stairs.

   Lontra

   Has a change ever caused a problem?

   Restaurant server

   Once I'd swapped an evening with someone and then the supervisor moved me as well. We both turned up. It got sorted but it was awkward.

   Lontra

   What would you change first?

   Restaurant server

   Honestly I don't mind the hours. The hours are good. It's the not knowing. Give me the week by Wednesday and I'd be back.

2. “The rota says close, nobody looks at the bus.”

   Kitchen porter, first season

   Open the conversation

   Excerpt from the conversation with: Kitchen porter, first season · Hotel with a kitchen that closes after 23:00

   Lontra

   What does a normal week look like for you in the kitchen?

   Kitchen porter

   Mostly closes. Dinner finishes about eleven and I'm there till half eleven clearing down. Then I'm on breakfast two days later at six.

   Lontra

   Here's the notice from the staff house kitchen wall. The last minibus to the staff house leaves at 22:30. What time do you finish when you close?

   Kitchen porter

   Half eleven, quarter to twelve. So I miss it. I walk it, forty-five minutes by the coast road, or I ask the duty manager and sometimes there's a lift and sometimes there isn't. It says not guaranteed on the notice.

   Lontra

   How often does that happen?

   Kitchen porter

   Three, four nights a week when I'm on closes. The rota says close, nobody looks at the bus.

   Lontra

   When did you find out about this week's rota?

   Kitchen porter

   Saturday dinnertime. I start Monday.

   Lontra

   What do you do when you can't get back?

   Kitchen porter

   Swap with someone who's got a car, if I know in time. Mostly I don't.

3. “Minibus. Or I don't.”

   Bar worker, 2 seasons

   Open the conversation

   Excerpt from the conversation with: Bar worker, 2 seasons · Also covers events at a second hotel

   Lontra

   What's it like working the bar here, week to week?

   Bar worker

   Busy. Fine.

   Lontra

   How do you find out your shifts?

   Bar worker

   Rota. It's late.

   Lontra

   Late by how much?

   Bar worker

   Day before sometimes.

   Lontra

   And getting home after a late one?

   Bar worker

   Minibus. Or I don't.

   Lontra

   Anything else you'd tell the hotel?

   Bar worker

   I do the events at the other hotel too. Different rota. Fine.

4. “Walk. Or wait for the van to come back.”

   Porter and driver, first season

   Open the conversation

   Excerpt from the conversation with: Porter and driver, first season · Does transfers between three hotels

   Lontra

   How do you find out your shifts?

   Porter and driver

   Day before. Sometimes the same morning.

   Lontra

   What decides it?

   Porter and driver

   Transfers. Guests, the airport, between the hotels. Depends who's arriving.

   Lontra

   Do you work at other hotels in the group?

   Porter and driver

   Two of them. I'm on their rota and ours. They don't match.

   Lontra

   What happens when they don't match?

   Porter and driver

   I go with whoever messages first.

   Lontra

   How do you get back to the staff house after a late transfer?

   Porter and driver

   Walk. Or wait for the van to come back.

   Lontra

   Anything you'd change?

   Porter and driver

   One rota. Not two.

4/10 Invitations to return arrive after people have found other work 4 of 10 people Emerging

Group HR emails former seasonal staff on 21 February, when the previous season's payroll list is ready. Several people had decided by December or January. Pay is not what they say decided it.

“by February I'd already got something else lined up”Room attendant, 2 seasons

Show all 4 quotes and their conversations

1. “by February I'd already got something else lined up”

   Room attendant, 2 seasons

   Open the conversation

   Excerpt from the conversation with: Room attendant, 2 seasons · Coastal resort hotel, 60 rooms

   Lontra

   Tell me about a normal working week this season, starting from when you find out your shifts.

   Room attendant

   Rota comes out Friday teatime, sometimes Saturday morning, and I start Monday. It goes on the board in the housekeeping room and somebody puts a photo in the group chat. Nobody tells you it's out, you just have to look.

   Lontra

   What happens to it once it's out?

   Room attendant

   It moves. The message comes at nine, ten at night, 'can you swap Wednesday, we've got a coach in'. Last month I had three of those in a week.

