Living with staff shortages: how to run a property with a reduced team

Key takeaways

• Hospitality staffing shortages are now a structural shift, and properties must move from reactive hiring to proactive operational planning to stay competitive.
• Self-service technology, cross-trained staff and strategically scaled-back services help maintain guest satisfaction even when operating with a reduced team.
• Calculating accurate staffing ratios and using real-time occupancy data ensures your team is deployed where they will have the greatest impact on service quality.

What would you do if a third of your team walked out tomorrow? For hotel owners, staffing shortages are no longer a worst-case scenario; they are an everyday reality.

The hospitality industry is facing a structural labor shift, and the old playbooks no longer work. Keeping your property running smoothly, guests happy and your brand reputation intact with a smaller team requires smart planning and the right tools.

In this article, we'll cover how hotels can run efficiently with fewer staff, from calculating ideal staffing ratios to the technology and tactics that keep operations moving.

Living with staff shortages

Most hoteliers are no longer waiting for the staffing crisis to pass. They have accepted that it's not going anywhere. The labor market has shifted, worker priorities have changed and the pool of available hospitality talent in most markets is smaller than it was five years ago.

In practice, operating a hotel with fewer staff has shifted from an emergency measure to the standard mode of operation for a large portion of the industry. The question is no longer whether you can get back to full headcount. It is whether your property is built to perform without it.

Why staffing shortages are impacting hotels

Hotel operators are dealing with a labor market that has fundamentally changed. Here's what's driving the shortage:

• Workers want different things: Hospitality careers are competing with industries that offer better pay, flexible hours and clearer career progression. Many skilled workers have simply moved on.
• Local talent pools are thinner: In many markets, the available workforce is smaller than it was a decade ago, and properties are feeling that gap daily.
• Guest expectations keep climbing: Travelers expect more personalized service, yet the teams expected to deliver it keep getting leaner.
• Retention is as hard as hiring: Understaffed teams carry heavier workloads, which drives burnout, which drives more departures. It's a cycle that is difficult to break.
• Manual operations no longer scale: Properties running on traditional workflows cannot absorb the pressure of reduced headcount without it showing in the guest experience.

The scale of the problem is significant. According to a 2024 American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) study, 71% of hotels reported vacancies they could not fill, with most properties carrying six to seven open positions at any given time.

How many staff members are required for a hotel?

Hotel staffing is not a one-size-fits-all calculation. The right headcount depends on several interconnected factors, each carrying equal weight in the final number.

Service level and property type

Luxury hotels typically operate with one or more staff members per room, while limited-service properties can function with as few as one staff member per 30 rooms. The broader your service offering, the larger the team required to sustain it.

Department-specific demands

Housekeeping, food and beverage (F&B) and front desk operations each carry their own staffing requirements. These departments make up most of the staff and should be measured individually, not combined.

Staff training and operational flexibility

A well-trained team that can work across departments gives you far greater coverage with fewer people. Investing in staff training reduces the pressure of vacancies and keeps service quality consistent.

Getting the numbers right starts with tracking actual workload data rather than relying on generic benchmarks.

Should you close or scale down services during shortages?

Closing your doors during a staffing shortage is seldom the best option, but operating every service at half capacity doesn’t inspire confidence either. Before making any decisions, weigh the trade-offs across your key service areas:

Whatever you decide, communicate changes to guests before arrival. Transparency protects your reputation far better than a service failure at check-in.

Proven tactics to run your property with a reduced team

For most, closing isn't an option. The goal is to stay open by working smarter. Here's how you can maintain service standards with a reduced team:

Let guests skip housekeeping 

If you’re low on housekeeping staff, there’s an easy way to lighten their workload: give them fewer rooms to clean. Many guests don’t expect or need fresh sheets and towels every day. Give them the option to skip housekeeping and you can focus resources on rooms that need to be turned over promptly.

Optimize housekeeping workflows

Housekeeping is one of the most labor-intensive departments in any hotel, so small workflow improvements add up quickly.

Coordinate cleaning schedules around actual check-out times rather than fixed routines, prioritize rooms with incoming arrivals and group turnovers by floor to cut transit time. This allows your team to accomplish more without extra effort.

Use kiosks 

Self-service is now a part of our daily lives, and there’s every reason to invest in self-service check-in kiosks. Having a dedicated person at the reception desk at all times has become a luxury. Kiosks reduce front desk wait times, allowing your staff to focus on other tasks.

Streamline your restaurant 

If you have an on-site restaurant, café or bar, keeping it open is important, as it boosts revenue and encourages guests to stay on the property. Implement self-order QR codes so that guests have the option to order on their phones at their tables without the need for a waiter to come directly to them. 

Automate payments 

At any point throughout the guest journey when they need to pay for a service or product, they shouldn’t have to go through a manual transaction with a staff member present.

With automated, integrated payments, once a guest’s details are in the system, they no longer need to use a card or cash for every transaction.

E-learning 

E-learning can make a big difference when it comes to getting your team up to speed quickly. If your new hires can’t begin right away, online training can ensure they’re ready to begin on their first day. 

Cross-train employees

A team member who can shift from the front desk to F&B when needed is worth their weight in a short-staffed environment. Cross-training staff builds operational flexibility without adding headcount, reduces dependency on specialists and ensures that an unexpected absence does not derail the entire day.

Flexible hiring 

Hiring in hospitality has never been straightforward, and high turnover makes it even harder to stay ahead. If you operate multiple properties in the same area, building a shared staffing pool gives you a practical buffer against unexpected gaps.

Prioritize essential operations

Prioritizing essential operations can make a real difference when your team is stretched thin. If headcount is limited, focus your best people on front desk coverage and room readiness first, as these are the touchpoints that shape how guests experience your property.

Adjust service expectations

Adjusting service expectations can protect your reputation far more than trying to deliver everything at a reduced standard. If some amenities are unavailable or limited, inform guests before arrival so they know what to expect from the moment they book.

Download our staff shortages guide to keep your property running at its best, regardless of headcount.

Smart staffing ratios and workload planning

Getting your staffing ratios right is less about following a formula and more about understanding how your property actually operates.

Start with these benchmarks as a foundation, then adjust based on your own occupancy data and service demands:

• Track the hours each department logs against actual guest volume over several weeks to establish a reliable baseline before making any headcount decisions.
• The front desk typically needs one team member for every 50 to 75 rooms during peak hours to maintain a reasonable response time.
• Housekeeping generally requires around 30 minutes per room for a standard turnover, though this varies depending on room size and service level.
• F&B runs most efficiently with one server for every 15 to 20 covers during service.
• Build a 10-15% buffer into your staffing levels to absorb unexpected absences without disrupting the guest experience.
• Review your ratios quarterly, as the headcount that works during peak season can quickly become an unnecessary cost during quieter periods.

Right-size your staffing and elevate service with Mews

Running a hotel with fewer staff becomes effortless when the right systems take care of the routine work. The Mews hospitality operating system unifies every part of your property in one platform, so your team spends less time on admin and more time with guests.

Here's how its core features support a leaner operation:

• Mews Property Management System (PMS) unifies bookings, payments, housekeeping and guest communications in one workspace, boosting front desk efficiency by 24%.
• Flexkeeping, a Mews company, automates up to 70% of admin tasks and auto-assigns cleaning based on actual booking data to speed up room readiness.
• Mews Payments handles transactions automatically at every point in the guest journey, removing the need for manual processing altogether.

When your systems work together this seamlessly, a smaller team can deliver a guest experience that feels anything but understaffed. Book a demo to see how Mews can help your property do exactly that.