The Staffing Agency launches The Hotel Agency, a dedicated recruiting division built for hotel ownership groups, operators and management companies facing unprecedented staffing shortages. The division will debut at the America’s Lodging Investment Summit next week.
"Over the last two years it’s become clear that hotel labor challenges are no longer cyclical — they’re structural," Steven Kamali, CEO of The Staffing Agency, told Hotel Management. "Owners and operators are dealing with permanent understaffing, longer time-to-fill, and rising costs, yet recruiting is still handled episodically. The timing is right because the industry needs a more consistent, systemized approach."
Hotels enter 2026 grappling with record turnover, rising labor costs and the most acute talent scarcity the industry has seen in decades. For owners and investors, these labor dynamics are no longer just an operational challenge- they directly impact margins, guest experience and asset performance.
"Operators consistently told us they were stuck in a cycle of constant openings, employee churn and unpredictable recruiting spend," Kamali told HM. "Roles stay open longer, teams are stretched thin, and hiring becomes reactive. The Hotel Agency was built to bring stability to that process."
Persistent vacancies over time, dependency and hiring delays quietly erode EBITDA across portfolios. The Hotel Agency formalizes more than 14 years of hotel search work previously serviced through The Chef Agency and responds directly to accelerating demand from brands seeking partners who understand hotel operations from the inside.
"Demand has remained strong, but the labor gap hasn’t meaningfully closed," Kamali continued. "We’re seeing fewer applicants per role, longer hiring timelines, and more pressure on existing staff. The industry has largely accepted this as the 'new normal,' which is part of the problem."
How The Hotel Agency Differs
Unlike traditional search firms, The Hotel Agency is staffed entirely by former hoteliers — operators, culinary leaders, rooms executives and department heads — enabling faster, more accurate candidate alignment and higher retention outcomes. The Hotel Agency is built around ongoing, portfolio-level coverage rather than one-off searches. "Instead of reacting to vacancies, we provide consistent recruiting support at a predictable cost, designed to reduce vacancy drag over time," Kamali said. "It’s a fundamentally different model than contingency recruiting."
Traditional firms focus on being transactional, and taskforce and gig models solve short-term gaps, Kamali said. "The Hotel Agency is designed for long-term consistency with embedded recruiting coverage that scales across portfolios."
The group enters the market with:
- A vetted pipeline of 350,000+ hospitality professionals
- 1,000+ hotel and restaurant groups already served nationwide
- Dedicated recruiting capabilities for hourly roles through executive leadership
“It’s a portfolio level talent acquisition model designed for hotel operators with multiple properties. It replaces episodic agency use with predictable, centralized approach to hiring,” said John Rothstein, chief commercial officer, The Staffing Agency.
The Hotel Agency offers:
- Full-time, management, and executive hotel recruitment
- Recruiters with real operational backgrounds
- Sourcing and placement powered by a national hospitality talent engine
- Solutions for independent hotels, branded portfolios, and ownership groups
- Strategic expansion in 2026 focused on franchise networks and multi-property operators
“We’re seeing management companies centralize hiring the same way they did for revenue management and procurement. This is less about filling jobs and more about stabilizing operations,” added Kamali.