   Lontra

   This is the rota you shared. For RA2, Wednesday says 16:00-22:00, was off, and Thursday starts at 07:30. Is that yours, and what happened there?

   Room attendant

   That's mine. Sunday night message, evening turndown cover because the person who does it was off. I said yes. Home at eleven, back for half seven. I'd said yes before and I didn't want to be the one who says no.

   Lontra

   What does it mean for your days off, when the rota isn't out yet?

   Room attendant

   Nothing I can book. I looked at a day trip once and never did it because I didn't know my Tuesday.

   Lontra

   Do you think you'll come back next season?

   Room attendant

   I'd think about it. Pay was fine. But by February I'd already got something else lined up, and the hotel's email came late February.

2. “Late February I think. By then I'd had another offer.”

   Receptionist, 3 seasons

   Open the conversation

   Excerpt from the conversation with: Receptionist, 3 seasons · Town hotel, front desk

   Lontra

   How would you describe working here to someone thinking of coming back next year?

   Receptionist

   Honestly it's a good job. Pay's fine, the team's good, the view's nice. The rota doesn't bother me, you get used to it. Three seasons, I know how it goes.

   Lontra

   How do you hear about your shifts?

   Receptionist

   Reception rota goes up Thursday for the following week. Then it changes. Someone's off, a coach turns up, the night person swaps. I get a message, usually in the evening.

   Lontra

   How many changes in the last month?

   Receptionist

   Eight? Ten? I didn't count. Most weeks one or two.

   Lontra

   You said the rota doesn't bother you, and now one or two changes most weeks. Which is closer?

   Receptionist

   Hm. It matters. I say it doesn't bother me because I've decided it doesn't. But if you ask whether it's the reason I'm not sure about next year, then yes, it is.

   Lontra

   What would you need in order to decide?

   Receptionist

   Knowing a pattern. Five on, two off, same two days. I'd stay for that.

   Lontra

   When did you hear about this season, last winter?

   Receptionist

   Late February I think. By then I'd had another offer. I stayed because I know the place, but it was close. Ask our team leader about the Thursday rota, she's done four seasons and she'll tell you why it holds.

3. “The good ones, if they hear early.”

   Head housekeeper, 6 seasons

   Open the conversation

   Excerpt from the conversation with: Head housekeeper, 6 seasons · Writes the housekeeping rota for 60 rooms

   Lontra

   You write the housekeeping rota. When does it go out?

   Head housekeeper

   The rota goes out Friday evening, if I'm lucky. I can't do it before front office gives me the arrivals, and that's Friday afternoon.

   Lontra

   What does the arrivals list change?

   Head housekeeper

   Everything. Forty rooms on Tuesday or a coach of thirty on Wednesday, and I need six attendants or I need four. Half the bookings come in the last week.

   Lontra

   What happens when it changes after you've published?

   Head housekeeper

   I message the ones I need. I know it's late. The same people say yes every time, which isn't fair on them, and I know that too.

   Lontra

   Have you tried fixing part of it earlier?

   Head housekeeper

   A fixed core. Four set shifts each, and I flex the rest. We did it two years ago and it fell away in June when bookings jumped. Nobody said stop, it just went.

   Lontra

   Do people come back?

   Head housekeeper

   The good ones, if they hear early. I ask them in November, face to face, before they go. Group HR emails in February.

4. “I send an email in February.”

   Group HR coordinator

   Open the conversation

   Excerpt from the conversation with: Group HR coordinator · Handles seasonal contracts and return invitations

   Lontra

   What does the group see of seasonal staff rotas?

   Group HR coordinator

   Nothing, really. Rotas are local. We see hours after the month closes, and we see who leaves.

   Lontra

   What do the seasonal contracts say about notice of shifts?

   Group HR coordinator

   The handbook says seven days where practicable. The seasonal contract says as far as reasonably practicable, so in effect it's whatever the hotel can manage that week.

   Lontra

   How do you invite people back?

   Group HR coordinator

   I send an email in February. I assumed that was fine, it's what we've always done.

   Lontra

   Do you ask leavers why they go?

   Group HR coordinator

   No. We ask if they want to come back. Most of the ones who don't come back just don't reply.

   Lontra

   What share of seasonal staff come back?

   Group HR coordinator

   I'd have to check. Around forty per cent, I think.

