Leisure and hospitality workers are commanding the highest rates of any industry. Nearly 1 million people will leave the workforce in November 2021 alone, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. why? Seasonality, low pay and monotony are among the reasons for the hospitality industry’s slow pace and lack of job growth.
So what should hospitality businesses do? Maybe turn to services like Qwick, a startup that matches hospitality gig contract workers. Qwick has announced that it has raised $40 million in a Series B financing round led by Tritium Partners, with current investors including Album VC, Kickstart, Desert Angels, and Breakthrough Seed Fund Revolution.
Jamie Baxter founded Qwick in 2017 with Chris Loeffler. Baxter was previously director of technology in Willis Towers Watson’s risk and financial services division, where he oversaw product and software development.
With Qwick, Baxter wanted to build a platform that connected service industry workers to food and beverage shifts. Qwick uses a matching algorithm that takes into account factors such as distance, availability of “VIP” staff and supplies to fill hospitality businesses, including stadiums, senior living facilities and corporate dining.
“The hospitality industry has had a decades-long reputation for low retention rates, low wages and poor management and working conditions,” Baxter told TechCrunch in an email interview. “Qwick aims to combat the issues of working in the industry and redefine what it means to work in hospitality by creating value for its professionals and providing a livable wage.”
To sign up for Qwick, employees must complete a profile and watch a five-minute virtual orientation. Once cleared, they will receive notifications for open shifts.
“Qwick requires incoming professionals to go through an orientation, including a one-on-one interview,” Baxter said. “All Qwick professionals are certified for professional experience, professionalism and commitment to service before being granted access to the platform.”
Baxter also said Qwick uses a two-way five-star rating system to “ensure consistent quality and reliability among professionals and businesses,” although similar rating systems on gig marketplaces have been found to exacerbate bias against small workers.
Book gigs with the Qwick mobile app. Image Credits: Quick
Qwick is similar to startups like Stint, Flexy, Indeed Flex, Gig, Limber and Baristas on Tap, which provide short-term workers to businesses in a variety of industries. Advocates of the platform say it’s making hospitality a more financially viable career by increasing operational efficiency. But a recent Eater piece found that some workers at hospitality startups take home around the local minimum wage and may be forced to take long unpaid trips. Critics say the platform leaves businesses with less budget for hiring and training, encouraging them to replace full-time positions with temporary jobs.
Some hospitality employers have indicated that they are willing to accept temporary workers at the expense of salaried workers. In the year In 2017 and 2018, Marriott and Hilton joined with Airbnb to lobby for a federal law that would classify anyone who gets work through the online platform as an independent contractor from the Airbnb and TechNet consortium (including Uber, Lyft and Taskrabbit).
Baxter pushed back against the idea that Kwik is a painkiller, saying it gives employees the “freedom” to work their hours.
“Thousands of business partners across the U.S. rely on Qwick to end workforce attrition… [We] Partner only with reputable businesses that are known to treat their employees well, and give the agency to have professionals work where and when they need you. “Hundreds of thousands of industry professionals have downloaded our app and booked shifts through Qwick.”
Kwik employees are paid an average of $9 above the minimum wage in the cities where they work, Baxter added. He also noted that Qwick allows businesses to hire gig workers for traditional off-platform work at no additional cost, unlike other gig job platforms that require recruitment and hiring fees.
In any case, demand for Qwick’s services appears to be very strong on the employer side. After a rough patch during the pandemic – Qwick was forced to lay off 70% of its team, and Baxter stopped taking a salary – the business has more than recovered, with revenue growing an impressive 10,000% over the past three years.
And for better or worse, the gig economy shows no signs of contracting. According to the Pew Research Center, 16% of Americans have completed their careers through an online gig platform. And MasterCard predicts that the number of global gig workers will grow to 78 million by 2023, compared to 43 million in 2018.
Qwick is active with more than 7,000 businesses in 23 metro areas, and the platform has facilitated more than 500,000 shifts to date, Baxter added.
Qwick’s investors seem confident in Qwick’s long-term direction, whether it’s the best outcome for employees or not. “Qwick’s impressive growth and history with innovative hospitality solutions, especially during a challenging few years for the industry, shows that the company has truly changed the way people work,” said David Lack, managing partner at Tritium Partners, in an emailed statement. “
To date, Arizona-based Quick has raised $69.1 million in capital. The company has more than 270 employees, and Baxter said it will expand to around 300 before the end of the year.
