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Applications will be accepted from January 24 to February 5 for the Salt School, a multi-week program developed by The Asbury hotel’s management company to provide an introduction to the hospitality industry and recruit Asbury Park residents as employees. 

This year the Salt School is geared toward recruiting city residents as employees for the expected opening early this summer of the new 54 room boutique hotel in the Asbury Ocean Club high rise on the waterfront. The Salt School will start on February 16 with eight weekly sessions from 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. held at the Monmouth County Boys and Girls Club at 1201 Monroe Avenue.

David Bowd, CEO of Salt Hotels, which operates The Asbury and Asbury Lanes for waterfront redeveloper iStar, said the new hotel in iStar’s Asbury Ocean Club will employ an estimated 80 people in season and 40 during the off-season. Salt Hotels will also operate the Asbury Ocean Club hotel for iStar.

Bowd said his group has hired an estimated 90 percent of Asbury residents, and those from the immediate surrounding areas such as Neptune, to fill the positions at The Asbury and Asbury Lanes. Asbury residents also get priority in being accepted into the Salt School, which has been held every year since 2016.

Those interested in this year’s Salt School can apply at the Salt Hotels website at salthotels.com, with the application start date of January 24 and end date of February 5. Aside from positions at the new hotel in the Asbury Ocean Club, Bowd said The Asbury hotel also hopes to recruit employees for seasonal position coming open.

“The school is ultimately to me about how do we hire as many local people as possible,” Bowd (above in photo at the first Salt School in 2016) told the triCityNews newspaper. “Who better to tell you where to go in Asbury Park than someone from Asbury Park? And while the Asbury Ocean Club is a more refined product than The Asbury, the guests who are coming there are coming to explore Asbury Park. Yes, they may be a little more affluent, but they still want to spend their time in Asbury Park while they’re here. So the focus of the school remains the hiring of local people.”

Those who have attended the Salt Schools come from all ages and demographic groups in Asbury Park, with some others from immediate surrounding areas. Those hired from the school have filled all different positions in the hotel and Asbury Lanes. In the past, there have been enough openings to hire 70-80 percent of Salt School graduates.

Attendees will hear speakers each week from the top of their fields in the hospitality industry covering topics such as food and beverage service, front desk, housekeeping, revenue management, social media, brand, sales and marketing.

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