2/10 People who cover two hotels are on two rotas that do not show each other 2 of 10 people Emerging

Only two participants work across hotels, a porter and driver and a bar worker, so this is a small signal. Both describe one rota for each hotel, and neither rota shows the other.

“I'm on their rota and ours. They don't match.”Porter and driver, first season

Show all 2 quotes and their conversations

1. “I'm on their rota and ours. They don't match.”

   Porter and driver, first season

   Open the conversation

   Excerpt from the conversation with: Porter and driver, first season · Does transfers between three hotels

   Lontra

   How do you find out your shifts?

   Porter and driver

   Day before. Sometimes the same morning.

   Lontra

   What decides it?

   Porter and driver

   Transfers. Guests, the airport, between the hotels. Depends who's arriving.

   Lontra

   Do you work at other hotels in the group?

   Porter and driver

   Two of them. I'm on their rota and ours. They don't match.

   Lontra

   What happens when they don't match?

   Porter and driver

   I go with whoever messages first.

   Lontra

   How do you get back to the staff house after a late transfer?

   Porter and driver

   Walk. Or wait for the van to come back.

   Lontra

   Anything you'd change?

   Porter and driver

   One rota. Not two.

2. “I do the events at the other hotel too. Different rota. Fine.”

   Bar worker, 2 seasons

   Open the conversation

   Excerpt from the conversation with: Bar worker, 2 seasons · Also covers events at a second hotel

   Lontra

   What's it like working the bar here, week to week?

   Bar worker

   Busy. Fine.

   Lontra

   How do you find out your shifts?

   Bar worker

   Rota. It's late.

   Lontra

   Late by how much?

   Bar worker

   Day before sometimes.

   Lontra

   And getting home after a late one?

   Bar worker

   Minibus. Or I don't.

   Lontra

   Anything else you'd tell the hotel?

   Bar worker

   I do the events at the other hotel too. Different rota. Fine.

Where accounts differ

Whether the rota could go out a week ahead

Staff would come back for a week's notice. The people who write the rota say bookings change until Thursday and that a week ahead would be a guess. Group HR points out that the handbook already says seven days where practicable.

Staff on the rota 3 people

1. “Give me the week by Wednesday and I'd be back.”

   Restaurant server, first season

   Open the conversation

   Excerpt from the conversation with: Restaurant server, first season · Seafront hotel, lives in the staff house

   Lontra

   How do you find out when you're working?

   Restaurant server

   There's a rota in the restaurant office. Never more than two days ahead. Sometimes I find out on a Saturday that I'm on Sunday breakfast.

   Lontra

   How does that fit with the rest of your week?

   Restaurant server

   I live in the staff house, which is three miles out, and the last minibus is half ten. So if I'm on a late I wait for a lift or I walk. And if you want to say to a friend let's go out Thursday, you can't. I just say maybe.

   Lontra

   When your shifts change, how do you hear?

   Restaurant server

   Group chat. Or the supervisor catches you on the stairs.

   Lontra

   Has a change ever caused a problem?

   Restaurant server

   Once I'd swapped an evening with someone and then the supervisor moved me as well. We both turned up. It got sorted but it was awkward.

   Lontra

   What would you change first?

   Restaurant server

   Honestly I don't mind the hours. The hours are good. It's the not knowing. Give me the week by Wednesday and I'd be back.

2. “Tell us the week on a day when I can plan, and then keep to it.”

   Breakfast cook, first season

   Open the conversation

   Excerpt from the conversation with: Breakfast cook, first season · Hotel restaurant, sometimes moved to dinner

   Lontra

   What's your week like in the kitchen?

   Breakfast cook

   Breakfast, six till two, when it's a good week. They moved me to dinner twice when the second cook was off. Rota came out Saturday for Monday, and the dinner ones I found out about on a Sunday night.

   Lontra

   How did they ask you?

   Breakfast cook

   The chef's message. 'Can you do tomorrow dinner.' You can say no but.

   Lontra

   But?

   Breakfast cook

   But you don't, first season. You want them to ask you back.

   Lontra

   How does that sit with where you live?

   Breakfast cook

   I'm in the staff house, and breakfast at six means the quarter past five minibus. If I'm moved to dinner I'm there late and I've missed the last one back.

