The U.S. hotel industry is suffering from staff shortages and rising wages, problems that are expected to make travel costs even higher than they are now.
In 2024, hotels across the United States are expected to collectively pay $123 billion in compensation, an increase of more than 20% from 2019. The Wall Street Journal reportedciting data from the American Hotel and Lodging Association.
Bob Habib, CEO of Chicago-based Maverick Hotels & Restaurants, said he will have to raise wages by 10% across his portfolio of 20 hotels this year, and some of that advance money will go toward lodging. The money will be given back to customers, he told the Journal.
“Consumers will have to pay more,” he says.
Meanwhile, many hotels are still cutting back on amenities such as daily cleaning services that were originally reduced or eliminated entirely during the pandemic.
Deloitte concludes that approximately 70% of hotels have reduced or eliminated on-property amenities and services in response to staffing shortages. travelogue Published in September.
The newspaper said hotel owners were in a precarious position as service levels declined due to staff shortages.
“If you expect sympathy from consumers, you’re not going to get it,” Habib told the Journal.
Staffing levels in the hotel industry remain below pandemic levels. Employment in the accommodation sector is down 9% since the start of 2020, according to government data, the Journal reported.
Deloitte found that while hotels are not immediately turning to technology as a solution, airports are embracing it.
In response to labor shortages, a whopping 90% of airports have created self-service for travelers. Meanwhile, only 36% of hotels are doing the same, according to Deloitte.
Chip Rogers, CEO of the American Hotel and Lodging Association, said the mass layoffs that hit the industry in 2020 have left small hotel workers lingering. When Hilton said goodbye to 2,100 corporate positions, Hyatt announced 1,300 layoffs worldwide and Marriott laid off even more at its Times Square hotel alone, he said more than 800 employees work there. Masu.
Rogers said many hotel industry employees have since moved on to higher-paying jobs in other sectors.
And in the four years since then, “hoteliers have figured out how to do more with less,” Rogers told the Journal.
For example, the paper said lodging properties are relying more on food delivery apps than on in-house kitchen staff.
Additionally, the Journal said staff are being asked to do more work, such as checking guests in at the front desk and mixing drinks behind the bar when needed, while doing laundry. The same employees are said to be helping with the work. housework work.
