Hiring Hoosiers is a new initiative from RTV6 that works to connect Hoosiers to employment opportunities, career development resources, training programs and educational paths. In our Hiring Hoosiers reports we are taking a closer look at barriers to employment and things that get in the way of people getting the jobs they need to support themselves and their families. For more information, visit HiringHoosiers.com. See new stories weekdays at 6 a.m. on RTV6!
INDIANAPOLIS — Across from Bankers Life Fieldhouse, one of Indy's most popular attractions, a brand new mid-rise in the Wholesale District stands 15 stories tall with 316 guest rooms.
New Orleans-based HRI Properties is opening this combo Hyatt Place & Hyatt House hotel at the corner of Pennsylvania and Georgia streets.
"All I need is a great attitude," Marlee Sumpter, a member of the hotel's human resources team, said. "I can work with anything else"
LEARN MORE | Hyatt Place & Hyatt House Indianapolis
Sumpter said it will take roughly 75 employees to keep up with the daily operations of the new hotel.
"We need room attendants to clean the rooms, night auditors to run the desk at night," she said.
RTV6 dropped in to one of two recent job fairs, held by HRI Properties. Applicants were interviewed, hired and will soon begin training sessions.
Not all hourly positions, however, were filled at these job fairs. In fact, there are openings still posted on the company's website for accountants, bartenders, cooks, lobby attendants, security officers.
APPLY FOR JOBS | HRI Properties job openings
Applicants will need a high school diploma.
The company stresses it is committed to hiring Hoosiers.
"That was our goal from the beginning to get as many people from this area as possible," Sumpter said. "They know the area."
Mary Catherine Srofe, talent acquisition specialist with HRI Properties, helped run the recent job fairs.
"We love going to new places and making sure we are hiring people from the community we are asserting ourselves in," Srofe said.
RTV6 checked with the City of Indianapolis, which said the Hyatt hotel project is expected to generate an annual payroll of more than $2.8 million per year. The City said the average hourly wage will amount to more than $13.64, which is considered a living wage.
The construction project itself created an extra 250 jobs over an 18-month period.
In addition to the dozens of hotel staff positions, three restaurants are also opening on the lower levels of the hotel. Those businesses will need workers too.
The Hyatt Place & Hyatt House opens on March 28th.