   Lontra

   What would you change?

   Breakfast cook

   Tell us the week on a day when I can plan, and then keep to it. And ask me properly, not at ten at night.

3. “Saturday dinnertime. I start Monday.”

   Kitchen porter, first season

   Open the conversation

   Excerpt from the conversation with: Kitchen porter, first season · Hotel with a kitchen that closes after 23:00

   Lontra

   What does a normal week look like for you in the kitchen?

   Kitchen porter

   Mostly closes. Dinner finishes about eleven and I'm there till half eleven clearing down. Then I'm on breakfast two days later at six.

   Lontra

   Here's the notice from the staff house kitchen wall. The last minibus to the staff house leaves at 22:30. What time do you finish when you close?

   Kitchen porter

   Half eleven, quarter to twelve. So I miss it. I walk it, forty-five minutes by the coast road, or I ask the duty manager and sometimes there's a lift and sometimes there isn't. It says not guaranteed on the notice.

   Lontra

   How often does that happen?

   Kitchen porter

   Three, four nights a week when I'm on closes. The rota says close, nobody looks at the bus.

   Lontra

   When did you find out about this week's rota?

   Kitchen porter

   Saturday dinnertime. I start Monday.

   Lontra

   What do you do when you can't get back?

   Kitchen porter

   Swap with someone who's got a car, if I know in time. Mostly I don't.

Those who write the rota 2 people

1. “Half the bookings come in the last week.”

   Head housekeeper, 6 seasons

   Open the conversation

   Excerpt from the conversation with: Head housekeeper, 6 seasons · Writes the housekeeping rota for 60 rooms

   Lontra

   You write the housekeeping rota. When does it go out?

   Head housekeeper

   The rota goes out Friday evening, if I'm lucky. I can't do it before front office gives me the arrivals, and that's Friday afternoon.

   Lontra

   What does the arrivals list change?

   Head housekeeper

   Everything. Forty rooms on Tuesday or a coach of thirty on Wednesday, and I need six attendants or I need four. Half the bookings come in the last week.

   Lontra

   What happens when it changes after you've published?

   Head housekeeper

   I message the ones I need. I know it's late. The same people say yes every time, which isn't fair on them, and I know that too.

   Lontra

   Have you tried fixing part of it earlier?

   Head housekeeper

   A fixed core. Four set shifts each, and I flex the rest. We did it two years ago and it fell away in June when bookings jumped. Nobody said stop, it just went.

   Lontra

   Do people come back?

   Head housekeeper

   The good ones, if they hear early. I ask them in November, face to face, before they go. Group HR emails in February.

2. “Reservations lock on Thursday afternoon. Before that I'm guessing”

   Duty manager, 5 seasons

   Open the conversation

   Excerpt from the conversation with: Duty manager, 5 seasons · Sends the evening cover messages

   Lontra

   When does the weekly rota get finalised in your hotel?

   Duty manager

   Departments write their own. Most go out Friday, some Saturday. So yes, less than three days before the Monday start.

   Lontra

   What stops it going earlier?

   Duty manager

   The forecast. Reservations lock on Thursday afternoon. Before that I'm guessing, and if I guess high I've got people on shifts with nothing to do.

   Lontra

   And after it's out?

   Duty manager

   I'm the one who sends the evening message. I know it's late. It goes in the group chat because it's the only way to reach everyone.

   Lontra

   How many of those in a week?

   Duty manager

   Four, five in July.

   Lontra

   What would help?

   Duty manager

   If I could say at the start of the week this is the fixed part and this is the maybe. Right now it's all just rota, and some of it is a maybe that I haven't said.

Group HR 1 person

1. “The handbook says seven days where practicable.”

   Group HR coordinator

   Open the conversation

   Excerpt from the conversation with: Group HR coordinator · Handles seasonal contracts and return invitations

   Lontra

   What does the group see of seasonal staff rotas?

   Group HR coordinator

   Nothing, really. Rotas are local. We see hours after the month closes, and we see who leaves.

   Lontra

   What do the seasonal contracts say about notice of shifts?

   Group HR coordinator

   The handbook says seven days where practicable. The seasonal contract says as far as reasonably practicable, so in effect it's whatever the hotel can manage that week.

