NEW YORK, New York—The Staffing Agency released a new report titled The Hotel Workforce Reset: The Year Ahead 2026. The U.S.-focused report analyzed workforce trends across luxury, extended stay, midscale, and economy hotels. Its central conclusion was that labor is no longer cyclical or temporary; it is a permanent structural force that now determines execution, guest satisfaction, brand compliance, and long-term asset value.
Based on operational intelligence drawn from multi-market hotel portfolios, long-term placement data, and years of workforce deployment across U.S. properties, the report reflected real operating conditions. The data showed that 65 percent of U.S. hotels reported ongoing staffing shortages, turnover remains elevated even as wages rose, and Payroll Per Occupied Room (PPOR) was replacing payroll as a percentage of revenue as the preferred labor metric among asset managers.
“Demand has stabilized, and costs have reset,” said Steven Kamali, chief executive officer of The Staffing Agency. “What has not expanded is the labor market. The operators who will outperform in the next cycle are not those who hire the fastest or spend the most.”
Key Findings
- Extended-stay remained the most resilient segment due to labor-aligned service models
- Luxury hotels faced rising service expectations alongside acute skill shortages
- Midscale hotels operated with thin margins, where labor instability quickly impacted reviews and brand standards
The report also highlighted the structural forces that are reshaping hotel labor economics in the U.S.:
- Immigration constraints that continued to limit traditional hospitality labor pipelines
- A demographic pipeline gap as fewer workers enter frontline service roles
- The rise of alternative labor sources, including contract staffing, gig labor models, and offshore administrative support
Labor Strategy as a Competitive Advantage
Drawing on real-world operating data and field experience, The Staffing Agency argues that hotels with stable, intentionally designed workforce models consistently outperformed their competitors, even in softer demand cycles.
The findings showed that retention, supervisor stability,and flexible staffing models delivered higher returns than aggressive hiring alone.
“Labor today is not simply an operational input; it’s the heart of the experience,” said Brad Wilson, chairman of Ace Hotel. “The hotels performing best now are the ones where teams feel seen and supported, where service is human rather than scripted.”
A Roadmap for the Future
With brands accelerating conversions, tightening standards, and adopting technology faster than workforce capacity can follow, the report warned of a widening gap between brand expectations and on-property execution.
“The next operating cycle will reward realism,” the report stated.
