Smart Brief reported that, according to a recent survey conducted by the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA), more than two-thirds of hotels continue to face staffing challenges despite marked improvements in employment levels since Spring 2023. While the leisure and hospitality industry has shown signs of recovery, with December 2023 marking the strongest month since February 2020 (just before the pandemic), the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports that job vacancies still outnumber unemployed individuals.
The Understaffing Problem
Jan Freitag, CoStar Group’s national director of hospitality, noted that, although growth forecasts for RevPAR are positive, hoteliers struggle with increased expenses. “Labor costs are a significant driver of overall expenses and the lack of workers in the industry continues to drive wages up.” He said, “Even though the BLS data shows a return to pre-pandemic employment numbers, the industry has grown room count by over three percent since 2020 and so we remain understaffed.”
Circumstances are further complicated by the fact that many former hotel staffers switched career paths during the pandemic after approximately 70 percent of them were laid off when COVID-19 hit. Trouble attracting them back has been attributed to such factors as stressful work environments, an absence of flexibility, little room for growth and insufficient recognition.
Housekeeping staff member working at a hotel. (Photo Credit: Adobe Stock/rh2010)
What’s Being Done?
Echoing concerns about workforce shortages, American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) President and CEO Chip Rogers has emphasized the need for government intervention to address the issue. Rogers advocates for policy measures such as an H-2B returning worker exemption and the expansion of labor certification programs to alleviate the strain on hoteliers grappling with unfilled positions.
Hoteliers are proactively addressing the employee shortfall by attempting to enhance workplace conditions and offer additional benefits. Aimbridge Hospitality President Mark Tamis recently said, “Making this an attractive industry is Mission One. Creating those opportunities for our associates is what we think about every day.”
Appealing To Prospects
Hotels are attempting to make the industry more appealing to prospective employees by focusing on diversity initiatives, career development opportunities and employee well-being programs, ranging from mental health support to English-as-a-second-language courses.
Choice Hotels International’s President and CEO, Pat Pacious, emphasized the importance of enhanced flexibility and adopting more employee-centric policies. “A lot of our programs allow people to take their own well-being days when they feel overwhelmed or they feel family stress,” he said. “We track those numbers, we share them with our associates and we encourage them to use those tools to make their lives better.”
Hotel staff working at reception counter with service bell. (Photo Credit: Adobe Stock/davit85)
Alongside competitive compensation packages to foster employee motivation and retention, hospitality management platform HelloShift recommends implementing rewards programs and soliciting feedback to promote improved collaboration and teamwork. “Regular feedback sessions and surveys can help identify individual aspirations and tailor development plans accordingly, demonstrating the organization’s commitment to employee growth and satisfaction,” the company wrote.
The Role of Technology
While technology has played a crucial role in streamlining operations and addressing staffing gaps, experts emphasize the need for a balance between automation and personalized guest experiences.
“Empowering guests through technology using mobile devices (think mobile first), kiosks, the web and push communications should continue to be a priority but with an eye towards guest-centricity, personalization and friction-free service delivery applications and processes,” said Daniel Connolly of St. John Fisher University. “It will also be important for hoteliers to consider ways to apply technology to free up staff who can be redeployed to guest-facing positions to interact directly with guests and ensure that the personal touch remains a hallmark of hospitality.”
