The Changing Face of Human Capital in Travel

25.08.2023 - 14:20 / skift.com / Sean Oneill

Travel has a labor problem, but defining it is tricky. Market dynamics vary by location and time. At any given moment, London might be a harder place to hire hotel staff than Dubai, while a tech market crash might suddenly make California a good place for travel companies to source software engineers. 

Yet labor turmoil for many jobs in many markets seems to be an on-going problem. Hiring has never been more of a top-of-mind concern among the travel executives we speak to than now, compared to any time in Skift’s decade of existence. Demographic and cultural shifts look likely to sustain mismatches between supply and demand for some time. 

Travel companies are getting creative to address the challenge. More companies are starting their own academies to groom tomorrow’s workers and more are turning to social media to showcase the opportunities that an industry like travel can bring to recruit a new generation. Better pay, flexible working hours within bands of time, and more rotation among roles and locations are ways some companies are wooing talent.

United Airlines in 2021 began accepting applications to its own flight school, Aviate Academy, with a goal of training 5,000 new pilots — at least half of them women or people of color. United and JPMorgan Chase are together offering about $2.4 million in scholarships to make sure that highly qualified, motivated, eligible applicants won’t be turned away for monetary reasons. The first students began studying in fall 2021.

Hotels have rebounded in their staffing since the pandemic, but not fully. Higher wages have helped. Wages for workers at U.S. hotels rose 15 percent year-over-year through March 2022, said CBRE Hotels Research. 

United Airlines goal for new pilots trained in house

Amount of scholarships offered by United and JPMorgan Chase

Wage increase for workers at U.S. hotels year-over-year through March 2022

But gaps remain, especially among low-earning workers who find jobs elsewhere. In the U.S., a September 2022 survey of nearly 200 hoteliers found 36 percent of respondents saying they faced a “severe” staffing shortage, with the most critical need in housekeeping, according to the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA). In Spain, the hospitality sector remains the most in need of workers. 

Some online platforms aim to help play matchmaker. Check-In Jobs, a Spain-based hospitality-focused job board, lets candidates create profiles showcasing skills to be best matched to employer needs..

Some creative solutions have included new models. Remington Hotels offers people 20-hour working weeks to tap underemployed professionals. Hilton in 2022 partnered with continuing education firm Guild Education to provide U.S. employees with a chance to