- An AHLA survey found that 97% of hotels say they're experiencing staff shortages.
- Summer travelers have sparked a 'hiring spree' of hotel employees.
- One housekeeper uses TikTok to show how much laundry she must fold in an 8-plus hour shift.
A day off for Pittsburgh housekeeper Kasea Zeiber means she will return to a mountain of laundry at the 126-room hotel where she works – she's the only person responsible for folding it all.
Zeiber's TikTok videos showing what she calls "deadly drops" from a linen chute into the hotel's laundry room, have gone viral, shocking viewers.
Her most popular video shows the laundry tumbling out of the drop door, pushing Zeiber out of the video frame and filling up the washing room – after she was off work for just two days.
In the comments section of her account, Zeiber clarified that she is not the only housekeeper at the hotel, but she's the only person responsible for laundry. Sometimes her workdays last beyond eight hours and include more than just laundry, according to Zeiber.
"I get some help sometimes. I worked 11 hours today – cleaned 12 rooms first though," Zeiber replied to one commenter.
Zeiber's overworked schedule is an example of how the service industry is struggling to rebound after laying off thousands at the height of the pandemic.
A June survey of 500 hoteliers by the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) found that 49% of its members classified themselves as "severely understaffed" while 97% indicated a staffing shortage.
The most critical need? Housekeeping, according to the survey.
Hotels are on a "hiring spree" due to high demand from summer travelers, AHLA executive says. They're offering more pay and better benefits to fill hundreds of thousands of open positions, according to the report.
"If you've ever thought about working at a hotel, now's the time because the pay is better than it's ever been, the benefits are better than they've ever been, and the opportunity is better than it's ever been," AHLA President and CEO Chip Rogers said in the report.
In Zeiber's comments, current and former housekeepers commiserated about their own experiences on the job.
"Housekeeping was the worst job I've had to do. Overworked and underpaid is an understatement," one comment read.
Another commenter pointed out how difficult it is find people to fill vacant positions.
"A lot of people in these comments are not realizing places like (this hotel), retail, and food service are ALL short staffed," the comment read.
"Like yep, we're trying to find people, but can't hire people if no one applies," the commenter added.