(Radio Iowa) – A new survey finds Iowa’s hotels lost nearly ten-thousand jobs during the pandemic and almost two-thousand of those jobs have yet to return. Jenn Clark Fugolo, spokeswoman for the American Hotel & Lodging Association, says it’s a challenge the industry is facing not just in Iowa, but nationwide. “We recently did a survey among AHLA members and 97% of hoteliers said that they’re experiencing a staffing shortage and nearly 50% say it’s severe,” Fugolo says. “Also consider at the macro level that the labor force participation rate, just in general, is not where it was pre-pandemic.”

In addition to the lost jobs, the survey says Iowa’s hotels also lost 420-million dollars in room revenue alone during the pandemic. Fugolo says hotel owners in Iowa are striving to lure new workers to the industry. “They have increased wages. Nearly 90% reported doing so,” Fugolo says. “The majority of them are also offering greater flexibility and expanded benefits, so when you look at that package holistically, the hotel industry becomes a really great place to join and to stay.” While hotel employees often get deeply discounted rooms when they vacation, she says another benefit of working in the industry is the ease of upward mobility.

“It is not uncommon to start entry-level and quickly advance because of the programs in place to learn and acquire new skills, everything from certifications and a very specific point of study to free tuition, tuition reimbursement, apprenticeship,” Fugolo says. “All of these things are in place to really support an employee in their journey to advance.” Not only are there positions open like front desk and housekeeping, but she says there are opportunities in other areas, including in maintenance, sales and event planning. The association says Iowa has more than 700 hotel properties representing more than 51-thousand rooms and employing more than 65-thousand people across the state.

(Radio Iowa) – DARE officers in Iowa gathered this week in Le Mars for their annual conference. The Le Mars Police Department and Assistant Chief Justin Daale hosted the statewide conference. He says one of the topics of discussion was the dangers of vaping among elementary students. “You know, we’re seeing a lot in middle school and high school but when you start trickling down to elementary you know what programs are going to work what can you do to talk to these kids about the dangers of vaping and smoking so we learned some new techniques new programs that dares coming out with,” he says.

Daale says kids are lied to about vaping, that it’s safer than smoking. DARE stands for Drug Abuse Resistance Education, and he says they try to talk to kids about making good decisions about vaping. He says that also pertains to use of social media by students. “A lot of stuff happens over social media. So we went over a few new social media lessons that DARE’s coming out with in how we can keep kids safe online,” Daale says, “not just kids, but what parents can look for, you know, on their kids, cell phones or iPads or whatever they have just to keep them safe also.”

Daale says the officers talked about the connection between social media and human trafficking.  “We’ve had a lot of questions in the community about either trafficking or sex trafficking victims on how we can alert the community and kids, you know, what to look for how to stay away or how not to get trapped into that trafficking situation” Daale says. “So, you know, it all starts with social media. It all starts with something simple, who you can and can’t trust on online.”

The school resource officers will incorporate what they learned at the conference into their contacts with students and parents in the next school year.

(Radio Iowa) – A University of Iowa study finds businesses that take public stands on political issues may drive away potential job applicants who don’t share the same views. Chad Van Iddekinge, a U-I professor of management and entrepreneurship, says when a corporation makes a statement on topics ranging from abortion to gun control, it’ll impact public perception.

“This is something that organizations need to deal with and it can affect the quality and the type of applicants that express interest in an organization,” Van Iddekinge says. “That, in turn, can have ripple effects in terms of the workforce of the company.” With “Help Wanted” signs hanging in so many windows, companies may have to walk a fine line on social issues. If they don’t take a stand, they may be seen as insensitive, but if they do pick sides, they may turn off potential employees.

Chad Van Iddekinge. (U-I photo)

“Over time, if an organization chooses to publicize their political beliefs, that will tend to attract people who share those beliefs and result in a more kind of homogenous organization,” Van Iddekinge says, “and people who may have different political views may feel, become more isolated.”

As part of the research, people were asked if they’d consider applying for jobs at six major companies. Three are identified as being more conservative, Home Depot, State Farm Insurance and Exxon Mobil, and three are more politically progressive corporations, Apple, Facebook and Google.

“We did find that applicants are more concerned about that,” Van Iddekinge says. “An organization’s political affiliations and stances can affect their decisions about whether to apply for a position, and even some people reported that it influenced their ultimate selection decision in terms of whether to join an organization based on their politics.”

In one part of the study, people were asked to identify the political leanings of the six companies. Van Iddekinge says they were more accurate in identifying the liberal-leaning organizations which, he suggests, means there’s more awareness of the political stances of those organizations and less awareness of those that are more conservative.