   Lontra

   How do you invite people back?

   Group HR coordinator

   I send an email in February. I assumed that was fine, it's what we've always done.

   Lontra

   Do you ask leavers why they go?

   Group HR coordinator

   No. We ask if they want to come back. Most of the ones who don't come back just don't reply.

   Lontra

   What share of seasonal staff come back?

   Group HR coordinator

   I'd have to check. Around forty per cent, I think.

Documents

What we still don’t know

• Why the arrivals list reaches housekeeping on Friday when reservations lock on Thursday afternoon.Front office tidies and sends it. Nobody could say whether that step needs the whole of Friday morning, or whether it is just when it has always been done.
• How many of the people who did not come back left because of the rota.Group HR asks leavers whether they want to return, not why they left, and most do not reply. This study can say what the people who took part told us, not how many others would say the same.

Deep Study

Deep Study went back to four people whose answers left a question open, and spoke to one colleague a participant suggested.

What Deep Study added

• Group HR's own table shows 84 of 290 seasonal staff came back, about 29 per cent and not 40.
• Invitations go out on 21 February because group HR works from the payroll list. The hotels hold their own lists from the end of the season.
• Reception publishes on Thursday because the team works a fixed five-on, two-off pattern, so the rota is mostly swaps and cover. Housekeeping tried a fixed core of shifts and lost track of which were fixed by July.

Who took part

People are described by their role and context, as in any Lontra study.

• Room attendant, 2 seasons Coastal resort hotel, 60 rooms · 17 min

  Read the conversation

  Excerpt from the conversation with: Room attendant, 2 seasons · Coastal resort hotel, 60 rooms

  Lontra

  Tell me about a normal working week this season, starting from when you find out your shifts.

  Room attendant

  Rota comes out Friday teatime, sometimes Saturday morning, and I start Monday. It goes on the board in the housekeeping room and somebody puts a photo in the group chat. Nobody tells you it's out, you just have to look.

  Lontra

  What happens to it once it's out?

  Room attendant

  It moves. The message comes at nine, ten at night, 'can you swap Wednesday, we've got a coach in'. Last month I had three of those in a week.

  Lontra

  This is the rota you shared. For RA2, Wednesday says 16:00-22:00, was off, and Thursday starts at 07:30. Is that yours, and what happened there?

  Room attendant

  That's mine. Sunday night message, evening turndown cover because the person who does it was off. I said yes. Home at eleven, back for half seven. I'd said yes before and I didn't want to be the one who says no.

  Lontra

  What does it mean for your days off, when the rota isn't out yet?

  Room attendant

  Nothing I can book. I looked at a day trip once and never did it because I didn't know my Tuesday.

  Lontra

  Do you think you'll come back next season?

  Room attendant

  I'd think about it. Pay was fine. But by February I'd already got something else lined up, and the hotel's email came late February.

  Excerpt from the Deep Study conversation with: Room attendant, 2 seasons · Coastal resort hotel, 60 rooms

  Lontra

  Last time you said you'd found other work by February. When did you decide?

  Room attendant

  December, really. The season ended and nobody said anything, so I took a few weeks at a garden centre from January. By the time the email came I'd already said yes to them.

  Lontra

  What would have made you wait?

  Room attendant

  If someone had said in November, we want you in April, same pattern as this year. I'd have waited for that. And since we spoke I wrote down the changes. Five in two weeks, three after nine at night.

• Restaurant server, first season Seafront hotel, lives in the staff house · 12 min

  Read the conversation

  Excerpt from the conversation with: Restaurant server, first season · Seafront hotel, lives in the staff house

  Lontra

  How do you find out when you're working?

  Restaurant server

  There's a rota in the restaurant office. Never more than two days ahead. Sometimes I find out on a Saturday that I'm on Sunday breakfast.

  Lontra

  How does that fit with the rest of your week?

  Restaurant server

  I live in the staff house, which is three miles out, and the last minibus is half ten. So if I'm on a late I wait for a lift or I walk. And if you want to say to a friend let's go out Thursday, you can't. I just say maybe.

  Lontra

  When your shifts change, how do you hear?

  Restaurant server

  Group chat. Or the supervisor catches you on the stairs.

