The Grand Hotel had to scramble this year to assemble its 600-person-plus seasonal staff, and it shows. Attendees at this week's Detroit Regional Chamber Mackinac Policy Conference have complained about long lines, lost luggage, a crashed reservation system and uncharacteristic indifference from some staff.
Part of the problem is that the Grand is missing hundreds of its most experienced staffers -- citizens of Caribbean island nations such as Jamaica, many of whom have been with the Grand for more than 10 years.
Grand Hotel President R.D. Musser III acknowledged that there is a "steep learning curve" for staff to learn the kind of service expected at a place like the Grand, but said "we're training every day." The problem is with a government visa known as H2b, a cousin of the H1b visa the tech industry uses to bring in skilled staff.
The H2b visa is for unskilled staff, though Musser says of his foreign-born staff, "we feel that they're highly skilled, but that's another issue." Musser said the Grand Hotel has been using foreign-born workers for more than 30 years because Americans are "unable or unwilling" to do the work. And he said that before Sept. 11, 2001, the government basically ignored the cap on H2b visas.
That changed after Sept. 11, but Musser said the Grand continued to get its best staffers back anyway because of an exemption for workers who return to America on a seasonal basis, then go home in the off-season. Musser said that proves they're honest and not interested in sneaking into the U.S. permanently. That exemption, however, has expired -- and Musser said there was no way to get in 300 out of the 380 island nation workers that were to be hired this year under H2b visas. Instead, the Grand has turned to other nations under other visas -- for example, Q cultural visas, used, Musser said, by Disney's EPCOT Center.
The Grand got in 10 Austrian chefs and three Austrian sommeliers under this program, and it's legal as long as they give regular presentations to guests on Austrian food and culture. And the Grand has also brought in a large number of Indians from hospitality schools there under student visas. "They have a great work ethic, they're very interested in the business, but they are very green," Musser said.
This year's staff will also feature a large number of Filipinos, Musser said.
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The Grand Hotel had to scramble this year to assemble its 600-person-plus seasonal staff, and it shows. Attendees at this week's Detroit Regional Chamber Mackinac Policy Conference have complained about long lines, lost luggage, a crashed reservation system and uncharacteristic indifference from some staff. 
