As tourism season peaks, how ready are hotels to welcome visitors?

While 63% of European accommodations expect growth, vacancies for high-skilled roles are difficult to fill. High salary expectations and a lack of work-life balance are among the reasons for this.

On the other hand, while housekeeping roles are in demand, workers available to fill these positions are relatively easy to find. According to the European Accommodation Barometer 2025, these roles had an “availability” score of 0.6, one of the lowest recorded.
Management roles, meanwhile, aren’t as sought after by employers, although it is relatively difficult to find workers to fill these spots. The barometer gives these jobs a score of 9.6.
Across Europe, the skills gap hits particularly hard for small and independent accommodations due to a lack of training resources. In fact, 17% of all independent properties do not offer any training at all, while the same is true for only 2% of chain properties.
High salary expectations and a lack of work-life balance are two major challenges faced by European tourist accommodations when hiring qualified candidates.

This is particularly true in Italy, where 70% of hoteliers agree that these are the main challenges, and in the Nordic countries, where the figure is 63%.
Concerns about seasonality and job stability are also prominent, especially in Greece, at 58%, and Croatia, at 56%.
“Despite the optimism, the biggest barriers for European accommodations are increasing costs, staffing and lack of digital skills,” said Peter Lochbihler, Global Head of Public Affairs at Booking.com.