U.S. Hotels Offer Competitive Wages as They Prepare for New Wave of H-2B Workers Visa: American Hotel & Lodging Association

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Kevin Carey, acting President and CEO of the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA), expressed his gratitude to President Biden today for enacting a law that permits the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to issue additional H-2B visas for temporary, non-agricultural workers. He urged the DHS to swiftly utilize this new authority to help the hotel industry recruit the necessary workforce to sustain and grow their businesses.

“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.”

On March 23, President Biden enacted the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, H.R. 2882. This legislation allows the DHS to augment the quota of H-2B visas if it finds that the labor demands of U.S. businesses cannot be met with local workers who are ready, qualified, and available for temporary, non-agricultural work during the 2024 fiscal year.

Following this determination, DHS has the ability to authorize an increase in the H-2B visa allocation by up to nearly 65,000 visas. This augmentation is essential for hotels and resorts, especially those in isolated vacation areas, to staff seasonal positions. The sooner DHS approves this increase, the easier it will be for these businesses to find the staff they need.

AHLA Vice President for Federal Affairs and chair of the H-2B Coalition, Ashley McNeil, was instrumental in achieving this legislative amendment. Over the past two years, the DHS has previously increased H-2B visas by 64,716 to address the demand for more seasonal labor.

Despite offering higher wages, benefits, and flexible working conditions to attract and keep employees, the hotel industry still faces over 80,000 job vacancies in the U.S., as per data from Indeed. As of January, there were 8.9 million job openings across the country, but only 6.1 million workers available to fill them, as reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Hotel wages, which averaged $23.86 per hour in January, have seen a 27.3% increase since the pandemic, growing 30% faster than the average wage increase across all sectors of the economy (20.9%).

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