With fewer young people entering college over the past several years, there is simply a smaller workforce in hospitality’s future. This will create a more competitive environment for the best talent – a challenge for hospitality and tourism. Considering the inflated cost of education, fewer parents are encouraging their children to pursue hospitality occupations, for fear it might take years to pay off their college debt. Instead, careers in healthcare, technology or finance are often preferred. 

On the bright side, there has been an uptick in students entering college since the falloff that occurred during the pandemic. According to the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, undergraduate enrollment grew 2.5% (+359,000) in spring 2024, marking the second consecutive semester of enrollment growth following several years of decline since spring 2020. Most gains were in community college growth as opposed to four-year degrees, indicating students are taking a more cautious or economical approach to education.  

Still concerning is that undergraduate enrollment in 2024 remains about one million students short of 2019 totals (see Figure 2). 

The shortfall in enrollment is not the only challenge afoot. There are serious gaps in hospitality programs across the country at the university level, including at some of the most prestigious hotel schools. This foretells a serious shortfall of leaders over the next 10 years. There is no dearth of hospitality programs and degrees, but where are the students?  

The full report dives deep into data on hospitality school educators, students and hospitality-related programs.

While airlines work out their labor issues, hotels are still plagued with the reality that a weaker talent pipeline can threaten future operations. A recent survey of hotel professionals by SSP reported that 70% found the recruitment process difficult because workers want more flexibility and remote work options, while more than half said the pay scale was not high enough (see Figure 3). 

Why do you find the recruitment process difficult?

Figure 3

Download the report or subscribe to Phocuswright Open Access to see the figures.

The full report outlines:

• How to fill immediate gaps at hotels
• Using technology to automate and reduce reliance on people for routine tasks
• Connecting with potential workers earlier in their decision-making process
• How more hotels are shifting their efforts to high school job fairs, community outreach programs, apprenticeship placement and other community-led groups and associations

The staffing challenge in hospitality will always be an issue due to the lower pay scale compared to other professional tracks, but it doesn’t have to be a detriment to hotel operations. To best prepare for the future, hotels need to follow the data and adopt strategies that attract the best prospects: Giving workers more flexibility, promoting opportunities from within, and raising the perception of hospitality as a career choice should help fill the talent pool in the coming years.