Skift Take
A travel labor shortage isn't what anyone was expecting during a pandemic, but traveler confidence heading into the summer heavily outpaces the ability of many business owners to call back furloughed workers or hire more people from overseas.
The U.S. travel sector once again faces a pre-pandemic problem that would have been unthinkable even weeks ago: a worker shortage.
Delta cancelled about 100 flights due to pilot shortages earlier this month. At the same time, it opened up middle seats, which had been blocked as a pandemic safety measure, a month earlier than planned to accommodate higher passenger volume. Uber reported last week customer demand is returning faster than driver availability, and it plans to increase driver incentives to boost labor, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Hoteliers, especially in leisure markets like Cape Cod and the Hamptons, are predicting a summer of record crowds and understaffing. Many of these operators rely on workers coming from outside the country on H-2B or J-1 visas, which became available at the end of March after a Trump administration ban lifted. But international travel restrictions and logjams at consulates are expected to prevent a normal rate of worker approvals.
“There are definitely going to be labor shortages,” said David Sherwyn, a hospitality human resources and law professor at Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration. “It’s certainly something to be concerned about this summer.”
The demand for travel workers roared back to life largely due to vaccination rates in the U.S. accelerating faster than previously expected.
Nearly