  Lontra

  Has a change ever caused a problem?

  Restaurant server

  Once I'd swapped an evening with someone and then the supervisor moved me as well. We both turned up. It got sorted but it was awkward.

  Lontra

  What would you change first?

  Restaurant server

  Honestly I don't mind the hours. The hours are good. It's the not knowing. Give me the week by Wednesday and I'd be back.

• Kitchen porter, first season Hotel with a kitchen that closes after 23:00 · 14 min

  Read the conversation

  Excerpt from the conversation with: Kitchen porter, first season · Hotel with a kitchen that closes after 23:00

  Lontra

  What does a normal week look like for you in the kitchen?

  Kitchen porter

  Mostly closes. Dinner finishes about eleven and I'm there till half eleven clearing down. Then I'm on breakfast two days later at six.

  Lontra

  Here's the notice from the staff house kitchen wall. The last minibus to the staff house leaves at 22:30. What time do you finish when you close?

  Kitchen porter

  Half eleven, quarter to twelve. So I miss it. I walk it, forty-five minutes by the coast road, or I ask the duty manager and sometimes there's a lift and sometimes there isn't. It says not guaranteed on the notice.

  Lontra

  How often does that happen?

  Kitchen porter

  Three, four nights a week when I'm on closes. The rota says close, nobody looks at the bus.

  Lontra

  When did you find out about this week's rota?

  Kitchen porter

  Saturday dinnertime. I start Monday.

  Lontra

  What do you do when you can't get back?

  Kitchen porter

  Swap with someone who's got a car, if I know in time. Mostly I don't.

• Receptionist, 3 seasons Town hotel, front desk · 20 min

  Read the conversation

  Excerpt from the conversation with: Receptionist, 3 seasons · Town hotel, front desk

  Lontra

  How would you describe working here to someone thinking of coming back next year?

  Receptionist

  Honestly it's a good job. Pay's fine, the team's good, the view's nice. The rota doesn't bother me, you get used to it. Three seasons, I know how it goes.

  Lontra

  How do you hear about your shifts?

  Receptionist

  Reception rota goes up Thursday for the following week. Then it changes. Someone's off, a coach turns up, the night person swaps. I get a message, usually in the evening.

  Lontra

  How many changes in the last month?

  Receptionist

  Eight? Ten? I didn't count. Most weeks one or two.

  Lontra

  You said the rota doesn't bother you, and now one or two changes most weeks. Which is closer?

  Receptionist

  Hm. It matters. I say it doesn't bother me because I've decided it doesn't. But if you ask whether it's the reason I'm not sure about next year, then yes, it is.

  Lontra

  What would you need in order to decide?

  Receptionist

  Knowing a pattern. Five on, two off, same two days. I'd stay for that.

  Lontra

  When did you hear about this season, last winter?

  Receptionist

  Late February I think. By then I'd had another offer. I stayed because I know the place, but it was close. Ask our team leader about the Thursday rota, she's done four seasons and she'll tell you why it holds.

• Breakfast cook, first season Hotel restaurant, sometimes moved to dinner · 15 min

  Read the conversation

  Excerpt from the conversation with: Breakfast cook, first season · Hotel restaurant, sometimes moved to dinner

  Lontra

  What's your week like in the kitchen?

  Breakfast cook

  Breakfast, six till two, when it's a good week. They moved me to dinner twice when the second cook was off. Rota came out Saturday for Monday, and the dinner ones I found out about on a Sunday night.

  Lontra

  How did they ask you?

  Breakfast cook

  The chef's message. 'Can you do tomorrow dinner.' You can say no but.

  Lontra

  But?

  Breakfast cook

  But you don't, first season. You want them to ask you back.

  Lontra

  How does that sit with where you live?

  Breakfast cook

  I'm in the staff house, and breakfast at six means the quarter past five minibus. If I'm moved to dinner I'm there late and I've missed the last one back.

  Lontra

  What would you change?

  Breakfast cook

  Tell us the week on a day when I can plan, and then keep to it. And ask me properly, not at ten at night.

• Bar worker, 2 seasons Also covers events at a second hotel · 6 min

  Read the conversation

  Excerpt from the conversation with: Bar worker, 2 seasons · Also covers events at a second hotel

  Lontra

  What's it like working the bar here, week to week?

