WASHINGTON—Hotels’ efforts including higher pay and a broadening range of benefits have improved staffing levels over the past year, but nearly two-thirds (65 percent) of surveyed hotels continue to report shortages, according to a recent survey conducted by the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) and AHLA Gold Partner Hireology.
“While American hotels have largely recovered from the pandemic, hotel employment is still nearly 10 percent below pre-pandemic staffing levels,” said AHLA President and CEO Rosanna Maietta. “The hospitality sector is committed to attracting and retaining talent, investing in workforce development, and creating good jobs for millions of Americans, and we are working hard in Washington to ensure we have a policy environment that supports these efforts.”
Hotels have focused on rebuilding the hospitality workforce since the pandemic. Incentives such as higher pay, flexible working hours, and providing hotel discounts, along with participating in job fairs and advertising, lowered the percentage of hotels reporting staffing shortages from 76 percent in May 2024 to 65 percent at year-end. Among the hotels surveyed, 9 percent described themselves as “severely understaffed,” down from 13 percent in May 2024.
“The hospitality industry faces a dual challenge: staffing shortages, particularly in key roles like housekeeping and front desk, coupled with the need to retain existing talent, said Adam Robinson, cofounder and CEO, Hireology. “While wage increases and other efforts by hoteliers are positive steps, we must prioritize career mobility and create clear paths for advancement to truly attract and retain the workforce we need.”
More than seven in 10 of the hotels surveyed (71 percent) said they had job openings they were unable to fill despite active searches. On average, hotels are trying to fill six to seven open positions per property.
The most mentioned shortages were in housekeeping (38 percent) followed by front desk roles (26 percent). Hotels also reported having difficulty finding workers for culinary positions (14 percent) and maintenance roles (13 percent).
Hotels’ most frequently reported strategy for attracting and retaining workers was offering higher wages (47 percent). Approximately one-fifth of the surveyed hotels (20 percent) said they were offering flexible working hours, while 13 percent reported providing hotel discounts, and 9 percent participated in job fairs and advertising.
A strong majority of those surveyed (72 percent) said they believe that career opportunities in hospitality are better than ever or at the same levels since the pandemic.
