Hotels Face 90 Million Job Opening Challenge by 2035

The Demand Surge

Hotels are bracing for a hiring wave, with 90.6 million new jobs projected in tourism by 2035, according to the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC). This boost means tourism jobs could make up 12.5% of global jobs, up from 10.9% in 2025. But here's the snag—current labor shortages are stubbornly sticking around. The demand for workers is accelerating post-COVID, but the supply chain isn't catching up.

The projection represents one of the most significant employment growth opportunities globally. Tourism and hospitality already employ hundreds of millions of people worldwide. Adding another 90.6 million jobs over the next decade would make the sector an even more dominant force in global employment markets.

The growth reflects multiple trends converging simultaneously. International travel is rebounding from pandemic lows and approaching pre-2020 levels. The global middle class continues expanding, particularly in Asia, creating new generations of travelers. Digital nomad culture and remote work enable longer stays and "bleisure" (business + leisure) travel. Budget airlines and accommodation platforms democratize travel for broader demographics.

But the 12.5% target faces serious obstacles. The hospitality sector struggles with persistent worker shortages that predate COVID-19 but intensified dramatically during the pandemic. When hotels shut down in 2020-2021, millions of workers left the industry. Many found employment in other sectors offering better pay, more predictable schedules, and less customer-facing stress. Convincing them to return isn't easy.

Rethinking Recruitment

With job vacancy rates in hospitality still surpassing pre-pandemic levels, hotels need a fresh recruitment playbook. Traditional hiring tools? Just not cutting it these days. Personnel in management, sales, and event planning are hot commodities, especially in Europe. So how do hotels attract talent? Flexible work hours, local market adaptations, and cutting-edge upskilling programs are the choice du jour. In fact, 65% of EU hotels have hopped on the skills training bandwagon to battle turnover and skill gaps.

The European hotel market exemplifies the challenges. Major chains like Marriott, Hilton, AccorHotels, and IHG all report difficulties filling positions across property types and locations. The shortages aren't limited to entry-level housekeeping or front desk roles. Mid-level management, sales directors, event coordinators, and specialized positions like sommeliers or spa managers are equally hard to fill.

Traditional recruitment—posting jobs on boards and waiting for applications—no longer works in a candidate-driven market. Hotels must actively recruit, often competing not just with other hotels but with entirely different industries offering remote work, better benefits, or less demanding schedules.

The Flexibility Imperative

Flexible work arrangements have become non-negotiable for attracting talent. While housekeeping and front desk roles require physical presence, many hospitality positions can incorporate flexibility. Sales teams can work remotely between client meetings. Revenue management and marketing roles can operate hybrid schedules. Event planning involves site visits but also significant desk work that doesn't require full-time office presence.

Hotels pioneering flexible schedules report improved recruitment and retention. Allowing employees to swap shifts, work compressed workweeks, or adjust hours around personal commitments reduces turnover. For parents, students, or workers with side projects, this flexibility makes hospitality careers viable when rigid schedules wouldn't.

Local market adaptation means recognizing that recruitment strategies effective in New York may fail in Mumbai or Madrid. Cultural expectations around work-life balance, compensation structures, career progression, and workplace hierarchies vary globally. Successful hotel groups tailor approaches to local conditions rather than imposing standardized policies.

Upskilling as Retention Strategy

The 65% of EU hotels investing in skills training recognize that retention is often more cost-effective than constant recruitment. Training programs serve multiple purposes: they improve service quality, create advancement pathways that retain ambitious employees, and demonstrate organizational investment in worker development.

Modern hospitality training extends beyond traditional service skills. Digital literacy is increasingly critical as hotels adopt property management systems, customer relationship platforms, and data analytics tools. Employees need technological competence alongside guest service abilities.

Language training particularly matters in internationally-focused properties. Staff who speak multiple languages deliver better guest experiences and advance faster professionally. Hotels investing in language courses for employees see returns in both guest satisfaction and employee retention.

Specialized certifications in areas like wine service, wellness treatments, event technology, or sustainable hospitality create career differentiation. Employees gain marketable credentials while hotels benefit from specialized expertise. Programs like Certified Hotel Administrator (CHA) or Certified Hospitality Supervisor (CHS) provide industry-recognized credentials that support career advancement.

Cross-training addresses skill gaps while creating workforce flexibility. Teaching front desk staff basic housekeeping operations, or training restaurant servers on front desk procedures, creates employees who can shift between roles as demand fluctuates. This flexibility benefits both operational efficiency and employee engagement through skill variety.

The Pay Problem

Compensation remains hospitality's Achilles heel. Many positions offer wages barely above minimum, without benefits or job security. Tipping culture in some markets creates income volatility. Seasonal fluctuations mean unreliable hours. These factors make hospitality less attractive than sectors offering stable paychecks and predictable schedules.

Progressive hotels address this through competitive base pay, comprehensive benefits including healthcare and retirement plans, performance bonuses tied to guest satisfaction or revenue metrics, and tip pooling or service charges that distribute gratuities more equitably. Some European hotels eliminated tipping entirely, instead paying higher base wages—a model gaining traction elsewhere.

The investment pays off through reduced turnover, which dramatically lowers recruitment and training costs while improving service quality through experienced staff. Calculating total cost of employment including turnover expenses often justifies higher wages.

Technology as Both Solution and Challenge

Automation changes hospitality employment in complex ways. Self-check-in kiosks, mobile room keys, chatbots handling basic inquiries, and robotic room service delivery reduce needs for some roles while creating demand for technical positions managing these systems.

Rather than wholesale job elimination, technology typically shifts job content. Front desk staff spend less time on check-ins and more on guest relations and problem-solving. Housekeeping teams use apps for task management and inventory tracking. Revenue managers rely on AI-powered pricing algorithms requiring analytical skills to oversee effectively.

Hotels must train existing staff for technology-augmented roles rather than replacing them entirely. This approach maintains institutional knowledge while building technical capabilities. Workers who feel technology enables rather than threatens them become advocates for adoption.

Regional Variations

Labor market conditions vary dramatically across regions. Middle Eastern hotels in Dubai or Abu Dhabi rely heavily on expatriate workers from South and Southeast Asia, creating unique visa and housing challenges. Caribbean resorts face seasonal labor crunches requiring creative staffing solutions. Asian markets like Japan grapple with demographic aging limiting workforce growth.

North American hotels increasingly draw workers from hospitality management programs at universities and community colleges, creating recruitment pipelines. European properties work within complex labor regulations varying by country. Each region requires adapted strategies reflecting local realities.

Looking Ahead to 2035

Reaching 90.6 million new jobs requires sustained effort across the industry. Hotels must fundamentally improve employment value propositions through competitive pay, meaningful benefits, career advancement opportunities, workplace flexibility, and organizational cultures valuing frontline staff contributions.

Industry associations like UNWTO, WTTC, and AHLA promote hospitality careers through awareness campaigns, educational partnerships, and professional development resources. Changing perceptions that hospitality offers only temporary or dead-end work requires showing paths from entry-level to executive positions.

Demographic shifts matter too. Younger generations prioritize purpose, flexibility, and work-life balance over traditional career markers. Hotels appealing to these values—perhaps through sustainability initiatives, community engagement, or flexible scheduling—attract talent others miss.

The 90.6 million jobs represent opportunity for both industry and workers. Hospitality offers entry points for people without formal credentials, career mobility for ambitious professionals, and increasingly competitive compensation. Whether the industry seizes this growth opportunity or struggles with perpetual shortages depends on how seriously hotels take workforce challenges today.

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