Some Hampton Roads businesses in the hospitality industry are relying on a new app to find last-minute help.
Gigpro, co-founded by Ben Ellsworth and Sam Mylrea in Charleston, South Carolina, in November 2020, is now in almost 30 markets nationwide. It entered the Hampton Roads and Richmond markets in April 2022.
Gig jobs are available across the industry from restaurants and bars to catering, events and hotel food service for cooking, cleaning, bartending, dishwashing and housekeeping, among other tasks.
The coronavirus pandemic skyrocketed staffing problems within the industry and led to the app’s quick growth, said Rachael Rose, Gigpro’s senior marketing manager.
Rose said 132 Hampton Roads restaurants have signed up for the app and filled over 10,500 labor hours locally. Nationwide, more than 150,000 workers have filled gig positions through Gigpro.
The app is available on both iPhone or Android. The concept is simple: Businesses post available gigs, and “pros” or workers apply through the app and receive payment at the completion of each shift.
Rose said there is no sign-up or monthly retainer fee, but Gigpro charges each business a 22.5% fee based on each hourly shift posted. Gigs can be short- or long-term and may include a one-time shift or event staffing.
The Gigpro app is a solution to help with staffing issues in the hospitality industry. (Courtesy of Gigpro)
Pros are fully vetted for experience, and background checks are an option. They also go through an orientation and skills test.
Mia Guinan, owner of the Gourmet Gang, said her business recently signed up for Gigpro as a supplemental hiring and staffing strategy.
“We’ve always had something internally that does something similar with our past employees to help us fill occasional outs and vacations,” she said.
Guinan said the bistro likes the quality of the people booking jobs and feels the rates are reasonable.
“It’s kind of employment on demand,” she said.
Gourmet Gang has about 125 employees in seven locations and plans to take over the cafe at the Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center soon, Guinan said.
In business for 25 years, Guinan said it generally experiences low turnover and employs a great deal of family members.
“Our shift supervisor has been with us for 15 years,” she said. “We really didn’t experience the same problems that a lot of our competitors did with staffing because we’re family-oriented at the core.”
Guinan said Gigpro has allowed the business to cast a wider net to help fill unanticipated openings at times when the business ramps up or when employees are out on vacation. When needed, it has filled a variety of jobs, from catering to the deli to kitchen work.
It has also enabled a couple of “pros” to test out a job with Gourmet Gang — and its culture — before committing to a full-time position.
“Unlike a temp agency, Gigpro is perfectly fine with that,” she said.
Kristin Bonette, director of operations for Calypso Bar & Grill in Virginia Beach, has been with the company for eight years and has come to rely on Gigpro since the pandemic.
“Staffing has become a huge issue,” she said. “Employees didn’t exist anymore, especially not in the back of the house.”
So, she said the restaurant had to look at alternatives to be able to operate. After trying out other apps, Gigpro is now the only tool they rely on, Bonette said.
“They have the best candidate pool and the most reliability,” Bonette said.
Calypso’s sister restaurants Hair of the Dog and Repeal Bourbon & Burgers, all at Moliar Hospitality Group, use the app to look for workers in one aspect or another, Bonette said.
Sandra J. Pennecke, 757-652-5836, sandra.pennecke@insidebiz.com
Dining and Cooking