(CNN) — In the cut-throat post-pandemic world of hospitality, getting the best employees is everything. Now one hotel group has decided to lure in stellar staff by offering a golden handshake — of a free tattoo if they stick it out for six months.
Germany’s Ruby Hotels, which has 16 properties across Europe, is offering new recruits up to €500 ($511) to get a new tattoo, piercing or haircut once they reach six months of employment.
And little over a month since the scheme started in June, applications to work with the brand have already gone up by 25% — despite it being the summer holiday period in Europe.
“Given the shortage of staff in the hotel industry across Europe, this is a very satisfactory result,” Uta Scheurer, Ruby’s vice president of human resources, told CNN.
Uta Scheurer, overseeing the campaign, has tattoos herself.
courtesy Ruby Hotels
The campaign is partly an attention grab, she said — but more crucially, it’s to attract the kind of staff they want at their hotels: “Team players who value character, soul and individuality” the company wrote in a statement.
“Ruby wants to encourage its employees to create their individual success story, to show their own personality and also showcase it at work.”
“We love people with personality and that’s what we want to communicate,” Scheurer added.
Scheurer — who has tattoos herself — told CNN that, “The mix of individual characters is what creates the mood and the success of Ruby.”
Ruby Hotels are all a little out of the ordinary.
courtesy Ruby Hotels
She continued: “Tattoos, piercings and hairstyles are something very personal.
“They’re different for everyone, emotional for everyone, with a meaning. At Ruby, every employee can and should be themselves. Many companies claim that; We prove it with this campaign.”
She added: “By the way, everyone wants tattoos [not piercings or hairdos]. That shows we hit a nerve with our approach.”
And if current employees feel left out, they won’t for long. The scheme has done so well that they’ve expanded it. When an existing employee recruits a new one, the brand will pay for a tattoo for each of them.
The campaign will run until the end of the year.
Main image: chika_milan/Adobe Stock