  Bar worker

  Busy. Fine.

  Lontra

  How do you find out your shifts?

  Bar worker

  Rota. It's late.

  Lontra

  Late by how much?

  Bar worker

  Day before sometimes.

  Lontra

  And getting home after a late one?

  Bar worker

  Minibus. Or I don't.

  Lontra

  Anything else you'd tell the hotel?

  Bar worker

  I do the events at the other hotel too. Different rota. Fine.

• Head housekeeper, 6 seasons Writes the housekeeping rota for 60 rooms · 23 min

  Read the conversation

  Excerpt from the conversation with: Head housekeeper, 6 seasons · Writes the housekeeping rota for 60 rooms

  Lontra

  You write the housekeeping rota. When does it go out?

  Head housekeeper

  The rota goes out Friday evening, if I'm lucky. I can't do it before front office gives me the arrivals, and that's Friday afternoon.

  Lontra

  What does the arrivals list change?

  Head housekeeper

  Everything. Forty rooms on Tuesday or a coach of thirty on Wednesday, and I need six attendants or I need four. Half the bookings come in the last week.

  Lontra

  What happens when it changes after you've published?

  Head housekeeper

  I message the ones I need. I know it's late. The same people say yes every time, which isn't fair on them, and I know that too.

  Lontra

  Have you tried fixing part of it earlier?

  Head housekeeper

  A fixed core. Four set shifts each, and I flex the rest. We did it two years ago and it fell away in June when bookings jumped. Nobody said stop, it just went.

  Lontra

  Do people come back?

  Head housekeeper

  The good ones, if they hear early. I ask them in November, face to face, before they go. Group HR emails in February.

  Excerpt from the Deep Study conversation with: Head housekeeper, 6 seasons · Writes the housekeeping rota for 60 rooms

  Lontra

  You said the fixed core fell away in June. What happened to it?

  Head housekeeper

  Bookings jumped, so I added shifts on top, then took some back, and by July nobody could tell which were fixed and which weren't. It didn't fail. We just stopped saying which was which.

  Lontra

  You also said the arrivals list reaches you on Friday afternoon. Who sends it?

  Head housekeeper

  Front office. They get the final list from reservations on Thursday afternoon, tidy it up and send it Friday. If they sent it Thursday night I'd get a day back.

  Lontra

  Would a day be enough?

  Head housekeeper

  For me, it'd move the rota to Friday morning. It wouldn't make it a week. A week is a different job.

• Duty manager, 5 seasons Sends the evening cover messages · 19 min

  Read the conversation

  Excerpt from the conversation with: Duty manager, 5 seasons · Sends the evening cover messages

  Lontra

  When does the weekly rota get finalised in your hotel?

  Duty manager

  Departments write their own. Most go out Friday, some Saturday. So yes, less than three days before the Monday start.

  Lontra

  What stops it going earlier?

  Duty manager

  The forecast. Reservations lock on Thursday afternoon. Before that I'm guessing, and if I guess high I've got people on shifts with nothing to do.

  Lontra

  And after it's out?

  Duty manager

  I'm the one who sends the evening message. I know it's late. It goes in the group chat because it's the only way to reach everyone.

  Lontra

  How many of those in a week?

  Duty manager

  Four, five in July.

  Lontra

  What would help?

  Duty manager

  If I could say at the start of the week this is the fixed part and this is the maybe. Right now it's all just rota, and some of it is a maybe that I haven't said.

• Group HR coordinator Handles seasonal contracts and return invitations · 18 min

  Read the conversation

  Excerpt from the conversation with: Group HR coordinator · Handles seasonal contracts and return invitations

  Lontra

  What does the group see of seasonal staff rotas?

  Group HR coordinator

  Nothing, really. Rotas are local. We see hours after the month closes, and we see who leaves.

  Lontra

  What do the seasonal contracts say about notice of shifts?

  Group HR coordinator

  The handbook says seven days where practicable. The seasonal contract says as far as reasonably practicable, so in effect it's whatever the hotel can manage that week.

  Lontra

  How do you invite people back?

  Group HR coordinator

  I send an email in February. I assumed that was fine, it's what we've always done.

