by Lacey Pfalz
Last updated: 10:20 AM ET, Mon February 5, 2024
Hotels in the United States continue facing staffing shortages, with over two-thirds reporting issues hiring and retaining employees, according to a new report by the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA).
The report found that 72 percent are unable to fill open positions, despite 82 percent of hotels raising wages to historically record-high levels, 59 percent offering greater hour flexibility and 33 percent of hotels expanding benefits for employees.
The number of hotels struggling with staffing has lowered 10 percent from June 2023, when the number was at 82 percent. Yet 12 percent report being severely understaffed, in a way that affects their day-to-day operations. Hotels are looking to fill an average of 9 positions per property, up from the seven reported in January 2023.
Housekeeping remains the hardest position to fill, with 48 percent of hotels recognizing it as their top hiring need.
“The hotel workforce situation is slowly improving thanks to record-high average wages and better benefits and upward mobility than ever before,” said AHLA President & CEO Chip Rogers. “But nationwide labor shortages are preventing hoteliers from filling tens of thousands of jobs, and that problem will weigh heavily on our members until Congress takes action. We urge lawmakers to address this urgent issue by creating an H-2B returning worker exemption, passing the Asylum Seeker Work Authorization Act, and passing the H-2 Improvements to Relieve Employers (HIRE) Act.”
The United States currently has 9 million job openings and only 6.3 million unemployed people, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Expanding the legal H-2B guestworker program could fill those much-needed gaps in the hotel industry. Currently, the program is available for only 66,000 people each year.
The AHLA also supports the passing of the Asylum Seeker Work Authorization Act, a bipartisan act that would allow asylum seekers to work 30 days after applying for asylum, which they cannot do for at least six months under current regulations.
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