Monday, June 10, 2024 Report from the American Hotel & Lodging Association reveals US facing a 76% staff shortage amid a booming hospitality industry, highlighting urgent worker need. The latest survey from the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) reveals that over three-quarters of hotels are grappling with staff shortages. To address this, hotels are enhancing salaries, benefits, and other incentives to attract and retain workers.
According to the survey results from May, 86% of hotel operators have raised wages in the past six months, 52% now offer more flexible working hours, and 33% have improved benefit packages due to the ongoing national labor shortage. Despite these efforts, 79% of hotels report difficulties in filling vacancies. Specifically, 76% of those surveyed acknowledge a shortage of staff, with 13% describing the situation as severe enough to impact their operations.
Housekeeping positions are particularly hard to fill, identified by 50% of respondents as the most urgent hiring need. Comparing these findings with data from a January 2024 survey, the situation appears to have deteriorated. At that time, 67% of respondents reported staffing shortages, and 72% were struggling to fill positions.
The May data shows an attempt to fill an average of seven positions per hotel, a slight improvement from nearly nine in January. This ongoing staffing crisis is creating unprecedented employment opportunities in the hospitality sector. Since the onset of the pandem.
