The Staffing Agency has launched The Hotel Agency, a dedicated recruiting division targeting hotel ownership groups, operators and management companies. The new division debuts at the Americas Lodging Investment Summit (ALIS) in Los Angeles on 26 January 2026.
The launch formalises more than 14 years of hotel search work previously delivered through The Chef Agency, the parent company’s culinary recruiting arm. Steven Kamali, CEO of The Staffing Agency, said accelerating demand from hotel brands seeking partners with operational expertise drove the decision.
Hotels have been asking for a search partner who understands the realities on property, he said. The Hotel Agency is built around a simple idea: hotel operators shouldn’t have to rebuild their hiring infrastructure property by property – it should work at the portfolio level.
Labour crisis shows no signs of easing
The hotel industry enters 2026 facing a paradox. Total US hospitality employment has reached all-time highs, yet 65% of hotels continue to report staffing shortages, according to a February 2025 survey by the American Hotel & Lodging Association. Hotel employment remains nearly 10% below pre-pandemic levels despite adding more than 467,000 direct jobs over the past four years.
Turnover compounds the challenge. Restaurants and hotels report annual turnover between 70% and 80%, according to The Staffing Agency’s December 2025 industry white paper. The hospitality sector maintains the second-highest attrition rate among major US industries at 4.28%.
The financial implications extend beyond operational strain. Wages have risen sharply – from $16.84 to $22.70 on average between 2020 and early 2025 – yet competitive pay alone has proven insufficient to solve the shortage.
Portfolio-level model targets management companies
The Hotel Agency differentiates itself through what the company describes as a portfolio-level talent acquisition model. Rather than episodic agency engagement for individual properties, the division offers centralised hiring infrastructure for multi-property operators.
John Rothstein, Chief Commercial Officer, positioned this approach as analogous to operational functions that management companies have already consolidated. It replaces episodic agency use with a predictable, centralised approach to hiring, he said. We’re seeing management companies centralise hiring the same way they did for revenue management and procurement.
The division offers full-time, management and executive recruitment; recruiters with operational backgrounds; and sourcing powered by a national talent network of 350,000-plus hospitality professionals. The company claims to have already served more than 1,000 hotel and restaurant groups nationwide.
Unlike generalist staffing firms, The Hotel Agency staffs its recruiting team entirely with former hoteliers – operators, culinary leaders, rooms executives and department heads. This is less about filling jobs and more about stabilising operations, Kamali added.
The Hotel Agency joins The Staffing Agency’s portfolio of sector-specific divisions, which includes The Chef Agency for culinary placements and The Estate Agency for private household staffing.
