Staffing growth, enhanced services remain key to hotel success in 2025: AHLA

As hotels continue to climb towards pre-pandemic staffing levels, they are also leveraging new tools and technologies to grow and retain their workforces and meet the rising expectations of their customer base, according to a new report released by the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA).

Based on state-level data provided by Oxford Economics and STR/CoStar Group, AHLA expects to see the hotel industry add more than 14,000 employees in 2025, but staffing nationwide will still remain well below 2019 levels. While 2025 hotel employment numbers should rise year-over-year in more than half the states, only Montana and Washington, D.C., are expected to reach staffing levels that exceed those of 2019.

“The hospitality sector has made significant strides in rebuilding its workforce and creating opportunities for career advancement, but staffing shortages continue to present significant challenges,” said Rosanna Maietta, president and CEO of AHLA. “The good news is that hotels have never been more competitive, offering strong wages and expanded benefits and focusing on employee satisfaction.”

The report’s contributing partners – American Express, Ecolab, Encore, Hireology, Oracle, and Towne Park – each describe an industry facing challenges, but transformed by technology that has empowered guests, businesses, and workers. Together, they see a customer base that expects more and an industry working harder and smarter to meet those expectations. Today’s release – the 2025 State of the Industry Partners Trends and Insights Report – is a companion to the 2025 State of the Industry report published by AHLA last month.

Key trends and findings include:

Staffing challenges that demand new approaches to attracting and retaining workers: Encore describes new strategies for building workforce satisfaction, and Hireology identifies factors most important for hiring the best candidates.

Generational shifts redefining the industry: American Express finds Millennial and Gen-Z consumers are prioritizing travel experiences, even giving up daily expenses to save money for travel.

Rising expectations of personalized service that still emphasize the fundamentals: Ecolab reports that guests still rank cleanliness at the top of their requirements for a positive hotel experience, while Towne Park finds that integrating parking, bell, and door services can deliver a competitive edge.

Opportunities to deploy AI to meet guests’ needs in creative ways: Oracle sees AI moving “from experiment to impact” as hotels use it for everything from streamlining check-ins to scheduling staff support.