Hospitality faces a stark paradox. The sector is forecast to create 91 million new jobs by 2035 according to the World Travel and Tourism Council, yet it remains one of the slowest adopters of the hiring method that could help fill them.
Just 54% of hotel and food services companies use skills-based hiring, according to TestGorilla’s 2024 State of Skills-Based Hiring report. That puts hospitality dead last among industries surveyed, well behind marketing at 95%, construction at 89%, and the global average of 85%.
The gap matters. The hospitality industry is projected to face a deficit of 8.6 million workers by 2035, approximately 18% below required staffing levels.
Roles requiring human interaction that cannot be easily automated will remain in highest demand, yet traditional credential-focused hiring keeps narrowing the talent pool exactly when it needs to expand.
The Cost of Lagging Behind
The consequences of slower adoption show up in hiring outcomes. Employers using skills-based recruitment report 82% satisfaction with their hires compared to 67% for those not using this method, according to TestGorilla research.
Most companies using skills-based methods report reduced mis-hires, with 94% agreeing that skills-based hiring predicts on-the-job success better than resumes.
Meanwhile, 64.8% of employers across industries now use skills-based hiring for entry-level positions, according to the National Association of Colleges and Employers Job Outlook 2025 survey.
Major employers including Walmart and Delta Air Lines have removed degree requirements from thousands of roles. Walmart reports that 75% of its US roles no longer require degrees.
Delta eliminated the requirement for 82% of externally filled jobs in 2023, including 15,000 pilot positions in 2022.
Hospitality’s slower uptake isn’t for lack of need. The European Accommodation Barometer 2025 found that 47% of hotels cited lack of necessary skills or experience as a major barrier to hiring qualified workforce.
Traditional credential requirements are blocking access to workers who could be trained into roles the sector desperately needs to fill.
Why Hospitality Hesitates
Several structural factors explain hospitality’s lag. The sector faces unique implementation challenges compared to industries leading skills-based adoption.
The digital divide plays a significant role. Larger hotel chains view AI-powered skills assessment integration as feasible and rewarding, whilst smaller independent properties show lower enthusiasm, particularly for staff training applications.
Perceived cost, complexity and limited return on investment of assessment tools outweigh the benefits for independent operators.
Traditional employment mindsets run deep in hospitality. The industry has long operated on fixed job descriptions, hierarchical structures and credential-based screening.
Dr Bertain Audrin, assistant professor at EHL Hospitality Business School, notes that hospitality work is traditionally designed around clearly defined jobs with standardised employee profiles.
This approach resists deconstruction into skills and tasks that could open roles to non-traditional candidates.
High-volume, seasonal hiring creates additional friction. Hotels and restaurants need to fill positions quickly, often for short-term or fluctuating demand.
Adding skills assessments appears to slow the process exactly when speed matters most. However, 38% of hiring managers who raise this concern overlook that skills-based methods ultimately reduce time-to-hire by 25% on average, according to research from Burning Glass Institute.
Cultural resistance compounds these barriers. Managers often prefer candidates with traditional hospitality backgrounds. Recruiters hesitate to take risks on non-traditional talent.
This creates environments where skills-based hires feel unwelcome despite having the capabilities required.
The Path Forward for Hospitality HR leaders
Closing the gap requires hospitality leaders to address implementation barriers systematically.
Start with pilot programmes targeting specific roles. Rather than overhauling all hiring at once, identify high-turnover positions or hard-to-fill roles where skills-based methods could demonstrate value quickly.
Front desk roles, housekeeping supervisors or food and beverage positions work well for initial testing.
Build the business case using hospitality-specific data. Present evidence that employers using skills-based recruitment achieve 82% satisfaction versus 67% traditional hiring satisfaction.
Emphasise that 90% of skills-based employers report improved diversity, 91% see better retention, and 78% reduce cost-to-hire.
Engage leadership early with economic arguments. The sector faces an 8.6 million worker deficit by 2035.
Skills-based hiring expands the candidate pool to include school leavers, career switchers and workers from non-hospitality backgrounds who possess transferable capabilities.
This isn’t just progressive policy, it’s pragmatic workforce planning.
Design assessments for hospitality contexts. Skills testing needn’t be complex or expensive.
Behavioural interviews evaluating customer service orientation, situational judgement tests measuring problem-solving under pressure, or brief work simulations assessing communication skills can all verify capabilities more reliably than reviewing CVs.
Address the cultural barriers directly. Frame skills-based hiring as supporting employees rather than fixing them.
Communicate that the goal is maximising potential of every hire, not accusing current staff of bias.
Ensure recruiting panels include members with diverse educational backgrounds. Consider removing degree information from initial CV reviews.
Invest in assessment technology strategically. For larger operators, platforms that integrate skills testing with existing applicant tracking systems reduce implementation friction.
For smaller properties, simpler solutions like structured interview guides mapped to key competencies provide immediate value without major technology investment.
Develop clear skills taxonomies for hospitality roles. Identify core transversal skills that apply across multiple positions: guest service orientation, multitasking capability, cultural awareness, conflict resolution.
Map these to specific roles and build assessments accordingly. This creates consistency whilst maintaining flexibility.
Create targeted training programmes alongside skills-based hiring. Identifying candidates with raw capabilities is only half the equation.
Structured onboarding and development ensures those hired on potential can succeed quickly in role.
This addresses the legitimate concern that non-traditional candidates may lack immediate hospitality-specific knowledge.
What Successful Implementation Looks Like
Delta Air Lines provides a roadmap. The airline implemented skills-based hiring assessments for 100% of frontline roles in 2024.
All candidates must complete assessments such as Virtual Job Tryouts before consideration. The company piloted its Delta Talent Hub to map 482 requisite skills across all roles, creating clear development pathways.
Results include 77% of corporate and management jobs filled with internal talent, with 35% of corporate openings filled by frontline employees.
Kempinski Hotels takes a values-first approach. The company identifies five core DNA values and hires for attitude and intrinsic motivation over formal credentials.
This allows Kempinski to hire generalists who can handle multiple tasks rather than specialists with narrow expertise.
The flexibility proves crucial for managing fluctuating demand.
The Urgency is Real
Skills-based hiring isn’t an experimental trend, it’s rapidly becoming standard practice across industries.
Hospitality’s 54% adoption rate leaves the sector increasingly unable to compete for talent against employers offering skills-first opportunities.
The workforce crisis facing hospitality won’t resolve through traditional hiring methods. The industry needs 91 million new workers by 2035 whilst facing an 8.6 million deficit.
Skills-based hiring offers the most viable path to closing that gap by dramatically expanding who qualifies for roles.
For hospitality HR leaders, the question isn’t whether to adopt skills-based hiring but how quickly implementation can begin.
Organisations that act now position themselves to access the broader talent pools that will determine who thrives and who struggles to staff their operations over the coming decade.
Brief source note: Verified statistics drawn from TestGorilla State of Skills-Based Hiring 2024/2025 reports, World Travel and Tourism Council workforce projections, NACE Job Outlook 2025 survey, Delta Air Lines ESG reports, Walmart skills-first documentation, European Accommodation Barometer 2025, and EHL Hospitality Business School research.
