AH MARCH 2024

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www.asianhospitality.com

MARCH 2024 ASIAN HOSPITALITY

ore than two-thirds of hotels are

struggling with staffing shortages,

leading hoteliers to offer

increased pay and a variety of incentives

to attract and retain talent, according to a

new survey conducted by the American

Hotel & Lodging Association. In

response, AHLA is calling on Congress

to take action.

Around 82 percent of respondents

have increased wages in the last six

months, reaching a record high average

for hotels in December 2023, according

to the survey. Additionally, 59 percent are

offering greater flexibility with hours,

and 33 percent are expanding benefits.

Despite these efforts, 72 percent said

they are still unable to fill open positions.

Approximately 67 percent of survey

respondents reported a staffing

shortage, with 12 percent describing it

as "severely understaffed," impacting

their operations, the survey said.

Housekeeping emerges as the most

critical need, cited by 48 percent as their

top hiring priority. These figures mark

an improvement from May 2023 when 82

percent reported staffing shortages.

AHLA said respondents to the latest

survey are trying to fill an average of

nine positions per property, a figure

largely consistent with May 2023

but higher than the average of seven

vacancies per property in January 2023.

Historic career opportunities in

hotels

Ongoing staffing challenges are creating

career opportunities for hotel employees,

the survey said. There are more than

70,000 hotel jobs currently open

across the nation, according to Indeed.

Moreover, the Bureau of Labor Statistics

revealed that as of December 2023,

national average hotel wages reached an

all-time high of $23.91 per hour.

According to AHLA, hotel wages

have outpaced general economic wages

since the pandemic, with benefits and

flexibility reaching unprecedented levels.

“The hotel workforce situation is

slowly improving thanks to record-high

average wages and better benefits and

upward mobility than ever before,” said

Chip Rogers, AHLA president and CEO.

“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

Act.”

As of December, the U.S. had 9 million

job openings, but only 6.3 million

unemployed individuals available to

fill them, according to Bureau of Labor

Statistics.

‘Workforce shortage solutions’

AHLA said that Congress can help

hoteliers address workforce shortages by

taking the following actions:

Expanding and streamlining the legal

H-2B guestworker program: The H-2B

program aids independent hotels and

resorts in remote vacation spots to fill

seasonal roles. However, with a yearly

cap of 66,000 visas, it falls short, AHLA

said. Exempting returning workers

from this limit would assist hoteliers

in hiring employees to offer crucial

staffing relief for seasonal small business

hotels, thereby contributing to the post-

pandemic economic recovery.

Cosponsor and pass the Asylum Seeker

Work Authorization Act: A record

number of asylum seekers are currently

housed in hotels across America,

awaiting court dates and adhering to

the legal process. However, existing law

prohibits them from working legally for

at least six months, necessitating reliance

on local government and community

assistance. This bipartisan legislation

aims to assist hotels in addressing critical

staffing shortages by enabling asylum

seekers to begin working as soon as 30

days after applying for asylum.

Cosponsor and pass the H-2

Improvements to Relieve Employers Act:

The bill proposes extending the H-2A/H-

2B labor certification period to three years

and permanently authorizing the waiver

of in-person interviews for returning

workers. The HIRE Act aims to simplify

the process for qualified workers to

obtain jobs in industries facing challenges

in recruiting and retaining sufficient

employees to meet demand.

AHLA's 2024 State of the Hotel

Industry report recently indicated a

robust outlook for the U.S. hotel industry.

Projected average hotel occupancy is

nearly 63.6 percent, a slight increase

from 2023 but below the 2019 rate of 65.8

percent. Nominal RevPAR is expected

to rise to $101.82 in 2024, marking a 4

percent increase from 2023 and over 17

percent from 2019.

Survey: 67 percent of hotels

report staﬃng shortages

More than 80 percent of hotels are boosting wages to hire and retain staﬀ

More than two-thirds

of hotels are grappling

with staffing shortages,

according to a recent

survey by the American

Hotel & Lodging

Association. This has

prompted hoteliers to

offer increased pay and

various incentives to

attract and retain talent.

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