Accor is looking to fill 12,000 temporary positions in preparation for the FIFA Football World Cup in Qatar. Accor, the biggest hotel operator in Europe, has been contracted by Qatar to run the interim operation in an effort to prevent a lack of available accommodations during the tournament.
Qatar is hosting the event. During the 28-day competition in November and December, Qatar wants to draw 1.2 million tourists, which would represent over half of the country’s total population. During the World Cup in Qatar, ticketed fans who want to spend the night in the host country are required to have accommodations pre-booked in advance.
According to Reuters, the chairman and CEO of hotel operator Accor, Sebastien Bazin, stated that the company is recruiting 12,000 temporary employees to work overseas in order to operate 65,000 empty rooms in apartments and homes in Qatar in order to provide temporary fan housing for the 2022 soccer World Cup.
In order to guarantee that there would be a sufficient number of places to stay during the tournament, Qatar has contracted Accor, the largest hotel firm in Europe, to manage the temporary operation.
“65,000 rooms is like opening 600 hotels, so we committed to hiring enough people to serve it,” Bazin said, adding that a drive is underway in Asia, sub-Saharan Africa, Europe, and South America to recruit housekeepers, front-desk staff, and logistics experts, among other positions. Bazin also said that the company has made a commitment to hiring enough people to serve it.
He said that everything was going to be taken apart towards the end of the month of December.
Omar Al Jaber, executive director of accommodation for the tournament organizers the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy, told reporters on Tuesday that the official World Cup accommodation website in Qatar has received approximately 25,000 bookings as of this point. Qatar will offer more than 100,000 rooms during the tournament.
“Up until the moment the first match begins, we will be under a lot of pressure. This is to be expected, and we are prepared “Al Jaber remarked.
During the 28-day competition in November and December, Qatar wants to draw 1.2 million tourists, which would represent over half of the country’s total population.
According to estimates provided by Qatar Tourism, the small Gulf Arab state has fewer than 30,000 hotel rooms. However, the governing body of soccer in the world, FIFA, has blocked booked 80 percent of those rooms for official guests, and World Cup organizers have stated that the remaining rooms will not be available.
In addition, Qatar is making available 1,000 desert tents designed in the Bedouin tradition, 4,000 accommodations aboard two cruise ships docked at Doha Port, and rooms inside pre-fabricated fan village cabins.
According to Al Jaber, supporters with tickets who want to spend the night in Qatar while attending the World Cup are required to have accommodations pre-booked in advance. If they do not have a place to stay in Qatar, the vast majority of supporters will not be able to get the needed fan ID, which doubles as a visa for the country.
According to Bazin, the operation of hotel-style rooms in private houses and flats will provide Accor with a significant logistical problem.
The operator of the hotel is sending 500 containers from China to the United States, all of which will be stocked with various furniture, ranging from couches to flatware. According to him, Accor would re-deploy its fleet of trucks, buses, and automobiles from Mecca in neighboring Saudi Arabia in order to overcome a projected lack of available vehicles in Qatar during the tournament. He claimed that the re-deployment will take place before the tournament begins. In addition to this, it has identified a local business that will be responsible for washing the daily output of 150 tons of soiled linen that will be generated by the operation.
