Hotels on hiring spree with better wages, benefits, flexibility

As nearly 80 percent of hotels experience staffing shortages, hoteliers are offering potential hires a host of incentives to fill vacancies, according to a new survey of hoteliers conducted by the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA).

Seventy-one percent of respondents are increasing wages, 64 percent are offering greater flexibility with hours, and 33 percent are expanding benefits — but 81 percent say they are still unable to fill open positions.

Seventy-nine percent of survey respondents indicate they are experiencing a staffing shortage, 22 percent severely so. The most critical staffing need is housekeeping, with 43 percent ranking it as their top hiring need.

The numbers are an improvement from September 2022, when 87 percent of respondents to an AHLA survey said they were short-staffed, 36 percent severely so, with 43 percent ranking housekeeping as their top hiring need at the time.

Respondents are attempting to fill an average of se