Managerial Responses to Workforce Shortages in Hotel Operations: A Department-Level Analysis

Abstract

Hospitality organizations continue to experience workforce shortages that affect operational performance, service quality, and employee well-being. These pressures may vary substantially across hotel departments, yet limited empirical attention has been given to how managers respond to department-specific staffing constraints. This study examines workforce shortages and managerial response strategies in hotel operations from a department-level perspective and investigates how specific workforce pressures relate to managerial responses. A mixed-method research design was employed, combining survey data from 70 hotel managers in Kazakhstan with qualitative evidence from seven semi-structured interviews. Descriptive statistics, the Friedman test, and Spearman’s rank correlations were used to examine departmental differences and associations between workforce pressures and managerial responses. The highest level of shortage was observed in housekeeping (M = 3.73, SD = 1.01), followed by food and beverage (M = 3.30, SD = 1.22), kitchen (M = 3.26, SD = 1.21), and front office (M = 3.07, SD = 1.36); the lowest value was recorded in Engineering (M = 2.37, SD = 1.05). The correlation analysis revealed a positive relationship between burnout and salary increases (ρ = .422, p < .001), a shortage of skilled workers and automation (ρ = .337, p = .004), as well as seasonality and a reduction in the volume of services (ρ = .417, p < .001). The results show that management measures in the hospitality industry should consider the nature of the personnel problem and the department’s specific characteristics, combining compensation, technological, and organizational tools.