LONDON — The United Kingdom hotel industry has never experienced such a dire situation in terms of staffing, according to speakers at the UKHospitality Summer Conference.
Hotel occupancy levels throughout the country have recovered to and even outpaced pre-pandemic levels, but hotels are still not staffed sufficiently to meet that higher demand, hoteliers said.
Kate Nicholls, CEO of UKHospitality, said she is urging government officials to introduce relaxed or temporary visas for international employees. Those include hotel company employees who might wish to get experience in another country or new prospects who have not considered a job in the sector before.
Possible solutions include three-year visas for those aged 35 and under and substantially cutting immigration costs per employee for those who can legally come to the U.K. Currently, such costs are around 1,000 pounds sterling ($1,220) per person.
“This all requires political will, and that is not apparent at the moment,”…
