A potential policy shift in US immigration is raising alarms in the hotel and hospitality industry, which depends heavily on foreign-born workers to fill persistent labour shortages.
Despite comments from former President Donald Trump suggesting new restrictions may be imminent, conflicting reports indicate no concrete policy changes have been made.
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Foreign workers vital to hospitality sector
The hotel and hospitality industry in the United States has long relied on immigrant labour to fill roles in housekeeping, laundry, food preparation, and seasonal resort staffing. According to data from the U.S.
Travel Association and the American Hotel and Lodging Association, travel-related jobs supported 15 million workers in 2024, with immigrants making up roughly one-third of the directly employed workforce.
Yet the sector continues to face more than one million job vacancies in 2025.
Labour shortages have become particularly acute in accommodation and food services, which have consistently reported some of the highest employee quit rates—hovering at or above 4% since mid-2022, based on US Chamber of Commerce figures.
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By GlobalDataA 2024 survey by AHLA and employment firm Hireology found that 71% of hotels with open positions were unable to fill them, despite ongoing recruitment efforts.
Visa reform and industry lobbying
In response to long-standing staffing challenges, industry bodies such as the AHLA and U.S. Travel have lobbied for broader access to legal immigration pathways, with a strong focus on expanding the H-2B visa programme.
Currently capped at 66,000 visas per year, the H-2B scheme allows seasonal non-agricultural workers to take temporary jobs in industries such as hospitality.
Earlier this year, then-President Joe Biden signed legislation authorising the Department of Homeland Security to exceed the visa cap if US workers are not available.
In December, DHS and the Department of Labor jointly issued a temporary rule to raise the H-2B limit for the 2025 fiscal year.
Industry leaders also backed proposals to simplify the return of previous temporary workers and shorten waiting periods for asylum seekers to begin employment.
Executives and unions call for clarity
Executives from major hotel chains including Hilton and Marriott have consistently called for long-term immigration solutions.
Speaking in January at the Americas Lodging Investment Summit, Hilton CEO Chris Nassetta described workforce availability as a “time and eternity” issue for the sector, stressing the urgency for reform.
Unions representing hospitality staff, such as Unite HERE and the Culinary Workers Union in Las Vegas, have also taken strong positions on immigration policy.
Many of their members are immigrants, and union leaders argue that inconsistent enforcement and policy uncertainty harm both workers and employers.
Unite HERE has pledged to continue challenging what it calls “increasingly arbitrary rules” governing who can live and work in the United States.
As the hotel industry braces for another busy season, questions remain over whether political rhetoric will translate into policy, and whether that policy will provide the workforce stability the sector urgently seeks.
