Work Smarter, Not Harder: Navigating the Hotel Labor Gap with Tech

Six years ago, circa 2019, the hospitality industry was booming. Strong travel demand and consumer spending were fueling steady job growth. While low unemployment combined with high levels of job competition made it difficult for hotels to attract and retain qualified talent, it also created plentiful employment opportunities.

Just a few months later, in 2020, the pandemic generated massive layoffs and furloughs due to travel restrictions. As a result, many employees sought careers outside the industry. According to the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA), the industry lost 680,000 employees in 2020. The Federal Reserve of St. Louis shares a number almost twice that size, estimating that 1.2 million workers left the industry.

As travel slowly picked up, an equally slow industry recovery began. But not all hospitality workers who left the industry returned, and the hotel labor gap began to intensify. Now, in 2025, the resurgence in travel hasn’t let up, and the industry still has many open positions to fill. Of the employees lost in the last five years, AHLA says U.S. hotels have been able to re-employ 467,000 workers.

It predicts that 2025 employment levels will still fall short of 2018 and 2019 levels, even though hotels are expected to add more than 14,000 employees to their rosters. In fact, lack of workers is the most significant operational risk that hotels currently face.

Efficiency in action: elevating guest experiences with technology

How can hotels continue to elevate guest engagement if the hotel labor gap isn’t getting much smaller?

According to a HUB International survey, 75% of hospitality executives identify employee productivity as their top HR priority for 2025. And to address this persistent hotel labor gap, many hospitality environments are turning to automation and technology to optimize team productivity.

Here are some examples of how automation and technology enhance front-of-house experiences by helping workers complete essential back-of-house tasks more efficiently.

Enabling real-time communication and collaboration from anywhere

Cloud computing enables hospitality workers to manage things like reservations, guest services, employee schedules and administrative tasks from anywhere—and in real-time.

This helps staff across different teams address needs promptly and resolve issues efficiently. For example, when a guest changes a reservation or requests an upgrade, that change is instantly accessible to everyone who needs to know: the front desk, the reservations team, housekeeping, guest services, accounting, management, etc. This reduces communication delays and allows existing staff to focus on service instead of being overwhelmed by coordinating and communicating the change to several departments and people.

Reducing operational bottlenecks

Technology like smart kitchen display systems (KDSs) supports supporting real-time interaction between front-of-house and back-of-house teams for better operational efficiency. When a guest places an order—whether it’s for room service or in the onsite restaurant—the KDS instantly notifies kitchen staff and shares information about dietary requirements and special requests to ensure proper food preparation.

These systems not only speed up order fulfillment but also enhance transparency and collaboration. Workers can track the progress of orders from preparation to delivery, ensuring timely and accurate service without having to check in to see when orders will be ready. This eliminates the need for manual order relay and reduces bottlenecks among staff during peak hours.

Automating repetitive tasks

Properties are more frequently adopting robotics and automation to enhance hotel operations and improve guest engagement.

For example, robots are being used to complete repetitive tasks that workers have historically had to complete on their own, such as:

• Lightly cleaning guestrooms and public spaces
• Delivering towels, pillows and toiletries to guests upon request
• Carrying food and beverages to guestrooms or dining spaces
• Answering simple questions from guests regarding directions or local recommendations
• Transporting luggage from the lobby to the appropriate guestroom
• Monitoring and restocking mini bars
• Collecting room service trays from hallways

Automating these tasks frees up human workers to focus on higher-value responsibilities, such as resolving concerns, building stronger relationships with guests, improving service processes, etc.

Supporting fast personalization

Artificial intelligence (AI) can help hotels improve guest personalization and service without having to dedicate more workers to the task. For example, AI-powered systems can help hotels:

• Offer personalized and reliable recommendations to guests based on their habits and behaviors
• Establish dynamic pricing based on booking trends, demand patterns, competitor pricing, special events, etc.
• Create tailored itineraries based on traveler preferences, booking history and demographic details

Creating impressive guest experiences amid hotel labor gaps

Belden’s unique combination of technical and hospitality expertise helps you successfully integrate technology into the guest and employee experiences you offer. Our dedicated team of hospitality experts thoroughly understands the technology and systems that are vital to hotels, as well as the network infrastructure required to support them.

Amid increasing operational complexity, Belden helps you build complete connection solutions to integrate front-of-house and back-of-house technology and automation to make the most of your staff’s capabilities. Bring your systems and devices together in one place for better communication, monitoring, control and security.

Learn about our work in hospitality.

Related links:

• Bringing Back-of-House Hotel Operations to the Forefront
• Uniting FOH and BOH Technology to Elevate Guest and Staff Experiences
• Anomaly Detection Is the Next Big Thing in Smart Hotels