9 in 10 restaurants understaffed in Michigan, survey shows

Nine in 10 Michigan restaurants don’t have sufficient staff to meet customer demand, according to a new survey from the Michigan Restaurant and Lodging Association (MRLA).

Of the 320 responses Michigan restaurant and hotel operators sought in a poll between August 3 and August 6, nearly 90 percent of full-service restaurants and 81 percent of quick-service restaurants said they are understaffed.

Nearly every hotel in the state is facing the same challenge, with 100 percent of banquet facilities polled and 97 percent of hotels reporting insufficient staff.

“While Michiganians have proven eager to return to a life that includes ample travel and restaurant dining, it has become clear that the nature and speed of this return has placed enormous pressure on the industry and its supply chain,” MRLA president and CEO Justin Winslow said in a statement.

He added, “Restaurant and hotel operators are trying to meet consumer demand that exceeds 2019 with 100,000 fewer workers and skyrocketing labor and commodity prices. Workers are exhausted and profit margins are thin for many despite the resurgent demand.”

To deal with the demand, restaurants and hotels are taking measures including limiting hours of operation (nearly 80 percent of restaurants) and increasing worker wages (95 percent of restaurant and hotel respondents).

The survey details the hospitality industry’s struggles in the state a month and a half after COVID-19 restrictions were lifted.

“As we pivot to an uncertain turn of the season fraught with the possibility of persistent COVID-19 challenges, an inadequate workforce and rampant inflationary pressures, it is important to remember that most restaurants and hotels did not receive federal or state aid during the darkest days of the pandemic,” said Winslow. 

Winslow called on the Michigan lawmakers to create a stimulus deal that prioritizes the over-stressed industry.

“Existential challenges for the hospitality industry are not yet behind it, which is why it is so important for the Michigan legislature and Gov. Whitmer to come together on a deal in September that prioritizes the hospitality industry in yet-to-be-appropriated federal relief dollars,” he added. “And why Congress should see fit to pass the Save Hotel Jobs Act and secure a second round of funding for the Restaurant Revitalization Fund.”

Sixty-four percent of poll respondents echoed Winslow’s concerns, stating they believe Congress should enact additional targeted relief for the hospitality industry.