Why Austria’s Hotel Crisis Is Already Happening in England

08 April 2026 | W.E.U Admin | News

TAGS: Hospitality Industry, Staff Shortages, Recruitment

Hospitality: No Staff, No Service.

Recent discussions with hospitality operators in Austria highlight labour market pressures that will sound very familiar to workers and businesses across England. While Austria faces a number of unique challenges, particularly around language requirements, the underlying problems of recruitment, retention and rising operating costs are shared across both countries.

In Austria, many hotels are struggling to recruit sufficient domestic staff, especially for seasonal roles linked to tourism and winter sports. Employers increasingly rely on recruitment from across Europe, using digital platforms and international agencies to attract workers from countries such as Spain, Italy and Greece. However, this brings its own complications.

Many Austrian hotels operate primarily in German but must also provide service in English to meet guest expectations. With the UK accounting for approximately 27 percent of their customer base in some establishments, staff are often expected to be fluent in both German and English.

This dual-language requirement significantly reduces the available labour pool and adds an additional barrier to recruitment that does not exist to the same extent in England. For those working in the UK sector, the struggle behind the bar is less about language and more about fair pay and job security.

Vacancies and Retention in England

In the UK, English provides a default operating language for both staff and guests, which removes one layer of complexity from recruitment. However, this does not mean the labour market is functioning effectively. Hospitality businesses in areas such as Cumbria, Yorkshire, Devon and Cornwall are facing acute difficulties in attracting and retaining staff.

Across England there were approximately 77,000 vacancies in food and accommodation services between September and November 2025, representing around three vacancies for every 100 jobs in the sector, compared to an economy-wide average of 2.3. Vacancy levels in hospitality also remain around 48 percent above pre-pandemic levels, with approximately 132,000 roles currently unfilled.

The sector has also lost an estimated 59,000 workers in the past year, and surveys indicate that 61 percent of hospitality businesses are experiencing staff shortages severe enough to reduce trading hours or service levels. In seasonal tourism economies, such as those found in Cumbria, Yorkshire, Devon and Cornwall, these pressures are intensified by short-term contracts and the rising cost of local housing, making staff retention particularly difficult.

Rising Costs and Operating Pressures

Employers in both countries also report that minimum wage requirements for skilled hospitality roles, combined with increased expectations around working conditions, have raised operating costs. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, hotels in Austria report price increases of around 45 percent, although some estimate that increases closer to 85 percent would be required to fully offset rising labour and energy costs.

Similar pressures have been observed across England, where hospitality businesses continue to operate with reduced margins despite passing some cost increases on to customers.

In response, some Austrian employers are attempting to move away from purely seasonal employment by offering year-round contracts in order to improve retention. This mirrors developments in parts of rural England, where businesses are increasingly seeking to stabilise their workforce through permanent or extended contracts, though success remains mixed.

Ultimately, while Austria’s requirement for dual-language staff presents a specific recruitment challenge, the broader issues of labour shortages, rising costs and seasonal instability are shared across the hospitality sectors of both Austria and England. Without meaningful support to address workforce sustainability, these pressures are likely to persist in both labour markets.