About two-thirds of U.S. hoteliers surveyed last month by
the American Hotel & Lodging Association reported a staffing shortage at
their properties, a lower figure than comparable surveys in 2023.
The 67 percent of 408 hotelier respondents who were surveyed
Jan. 8-18 by AHLA and who reported a staffing shortage—including 12 percent who
indicated they were “severely understaffed”—is lower than the 82
percent and 79 percent who said as much in May 2023 and January
2023 surveys, respectively. About 48 percent of hoteliers in last month’s
survey cited housekeeping as their most critical need.
As is the case in several industries, hotels have struggled
to staff up and retain employees following the pandemic, and with the overall
U.S. job market remaining
strong, those challenges likely will persist.
“The hotel workforce situation is slowly improving
thanks to record-high average wages and better benefits and upward mobility
than ever before,” AHLA president and CEO Chip Rogers said in a statement.
AHLS cited U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data that show
average December 2023 U.S. accommodation industry hourly earnings reached
$23.91, up 45 cents year over year and more than five dollars from December
2019.
The group urged U.S. Congress to ease restrictions on some
foreign workers, including expanding the H-2B guest worker program, passing the
Asylum Seeker Work Authorization Act—which would reduce the time required for
asylum seekers to wait to receive clearance to work in the U.S.—and pass the
H-2 Improvements to Relieve Employers (HIRE) Act, which would expand the guest
worker certification program and waive requirements for in-person interviews
for returning workers.
“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,” according to Rogers.
