Labour Shortage in the Austrian Hotel Industry

The tourism industry in Austria is an important part of the country’s economy. Within this sector, eastern Austria stands out with its impressive landscapes, rich cultural heritage and culinary traditions making it a key region renowned for its tourism. Despite these tourism assets, eastern Austria, like many other European tourist destinations, is experiencing a significant labour shortage, particularly in the hospitality and gastronomy sectors. This shortage of both skilled and unskilled labour has become an issue affecting service quality, operational efficiency and overall guest satisfaction. The present study aims to address the staff shortage in the East Austria hotel industry from the employer’s point of view. Nine interviews with experts from the hotel industry of eastern Austria were conducted and analysed in spring 2023. The findings provide insights into the reasons for the labour shortage. The main cause is the inflexibility of certain hospitality jobs based on working shifts in the evenings and at weekends. The sector has a rather negative reputation in terms of salary policy, training opportunities and work-life balance. Comparatively high staff turnover leads to problems in keeping up with day-to-day operations and increased direct and indirect costs for the human resources department. The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated this already precarious situation. A significant number of hotel employees have changed industries and fewer employees have been hired since 2021. As the first step of a larger research project, the findings presented here provide insight into the main reasons for labour shortage in Austria, in order to give hotel management recommendations on how to adapt their recruiting strategies.