Looking up, venturing out
For prospective recruits, the relevant message is quite the opposite. In their case, the operative sign says "Vacancies Here", as the local hospitality sector continues to enjoy an almost unprecedented boom, allowing employers to create new jobs and plan for further expansion.
At one level, government estimates suggest an extra 50 hotels will be opened in Hong Kong by 2016, taking the total to around 240 and representing an additional 9,000 rooms. To support this, various initiatives are in place to make available "hotel only" sites in the land sales programme and to redevelop or convert industrial buildings, where suitable.
At another level, key players in the sector are aggressively pushing ahead with commercial and recruitment schemes to capitalise on the current buoyant mood and give visitors reasons to return.
"Our group achieved an outstanding business performance in 2011, with the significant growth of visitor arrivals in Hong Kong," says Connie Kwok, communications manager for Miramar Hotel and Investment Company. "And we will continue to exploit a favourable market position to expedite the development of our core businesses."
Noting that the Mira Hong Kong saw year-on-year occupancy increase by 4 per cent and average room rates by 22 per cent in the first half of last year, Kwok says that the leisure, consumption and meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICE) markets all contributed strongly.
Thanks to this, a number of ambitious Miramar projects are now taking shape. These include a new hotel in Wanchai, renovation of serviced apartments, a shopping mall and up to seven restaurants. Similarly important - from the group's point of view - is the investment in people, to ensure they have the service skills and management know-how to keep everything on track.
"The hospitality industry has a high turnover rate, but we believe in nurturing the expertise of team members and encouraging personal development," Kwok says, calling it a two-fold commitment.
Firstly