Ageism In Mallorca's Tourism

"There are clear business benefits to employing a work force that is age diverse and reflects our customer profile. We have found that older workers have a great rapport with the customers, as well as a conscientious attitude and real enthusiasm for the job. We firmly believe that our active policy of recruiting older workers has directly contributed to the ongoing success of our business, and in our position as market leaders in this field, we would urge other employers to do the same.” These were the words of the human resources director of B&Q, which several years ago became a founder member of Employers Forum for Age, a network of employers that sought to remove age barriers to employment. B&Q became famous for employing older people.

The Balearic Government and the Mallorcan hoteliers' federation have signed an agreement under which hotels will guarantee taking on between 500 and 600 staff over the age of 45 this season. This number equates to approximately 10% of new jobs that the hotels anticipate creating this summer.

In announcing this agreement, acknowledgement has been made of the "experience and knowledge" of employees in this age group, of the fact that this age group has in recent years been neglected, and of a need for hotels to demonstrate "social sensitivity" in recognising the contribution and positive work values that older employees bring.

Welcome though this agreement is, it is unlikely that many if any of these workers will be anything other than seasonal temporary staff; the same can probably be said for all the 4,000 to 5,000 "new jobs" that the hotel sector plans on creating this summer. But the nature of the employment contract is not what concerns me here; it is the issue of age.

Look closely at what B&Q stated several years ago and at what the hoteliers are saying and you will find a similarity without it being overtly stated. B&Q referred to age diversity and the company's business profile. The hoteliers do not.

Diversity as a means of gaining business competitive advantage was something the Americans - who else - dreamt up more than two decades ago. The thinking was simple and obvious. If the customer profile is predominantly determined by age, gender and ethnicity factors, then it makes sense for the business to reflect these in its employment practices.

Mallorca's tourism industry as a whole is as diverse as its raw material - the tourist - is also diverse. Yet the suspicion is, confirmed by this agreement, that it is an industry which has preferred youth. In certain instances this makes perfect sense: hotel entertainment teams are a good example. But in other instances it does not, and as the industry - hotel chains in particular - pursues a strategy of niching and branding along age lines, the need for diversity should become ever more apparent. The adults-only hotel, as an example, clearly has a different customer profile to the one aimed at a twentys-something party crowd.

But how well might a charge of ageism be levelled at the industry? There are sectors that make a virtue of, generally speaking, employing older, more mature personnel: villa agencies, for instance. Jet2 has a preference for older reps, thus bucking a trend that set in some years ago for tour operators to shed older staff or to, how can one put it, not encourage them to stay. Jet2, and the same can be said for many villa agencies, place a premium not just on the responsibility and reliability that an older worker can bring to the job but also on knowledge: that of Mallorca.

This is not to denigrate all younger reps by any means, but it tends to be the case that they lack the intimate knowledge that an older worker, typically resident on the island, has. There again, for any age group, there is much to be said for the presence of youthful and bubbly individuals whose vitality is in keeping with the very essence of holidays as fun times.

The point is or should be that there are roles for all age groups. Knowledge as a guiding principle for employment is laudable as is one that recognises the qualities and strengths that those from different age groups possess.

But there is a further reason why knowledge, that which often comes with age, should be being given greater attention. This is because of the avowed intentions of hotels and tour operators to act in accordance with principles of responsible tourism (assuming they are serious, which is questionable). One of these principles is to make tourists more in tune with local culture and with the local people. Knowledge of these should therefore be paramount.

The ageism charge is not totally valid, but in certain parts of the industry it is. The hoteliers are waking up to this fact. Tourists are diverse and employment should also be diverse.

The Road To Ruin

Proof, if it were needed, and really it wasn't, that the season has misfired comes in the form of a report from the organisation for small to medium-sized businesses. Revenue down by as much as 25% for bars and restaurants, even during the height of summer. Of course, one never really knows with these stats and percentages; there was another report recently which indicated that tourist spend had been up. Common sense suggests that the fall is more representative, though it doesn't tell the full story as there are places I know for a fact that have enjoyed increases this season. Nevertheless, the figures don't surprise, and it is not only the bar and restaurant trade that has endured a hard year; the sea-based businesses have also seen a slump. I know of one that reports about a 30% decrease. Messing about on the sea is an optional extra at the best of times; at the worst of times it ceases to be an option.

Elsewhere, reps are being allowed to go home early as there simply aren't the people, and from next year there is to be a trimming of rep staff for the season as a whole; at least, that's the word coming out of First Choice mouths. This is not necessarily a reaction to economic circumstances, though they may hasten a strategy for more remote forms of guest assistance, one which I heard that TUI had in mind. Phone services, be they helplines or via mobile phones, are likely to be the de-personalised reps of the future.

