If you’ve recently stayed at a hotel and found yourself wondering where the full staff was, you’re not alone. A recent survey from the American Hotel & Lodging Association and Hireology explored the staffing needs of hotels around the country — and found that a significant number of them were experiencing issues hiring all of the workers that they need to keep their businesses operating ideally.
According to a statement from the AHLA, 65% of the hotels surveyed said that they were experiencing “shortages” in staffing, with an average of six to seven jobs currently open at each of the hotels in question. What types of positions are hotels having the most trouble filling? For 38% of respondents, housekeeping jobs were in demand; for 26% of the hotels surveyed, shortages in front desk positions were a factor.
That said, the situation does seem to be improving for many hotels. In May of last year, 13% of hotels responded to a survey saying that they were “severely understaffed”; that figure had dropped to 9% by the time of this survey, which was conducted between December 2024 and January 2025.
As for what steps the surveyed hotels were taking to ease their staffing shortages, you may not be surprised to know that 47% were increasing salaries, while 20% were offering employees more flexibility in terms of their schedules.
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The ultimate guide on where to eat will now tell you where to sleep“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,” said Hireology CEO Adam Robinson. As for which companies may be creating the best workplaces for employees, it’s worth noting that Hyatt was included on Glassdoor’s 2025 roundup of the best large companies to work for.
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