Hotels Address Staffing Shortages – Increase Compensation, Improve Benefit Packages

Better pay and incentives are now on offer to offset staffing shortages as hotels and resorts attract potential new hires, a new report showed.

According to data from the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA), nearly 80 percent of hotels are experiencing staffing shortages, with 22 percent saying the shortages are severe and 41 percent saying housekeeping is their top hiring need.

In an effort to attract workers, 71 percent of the surveyed employers have raised their wages, 64 percent are offering more flexible work arrangements, and 33 percent have expanded their benefits. On average, each property is seeking to fill seven open positions.

Compared to September 2022, there has been a notable improvement in the numbers. Back then, 87 percent of the respondents reported facing staff shortages, with 36 percent experiencing severe shortages. At the time, 43 percent of the respondents identified housekeeping as their top hiring need.

AHLA CEO Chip Rogers said, “Recruiting enough workers continues to be the top challenge for many hoteliers, and this is leading to historic career opportunities for hotel employees. We need Congress to help address workforce shortages with bipartisan solutions to incorporate more immigrants into the American economy.”

According to AHLA data from December, average hotel wages in the US had reached an all-time high of over $23 per hour. Moreover, these wages had increased at a faster rate than the average wages in the general economy since the beginning of the pandemic.

Based on the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, hotel industry employment has decreased by over 250,000 jobs since February 2020. As a result, properties are seeking to fill numerous positions that were lost during the pandemic, including nearly 100,000 hotel jobs that are currently available across the country.