The hotel sector cried foul at the prospect of a possible reduction in working hours to 37.5 hours per week. Tourism employers predicted an economic catastrophe for the sector, predicting closures and loss of competitiveness.
Finally, the reduction in working hours came to nothing after failing to pass the parliamentary procedure, but the reality experienced by a small hotel chain in the Balearic Islands has been radically different, demonstrating that those fears were far from reality. After applying the reduction in working hours, he has fewer problems with the workforce and the business is going from strength to strength.
Fears in the sector. The hospitality and tourism sector was one of the most belligerent with applying the change in working hours proposed by the Ministry of Labor to 37.5 hours per week. According to what was published by The reasonsector estimates anticipated an increase of between 6% and 8% in labor costs, which will mean an additional cost of 2,538 million euros overall.
The CEHAT employers’ association warned that the reduction to 37.5 hours per week would imply “a loss of competitiveness” and that the employees of the 300,000 companies that make up this sector would work “112 minutes less per week” which, according to them, would break the already delicate economic balance.
MarSenses against the current. MarSenses Hotels & Homes is a small hotel chain with five establishments in Mallorca and one in Menorca, assisted by a staff of around 515 workers. In 2023, Rodrigo Fitaroni, CEO of the chain, decided not to wait for the Government to implement the reduction in working hours and began to apply it on his own. In 2024, its entire workforce worked 38.5 hours per week. The results were so positive that this year they have reduced it again to 37.5 hours per week, being pioneers in the adoption of this working day model.
Fitaroni explained to Business Insider that they sought to “improve the work-life balance and well-being of the workforce”, and that this reduction was only the first step. “If the reduction in working hours goes well, we will continue to decline. But it will depend on how the worker performs and if productivity continues to be good,” noted the CEO.
In addition to the reduction in working hours, the hotel chain has applied a salary increase of 8% in the last two years. Which, added to the reduction in working hours without loss of salary, translates into an average increase much higher than the average for the hospitality sector, which was around 3.8% annually.
Results far from estimates. As Fitaroni himself told the Balearic newspaper Breaking Newsthe results obtained after applying the reduction in working hours contradicted the sector’s estimates. One of the most notable indicators is that the chain’s absenteeism levels have been drastically reduced to below 5% since the first year. It is a very notable percentage since the average for the Balearic hotel sector is between 14.8% in Mallorca and 20% in Menorca.
These data are accompanied by greater employee commitment and satisfaction, which has translated into an increase in revenue per available room. “We are trying formulas that no one has tried,” declared Fitaroni, who began his career in hospitality working as a waiter. “We come from operational positions and we know what it is like,” says the CEO.
Pioneers in caring for their “Kellys”. MarSenses has not only innovated in the application of reduced working hours in the hospitality sector, but has also done so with exceptional measures in one of the most punished groups: housekeepers, popularly known as the “kellys”.
The Balearic chain paid special attention to the 30 housekeepers it has on staff. These professionals face very hard work days cleaning between 20 and 30 rooms a day, which generate very intense physical wear. For them, not only does the reduction of the working day apply to 37.5 hours like the rest of the workforce, for those over 58 years of age, the working day is reduced to 32 hours per week.
The Country echoed the opinion of Sara del Mar García, president of Kellys Unión Baleares, who applauded the initiative of the Balearic hotel company. “MarSenses is a very important step and it is the one that the rest of the hotel chains should take now,” said the union representative, alluding to the hospitality agreement in the Balearic Islands that postpones until 2028 the obligation for companies to adopt measures for the well-being of these workers.
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Image | MarSenses, Pexels (Liliana Drew)
