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Faced with staffing shortages, businesses gearing up for busy Monterey Car Week

MONTEREY, Calif. (KION-TV) - Monterey Car Week officially kicks off on Friday. Monterey County expects around 85,000 people to visit the Central Coast because of the event.

For hotels and restaurants, this is both good news and​ bad news.

Now hiring signs are posted out front of some of the restaurants on Alvarado Street. With many expected to come in for car week, KION checked in with some businesses to see how they're trying to meet the need and adapting to the situation.

“We're certainly seeing a resurgence, which has been great,” said Kevin Ellis, the General Manager at Hyatt Regency Monterey. “We continue to look at ways for the hotels to adapt.”

The Hyatt is revving up for a busy week.

At the start of the pandemic, Ellis said he made the difficult decision to lay off some staff, but most were able to come back. Guests are also returning at a rapid rate.

“Given the pace that we're seeing some of the recovery come, it's certainly causing some frustration for certain operators,” said Ellis. “I think we've seen that across all sectors of hospitality. It's just the rate of return of our travelers.”

KION asked Ellis what's helped hotels, like the Hyatt, adapt.

“Technology's been a really great part of the way we've come at this,” said Ellis. “After the pandemic, we're looking at new ways we can connect with our customers.”

It's not just hotels that have also been dealing with staffing shortages; restaurants are also still dealing with the problem.

“It's been hard to fill managerial positions or positions out at the front,” said Michael Culcasi, whose family owns Rosine’s Restaurant.

“Cooks, there's been major shortages all around for those, and the demand is only going up and up in ways that we've never really seen before.”

Even though it's been hard to fill those spots, business is still booming.

“Since the pandemic, things like our to-go business have really taken off,” said Culcasi. “Everyone's had a sweet tooth lately. Our cake business exploded.”

Culcasi told KION they’re expecting a lot of foot traffic once Car Week starts.

With many openings in the hospitality sector, on August 17, there will be a multiple employer job fair at America's Job Center in Salinas from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.

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Ana Torrea

Weekend Anchor/Reporter for KION News Channel 5/46

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