Reps may get a bad press, but they are far from all bad. One of their problems is a lack of information, something I referred to recently in respect of the rep giving the wrong advice for a bus to Palma. But how much information can they truly be expected to assimilate if they don't know a resort? There may be the resort "bibles" for them to digest and learn on arrival, but - as with anything - if you don't use what you learn, you forget it. Reps that come back for the following year may find themselves allocated to a different resort. Where's the sense in that? They have to do the learning all over again for somewhere else. However, in future it is likely that there will be fewer of them. Bad press or not, I would reckon most tourists prefer the personal touch, even if it is misinformed. Rather than turning to the telecoms services, chances are the guests will rely more on hotel receptions, which may not be what hotel receptions want to hear. And somehow I can't see some old dears needing a chemist texting a request for information.


BANKING CRISIS
The banking crisis continues its claim on victims and now it has branched out from its epicentre of Anglo-Saxon capitalism; a Belgian bank does not fall into this category. The Spanish bank, Santander, is a white knight for a British bank, which all sounds as though the Spanish system is bearing up where others aren't. Up to a point, this is the case. Spanish banks, for example, didn't have great exposure to Lehman's, but loss of confidence knows few boundaries, be it among consumers or financial markets. The real danger for Spain lies with its debt; the country ranks alongside the UK in this regard, and much of this debt is the result of reckless mortgage lending. There is also a concern regarding Spain's reserves, which the Bank of Spain sold off to finance the country's current account deficit, meaning that that if there were to be a banking crisis, the national bank might be stretched as the lender of last resort, notwithstanding Spain's place within the European monetary system. Recently, the head of the Sa Nostra bank on the island offered reassurances that the financial sector was strong, but there have been plenty of mumblings to the contrary. Spanish banks may not have had the buffeting of those in the UK or the US, but don't be sure that they won't. This sucker may not be going down, or anything like it, but this sucker could yet get sucked. The perversity of the House of Representatives' vote is only likely to add to the potential for collapse in countries and banks as yet unaffected, though surely to God they will reverse this vote.


PUERTO POLLENSA PEDESTRIANISATION
Well, it's started - as of yesterday. After all the uncertainty as to what would be pedestrianised and when, the first phase of the trial sees a closure between the calles Elcano and Temple Fielding; the part from Temple Fielding to the Avenida Paris appears to still be open in the Alcúdia direction. Buses can still use the road, but taxi drivers cannot and there is also some question as to use by the Guardia Civil whose local HQ, it should not be forgotten, is right by the Avenida Paris. Makes one wonder - did they talk to the Guardia and the police about all this?


THE UM MINISTERIAL ISSUE
The head of the Unió Mallorquina, Miquel Nadal, has come to the aid of the party. He will replace Francesc Buils as tourism minister. So I am sure we are all relieved at this news.


QUIZ
Yesterday's title - Re-Flex. Today's title - this was an album by one of the greats of British folk music.

(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)


