Japan reopens to the world, but its hotels aren’t ready

As Japan reopens to global tourism, its hotel industry faces a problem shared by many countries in the West: staffing shortages.

Japan plans to reinstate visa-free travel to dozens of countries, including the U.S., Tuesday after more than two years of stringent border controls to combat COVID-19. The country plans to lean on tourism to revive its economy, according to a Reuters report. But Japan’s travel economy faces a similar predicament that hotel owners in the U.S. know all too well.

The labor pool simply isn’t large enough to fully staff Japanese hotels as they plan to welcome back more travelers from around the world.

Nearly 73% of hotels in Japan reported a shortage of workers in August, according to data from market research firm Teikoku Databank that was cited in the Reuters story.

The research shows the problem worsening, as only 27% of hotels reported a staffing shortage a year ago. However, part of that is likely from hotels being able to better manage smaller levels of tourism compared to this week with borders reopening.

However, the root of Japan’s hospitality staffing shortages might sound familiar to American hoteliers.

Hotel workers found better wages and working conditions in fields beyond hospitality during the pandemic, and it’s likely going to be an uphill battle wooing those workers back. That’s a global trust problem, as hotel companies and individual property owners quickly laid off staffers during the early days of the pandemic amid so much uncertainty regarding travel demand.