Friday, March 29, 2024
Kevin Carey, the Interim President & CEO of the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA), expressed gratitude to President Biden for enacting legislation enabling the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to increase the allocation of H-2B temporary nonagricultural worker visas. Carey urged DHS to promptly utilize this authority, enabling hotels to recruit essential staff for sustaining and enhancing their operations.
Hotels across the nation are economic engines for the communities they serve. But labor shortages across the economy are preventing hotels from hiring the staff they need and reaching their full economic potential,” said AHLA Interim President & CEO Kevin Carey. “DHS can help hoteliers fill tens of thousands of open jobs across the country by making available nearly 65,000 additional H-2B visas. We thank the president for signing this important policy into law and urge DHS to quickly expand the visa pool so hoteliers can meet these critical workforce needs.”President Biden on March 23 signed into law the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, H.R. 2882, which authorizes DHS to increase the number of H-2B temporary nonagricultural workers if it determines that “the needs of United States businesses cannot be satisfied during fiscal year 2024 with United States workers who are willing, qualified, and able to perform temporary nonagricultural labor.”
After determining the need, DHS has the authority to expand the H-2B visa pool by nearly 65,000 visas. These additional visas are crucial for assisting hotels and resorts, particularly those in remote vacation spots, in filling seasonal positions. The earlier DHS approves this expansion, the easier it will be to fill these roles.
AHLA Vice President for Federal Affairs Ashley McNeil, acting as chair of the H-2B Coalition, played a pivotal role in securing this legislative change. Over the past two years, DHS has utilized similar authority to increase H-2B visas by 64,716, acknowledging the demand for seasonal workers.
Despite hotels offering higher wages, benefits, and flexible work arrangements to attract and retain employees, there are currently over 80,000 open hotel positions in the U.S., according to Indeed. In January, the national average hotel wage reached a near-record high of $23.86 per hour. Since the onset of the pandemic, hotel wages have increased by 27.3%, outpacing the general economy’s average wage growth of 20.9%.
However, the disparity between job openings and available workers persists, with 8.9 million job vacancies in the United States as of January, and only 6.1 million workers available to fill them, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Wednesday, May 1, 2024
Wednesday, May 1, 2024