Index for September 2008

Alcúdia Fair 2008 - 20 September 2008, 22 September 2008
Animal welfare - 10 September 2008, 28 September 2008
Architecture - 13 September 2008
Balearic Government - 18 September 2008, 29 September 2008
Banks - 30 September 2008
Bars - 17 September 2008
Binissalem - 20 September 2008, 22 September 2008
Blogs - 11 September 2008
Catalan - 12 September 2008
Climate change - 20 September 2008
Debt - 9 September 2008
Driving licences - 22 September 2008, 23 September 2008
Economic crisis - 18 September 2008, 28 September 2008, 30 September 2008
Expatriates - 23 September 2008
Fairs - 15 September 2008, 20 September 2008, 28 September 2008
Feria del Mar 2008 - 15 September 2008
Fines - 26 September 2008
Flags - 1 September 2008
Flies - 5 September 2008
Football - 3 September 2008, 6 September 2008, 10 September 2008
Franco - 1 September 2008, 7 September 2008
Hills - 21 September 2008
Hotels - 3 September 2008, 16 September 2008, 22 September 2008, 28 September 2008
Iberian ham - 22 September 2008
Immigration - 8 September 2008
Integration - 23 September 2008
Languages - 12 September 2008, 14 September 2008
Mallorcans - 27 September 2008
Media - 23 September 2008
Mountains - 21 September 2008
Open-water swimming - 2 September 2008
Pedestrianisation - 11 September 2008, 14 September 2008, 24 September 2008, 30 September 2008
Pickpocketing - 2 September 2008
Political parties - 29 September 2008
Pollensa town hall - 6 September 2008
Processionary caterpillars - 5 September 2008
Property market - 3 September 2008
Railways - 13 September 2008
Ramón Llull - 12 September 2008
Real Mallorca - 3 September 2008, 6 September 2008, 10 September 2008
Reps - 17 September 2008, 30 September 2008
Road signs - 11 September 2008
Roads - 11 September 2008, 14 September 2008, 18 September 2008, 19 September 2008, 24 September 2008, 30 September 2008
Schools - 14 September 2008
Scratch cards - 8 September 2008
Seasonal workers - 17 September 2008
Show cooking - 15 September 2008
Small town mentality - 27 September 2008
Social tourism - 5 September 2008
Son Real - 6 September 2008
Storms - 12 September 2008, 14 September 2008
Street drinking - 26 September 2008
Street names - 7 September 2008
Street selling - 25 September 2008, 26 September 2008
Sunwing Resort - 16 September 2008
Tour operators - 12 September 2008, 30 September 2008
Tourist behaviour - 16 September 2008
Tourist days - 11 September 2008, 15 September 2008
Tourist spend - 30 September 2008
Town halls - 6 September 2008, 19 September 2008
Trains - 13 September 2008
Unemployment - 3 September 2008
Unió Mallorquina - 29 September 2008, 30 September 2008
Vermar 2008 - 20 September 2008
Violence - 15 September 2008
Walls - 4 September 2008
WiFi - 1 September 2008
Wine - 20 September 2008
Winter tourism - 5 September 2008, 25 September 2008
XL Leisure Group - 12 September 2008
Young adults - 9 September 2008

If You Want It Do It Yourself

What is the point of tour operators? Think about it. Break the package down, and what does it comprise? The transport, normally the airline; the transfer; the hotel or accommodation. What are the add-ons? An often ill-informed and unresponsive rep who oversees the transfer and then offers some excursions – the tour operator’s excursions – and gets “incentives” from bars and restaurants for recommending them. The odd map or publication perhaps.

Take away the three core elements – plane, transfer, accommodation – the added value amounts to little, and it can be got in any event. You don’t need a tour operator to sell you an excursion – they can be bought easily enough elsewhere and sometimes at lower cost and with better service. You don’t need a map or publication; they exist anyway. The internet offers them – www.thealcudiaguide.com for instance.

Ah, but what if there are problems? With the hotel or with illness? Maybe, but even then the rep can amount to next than useless. This is not to criticise all reps. Some are very good, but many are not. You might remember me posting an exchange I had with a rep at the Oro Playa in Puerto Pollensa – the one about the pinewalk. The rep did not know where it was, yet had been at the hotel for a good couple of months. The pinewalk is roughly two minutes walk from the hotel.

My understanding is that the tour operators are wanting to cut back on their “human” service as it is. They know that fewer and fewer people bother with the excruciating welcome meetings. Thomson, for instance, has a helpline service anyway. The tour operator may well offer its own kids’ club activities and entertainment, but many hotels have their own.

But the key issue is that of price. Doing a holiday “DIY” can result in significant savings. Book with a low-cost airline, book the accommodation through the abundance of bonded online agencies or direct with the hotel, and book the transfer with a taxi firm or transfer operator. The transfer may be a sticking point for many, but the tour operator doesn’t exactly exclude this cost from its pricing. There is an advantage – none of all that dropping people off at other hotels before finally reaching your own. Add these all up, and you are still often going to be quids in.

The advantage of the tour operator, obviously, is that it is all done for you, but it is the very nature of the “package” that creates the additional cost. In theory, with the buying power of the major tour operators, one would have thought that they would be more competitive on price, but this is not necessarily the reality. There is though another side to that buying power, and that is the security that hotels get from contracting to a tour operator. This guarantees the hotel’s return and also limits the number of spaces available independently. However, the hotels are increasingly prepared to deal direct or through an agency.

There are parts of the world where booking through a tour operator makes perfect sense – it gives a peace of mind that DIY might not offer. Mallorca is not one of these parts of the world; it also has the distinct advantage of being served by a number of low-cost airlines. And there are real savings out there. For the north in Alcúdia, Pollensa or Can Picafort: EasyJet or Jet2; AlphaRooms or Travel Republic; Majorca Airport Transfers or Just Transfers. No Frills Excursions for the excursions. The guides and websites I’m involved with. One might even mention the mobile-phone service of Travel Buddy as an additional point of assistance. Why bother with a tour operator?


QUIZ
Yesterday – “The Killing Moon” was Echo And The Bunnymen. The missing names were The Johnsons and Belle. Today’s title – American female soul singer, a survivor.
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)