Wilfred Wong: Sands China’s shortage of staff solved

Sands China has solved the shortage of manpower in its properties and is now able to put all 12,000 of its rooms into operation, Sands China president Wilfred Wong told the Times yesterday.

During the first half of the year, the hotel sector was understaffed amid the advertising campaign aiming to boost tourist arrivals in the city following the easing of border restrictions in early January.

The shortage of manpower caused the city’s hotels to operate at 60% to 70% capacity due to the lack of staff capable of attending to guests’ needs.

For this summer, according to Wong, “we’ve solved the manpower problem. Into the summer months, more than 12,000 rooms will come back into operation.”

“We averaged 10,700 in the last quarter already. So, in July and August, we believe we’ll be able to handle the maximum capacity,” he added.

The Times is aware that just last month, several hundred newly hired workers arrived in Macau to work in the hotel sector. The majority of them applied early this year and have only had their working visas processed last month. A significant number of them have gone through a Manila-based agency, Ikon Solutions Asia.

Back in December, the recruitment agency posted new job alerts for positions in the city’s integrated resorts, which signaled the renewed need for staff in the sector following layoffs since 2020 caused by the pandemic.

The listings featured job postings for bartenders, bell attendants, room attendants and welcome ambassadors for the five-star casino resorts in Macau.

The recruitment agency has advertised that it has partnered with all six operators and deployed over 15,000 Filipino workers to Macau. LV