During the recent time, about 70% of all hotel employees in the United States were laid off. While the volume of travel has largely returned to the level of 2019, a large part of the industry’s workforce has decided not to return and instead choose other opportunities and career paths.

The severity of this problem has been highlighted in several reports. The Bureau of Labor Statistics found that in 2022, accommodation and catering services had the highest emigration, dismissal and job opening rates of all other sectors in the United States. In a revealing survey by Deloitte, more than half of hotels say they have 25 to 75 percent of the workforce they had before the recent time. Moreover, only 63% of hoteliers plan to regain the 2019 workforce by 2030.

This can only mean one thing: a drastic and sustainable change in the hospitality workforce, which is likely to have an impact on your long-term hiring prospects. It is difficult not only to find employees, but also to find qualified personnel suitable for the position. This could become even more difficult as younger generations dominate the workforce, discouraged by the industry’s perception of low wages, long working hours and limited career advancement opportunities.

Many hotels—more than 70 percent, according to Deloitte-had no choice but to reduce their vacancies and available amenities, as they could not stay adequately staffed. Inflating your rates can also help offset the lower utilization and meet increasing salary requirements. However, these factors can all affect customer satisfaction and affect your bottom line.

Instead of waiting for the labor market to end, future-oriented hotels see this change as an opportunity to use intelligent technologies such as AI, robotics and cloud computing. Almost two thirds of European hoteliers plan to double their technology budgets in the coming year. In the US, half of hotels are relying on innovation to make up for labor shortages. The technology is bringing significant changes to the industry, helping to address the labor shortage while improving the customer experience—and possibly even changing the way the industry is perceived by emerging professionals.

Industry experts agree that the shortage of workers in the hospitality industry is permanent. The good news is that this problem is driving innovations that support the profitability and resilience of hotels now and in the coming years.

Innovations promote efficiency without compromising customer satisfaction

What exactly do innovations for hotels look like? Perhaps the most obvious application for addressing the labor shortage is to help employees do their job more efficiently. In the back office, hotel professionals can switch from manual, spreadsheet-based and paper-intensive systems to automated cloud-based software. For example, property management systems (PMS) centralize information on various hotel functions, from bookings to billing to housekeeping. This makes it easier for employees to access consistent and accurate information, while AI-powered PMS can generate insights into customer behavior and automate routine tasks.

In addition, revenue management systems use sophisticated data analysis to optimize pricing strategies based on factors such as demand, seasonality and competitive prices. This allows hotels to maximize their earnings and at the same time work with limited staff. The same approach can be applied to the management of PMS schedules, using historical data to ensure optimal coverage of personnel when it is most needed.

The technology can even be used to handle the hiring process itself. Automated recruitment tools often use AI to find suitable candidates, while chatbots can make an early selection of candidates. After the recruitment, e-learning and virtual reality platforms support the onboarding and training of employees.

When it comes to activities with direct customer contact, chatbots and virtual assistants can relieve agents by responding quickly to customer inquiries. Likewise, the mobile support and the devices in the room allow guests to request services without needing the assistance of the staff. Hardware such as robotic vacuum cleaners or drones can even relieve the cleaning staff and automate room service deliveries.

In addition to streamlining understaffed processes, these solutions have the additional advantage of creating more personalized customer experiences. Consumer preferences have changed significantly since the recent time, with almost half of travelers preferring new experiences more than in 2019. Hotels need to offer guests better value for money, especially as room prices rise, and meet expectations for mobile options and digital connectivity. Even in understaffed hotels, technologies can achieve this by:

Support for mobile registration and key digital technologies. These not only reduce the workload of the reception, but also satisfy more and more technically savvy customers.
Using an AI-powered PMS and other hotel systems to analyze guest history and behavior. This is an effective way to suggest customized amenities or local attractions with minimal burden on the agents.
Installation of smart room management systems such as voice-controlled assistants, smart thermostats, automated lighting systems and other IoT devices. These can add an extra layer of personalization to the guests without the need for human interaction.

Hotels can increase value and promote more promising job prospects

These innovations enable hotels to become more operationally efficient with fewer employees. This allows hotel staff to focus on more nuanced tasks that improve the customer experience and retention and generate revenue over time. Almost 60% of hotel managers surveyed by Deloitte expect automation to improve the customer experience and thus the end result. As more and more hoteliers adopt solutions such as AI, the industry will most likely achieve a significant ROI, even if the workforce stagnates.

In addition to revenue growth, the technology can help hotel providers revolutionize their approach to hiring and retention. By facilitating more efficient operations, technologically integrated hoteliers provide employees with a more pleasant and stress-free working environment that promotes long-term attitudes.

Technologies also provide more opportunities for professional development and attract new talents, especially young professionals who may not have previously considered the hospitality industry as a cutting-edge industry. While hotel innovation can cause hotels to have fewer hiring requirements in certain roles, they also need to think about hiring strategies for software developers, data analysts, and other professionals needed to design, implement, and manage new technology solutions.

Historical data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics confirm that the hospitality industry was already known for higher turnover rates than other industries even before the recent time. Technology investments are crucial to transform the hotelier’s competence from a traditional customer service employer to an employer with exciting and innovative career opportunities. Perhaps even more important than short-term profits, this can lead to more stable staffing levels, lower operating costs and generate more value in the long term.

Proactively deal with labor shortages with a property management system
The hospitality industry is experiencing a period of unprecedented changes, as the labor shortage continues against the background of changing customer requirements and economic uncertainty. Hoteliers can choose to view this environment as a tough action or use it as an opportunity to be innovative and stand out from their competitors. Digital transformation streamlines understaffed operations and provides more value to customers during their stay, improving loyalty and revenue growth. In the long term, the introduction of a technology-driven culture can also help hoteliers attract and retain talent, thus avoiding labor shortages.