3 min read

Hotels are getting more work out of each employee. But that gain can disappear fast when a position sits empty. A recent industry report found that hours per occupied room fell in the first half of 2026, a sign of productivity gains even as labor costs kept climbing. Chris Richardson, president and general counsel at BDV Solutions, a Vanteo company, argues that owners should treat staffing as a long-term business strategy. Not a series of emergency hires.

What is a long-term workforce strategy for hotels?

A long-term workforce strategy is a plan that anticipates staffing needs before a position opens. Instead of posting a job and hoping for a good candidate, the owner tracks which roles are hardest to fill. And how often they go vacant. Richardson describes the difference as timing. Reactive hiring starts when the need becomes urgent. A long-term approach starts building the pipeline well in advance.

The pipeline itself has several sources. According to Richardson, it includes retention and local recruiting. It also covers employee development. And external talent, including employment-based visas. Cultural exchange programs can also help some properties, he told LODGING.

How vacancies reach the bottom line

An open front desk job rarely costs only one salary. When managers and existing staff cover the gap, overtime climbs. Hotels may also pay for temporary labor, or pay to recruit the same role again and again. Each cost shows up in the labor line. That’s where owners already feel margin pressure.

Revenue can suffer too. If a property lacks enough people to service every room, it may not be able to sell all its inventory at expected service levels. Resort owners running restaurants or beach clubs may have to cut hours or trim amenities. Richardson’s point is blunt. In hospitality, a staffing problem usually turns into a guest experience problem within weeks.

A staffing gap is rarely just a hiring problem. It becomes a cost problem, a revenue problem, and then a guest problem, often in that order.

Slower service and lower satisfaction both feed back into demand. So do bad reviews. That’s the part many owners underweight when they compare a recruiter’s fee with the cost of leaving a role open for two months.

What owners can gain from a steadier pipeline

The main benefit Richardson describes is predictability. A property that knows where its gaps will appear can plan ahead. It can train people early and set realistic service levels before problems arrive. That kind of planning also makes labor costs easier to forecast. That matters when lenders and investors ask about operating performance.

For owners who are still building their operating model, this is a practical starting point. Start by listing every role that has gone vacant in the past year. Note how many days each stayed open and what coverage cost. That list becomes the first draft of a staffing plan. For more on how labor and distribution costs flow into profit, see our primer on hotel flow-through metrics.