Access to housing has become one of the main obstacles to talent management in the hotel sector of Ibiza and Formentera. Eighty-two percent of the companies that participated in the first workplace climate survey conducted by the Hotel Business Federation of Ibiza and Formentera (FEHIF) consider that the difficulty of accessing housing significantly affects their ability to hire and retain staff. The report quantifies a problem that affects staff organization and the daily operation of tourist establishments.
Presented on Wednesday, October 28, by FEHIF President María Costa Roig and the Federation’s Director General, Santiago García Ramón, the results paint a picture characterized by difficulties in hiring, staff turnover, and the impact of absenteeism. The survey represents the employers’ organization’s first attempt to build a comprehensive view of these challenges based on the experience of its member companies.
The survey covers companies that manage 96 establishments and 24,266 tourist accommodation beds, which represents around 28 percent of the 86,795 beds in the categories analyzed in Ibiza and Formentera. This figure also represents 42.69 percent of the beds affiliated with the Federation, which groups companies that manage 408 establishments and offer 56,834 tourist beds through its four associations.
Housing: a key factor for attracting and retaining talent
The most notable finding of the study relates to housing access: 82 percent of the companies surveyed consider their impact on recruiting and retaining staff to be high, while 18 percent describe it as moderate. None of the participants reported a low or non-existent impact.
The difficulty of finding affordable housing is also reflected in the solutions companies prioritize. Ninety percent identify affordable housing or housing provision as one of the measures with the greatest potential to improve staff retention.
The corporate response already includes specific measures. Seventy-six percent of participating companies say they have provided housing for part of their staff using their own resources, through direct management, financial support, rentals, or agreements with third parties.
This effort highlights the extent to which housing availability is no longer an issue separate from hotel management, but has become a factor influencing staff recruitment and retention. However, FEHIF warns that company initiatives should be seen as a response to an operational need, and not as a substitute for the public policies needed to address the problem.
Seventy-eight percent of companies have difficulty filling their vacancies.
The pressure on human resources is not limited to accommodation. 78% of the surveyed companies admit to having had difficulty meeting their planned staffing levels during the season, while 48% of the total describe these problems as moderate or severe.
The lack of adequate personnel also affects business operations: 44 percent of companies report that it has had a moderate or significant impact on their operations.
By department, the biggest hiring challenges are concentrated in cleaning and maintenance services, which accounts for 62 percent of mentions; kitchen staff, at 56 percent; and front-of-house and catering staff, at 44 percent. These same areas are among the most affected by staff turnover, which points to a twofold challenge for companies: recruiting staff and ensuring they stay in their positions.
The trend, compared with the previous season, confirms this pressure. Forty-six percent of companies report an increase in staff turnover, compared with 36 percent who believe it has remained stable and 12 percent who have seen a decrease. The remaining 6 percent state that the turnover has not been significant.
Among the most frequently cited reasons for staff turnover or failure to retain employees are the cost or availability of housing, at 50 percent, and job offers from other companies or sectors, at 44 percent. The results therefore place the competition for talent in a context where housing conditions, along with job opportunities, are key factors for staff retention.
Absenteeism increases pressure on teams.
The survey also analyzes the impact of absenteeism on the organization of work. In the case of absences related to reasons recognized or covered by law or collective bargaining agreements, 42 percent of participating companies state that these have increased compared to the previous season. Fifty percent report that there has been no change, while 8 percent report a decrease.
The most frequently mentioned consequences are an increased workload for the rest of the staff, cited by 72 percent of companies, and an increase in overtime, cited by 60 percent. These figures reflect the impact that absences can have on the distribution of tasks and the need to maintain service levels with the available resources.
The study distinguishes these situations from absences without a valid reason. Although 66 percent of companies report a low or nonexistent incidence of these absences, 34 percent describe the incidence as moderate, high, or very high.
Company size generates significant differences. Among companies with 200 or more employees, 66.67% rate the impact of the absences analyzed in the section on workplace absenteeism as high or very high. Within this same group, 83.33% rate the incidence of unjustified absences as high or very high.
The Federation emphasizes that these percentages reflect employers’ assessments of the incidence and impact of absences, and not the proportion of workers who are absent from their jobs. This distinction is important when interpreting data that suggest an uneven impact according to the characteristics and size of each job.
Education: another unresolved problem
The availability of skilled workers also raises questions about whether the training offered is adequately tailored to the sector’s real needs. Fifty percent of participating companies consider the available training inadequate or unattractive, while twenty percent say they are not aware of it.
Among the proposals presented, the following stand out: practical content, specialization by department, and training formats that are compatible with work-life balance and the seasonal nature of the tourism industry. In short, companies are calling for training that is more closely tied to daily tasks and the operational requirements of their establishments.
For FEHIF, these results provide a basis for reviewing its support initiatives, improving the dissemination of existing resources, and exploring new proposals that adapt to the diversity of companies and professional profiles.
An analysis to guide decision-making in the sector
The Federation considers this first survey as the beginning of a regular program to monitor working conditions in tourist accommodations in Ibiza and Formentera. The objective is to refine the questionnaire and methodology in future surveys in order to compare results, identify changes, and establish priorities based on a more solid database.
The objective is to incorporate this analysis into the organization’s proposals to public authorities and social stakeholders, as well as to develop support tools tailored to the needs of its members.
The main conclusion is that the labor challenges facing the island’s hotel sector go beyond seasonal hiring. Housing, talent retention, staffing essential positions, absenteeism, and training are part of the same broader picture, affecting companies’ ability to organize their teams and maintain the quality of tourist services.