  Lontra

  Do you ask leavers why they go?

  Group HR coordinator

  No. We ask if they want to come back. Most of the ones who don't come back just don't reply.

  Lontra

  What share of seasonal staff come back?

  Group HR coordinator

  I'd have to check. Around forty per cent, I think.

  Excerpt from the Deep Study conversation with: Group HR coordinator · Handles seasonal contracts and return invitations

  Lontra

  In your first conversation you said about forty per cent come back. Could you check last season's numbers?

  Group HR coordinator

  I pulled the table, it's attached. Not forty. Eighty-four of two hundred and ninety, so about twenty-nine per cent, and a hundred and nineteen replied.

  Lontra

  Your table shows the invitations going out on 21 February. Several people said they had other work by then. Why that date?

  Group HR coordinator

  Because that's when last season's payroll closes and I get the clean list of who worked. I've always used that list so nobody gets an invitation by mistake. I'd never thought about what that does to the timing.

  Lontra

  Could the list come earlier?

  Group HR coordinator

  The hotels have their own lists from the end of the season. If I asked for those in November, yes. I'd have to check with each hotel what they hold.

• Porter and driver, first season Does transfers between three hotels · 7 min

  Read the conversation

  Excerpt from the conversation with: Porter and driver, first season · Does transfers between three hotels

  Lontra

  How do you find out your shifts?

  Porter and driver

  Day before. Sometimes the same morning.

  Lontra

  What decides it?

  Porter and driver

  Transfers. Guests, the airport, between the hotels. Depends who's arriving.

  Lontra

  Do you work at other hotels in the group?

  Porter and driver

  Two of them. I'm on their rota and ours. They don't match.

  Lontra

  What happens when they don't match?

  Porter and driver

  I go with whoever messages first.

  Lontra

  How do you get back to the staff house after a late transfer?

  Porter and driver

  Walk. Or wait for the van to come back.

  Lontra

  Anything you'd change?

  Porter and driver

  One rota. Not two.

  Excerpt from the Deep Study conversation with: Porter and driver, first season · Does transfers between three hotels

  Lontra

  You said you're on two rotas at once. Could you give me an example?

  Porter and driver

  Tuesday last week. Ours had me on a transfer at two. Theirs had me setting up an event at two. Neither one shows the other.

  Lontra

  What did you do?

  Porter and driver

  Did the transfer. Told the event I'd be there at three. They managed.

  Lontra

  Who writes the other rota?

  Porter and driver

  Their duty manager. Same as ours. They don't see mine and we don't see theirs.

• Reception team leader, 4 seasons Publishes the reception rota on Thursdays · 10 min · joined in Deep Study

  Read the conversation

  Excerpt from the Deep Study conversation with: Reception team leader, 4 seasons · Publishes the reception rota on Thursdays

  Lontra

  Your colleague said the reception rota goes up on Thursdays and holds. How does that work?

  Reception team leader

  Fixed pattern. Everyone is five on, two off, the same two days all season. Only the weekend pair rotates and I publish that at the start of the season. So the Thursday rota is really just swaps and cover.

  Lontra

  What does it cost the team?

  Reception team leader

  People can't ask for a particular weekend. Some say it's rigid. And in August we're thin, so I do fill in myself.

  Lontra

  Do you still get changes after Thursday?

  Reception team leader

  One or two a week. But they're the exception and everyone knows it. They're not the rota.

  Lontra

  Has housekeeping looked at the same thing?

  Reception team leader

  I mentioned it to the head housekeeper in May. She said rooms vary more than the desk, and she's right. But you could fix four days out of six.

About this study

The question

“I want to understand why our seasonal hotel staff do not come back the following season, what their working weeks were really like, and what would make them return.”

A group of nine seasonal hotels on the coast. Ten people took part: seven seasonal staff from housekeeping, the kitchen, the restaurant, reception, the bar and transfers, a head housekeeper, a duty manager and one person from group HR. Each conversation lasted 6 to 23 minutes. Deep Study went back to four of them and spoke to one colleague they suggested.

What Lontra asked about

1. How seasonal staff find out their shifts, and what changes after
2. What the staff house and the minibus mean for late shifts
3. When and how people hear about the next season
4. What would make them come back