“Everywhere in the EU, in five-star hotels, immigrants make up at least 40 percent of hotel staff. In Romanian luxury hotels, only one percent of employees are foreigners. More relaxed visa conditions are needed to import a labor force,” according to InterContinental hotel’s Human Resources Manager, Emil Jascau.

In an attempt to increase the number of foreign workers, hotel companies focus on countries with lower salaries, such as Moldova, Ukraine, Belarus, China, India, Pakistan, Malaysia, and the Philippines.

The shortage in the labor force widened in recent years due to the emigration of skilled workers. “Five percent of Carol Park Hotel personnel have gone abroad. Romanians have no problem emigrating, but it is difficult to employ people from abroad,” said the hotel’s CEO, Sylvia Petre.

According to HR specialists, Romanians will have increasingly more opportunities to work abroad. “The problem will become more critical and the crisis will peak in the coming years,” Jascau said.

According to JW Marriott Bucharest Grand Hotel’s HR Manager, Camelia Buburuz, another cause of the personnel shortage is the decision of hotel employees to migrate to other industries. Jascau agrees that salaries in the hotel industry are lower than average wages in other industries. According to Sylvia Petre, entry level salaries for Carol Parc Hotel employees amount to €300 per month.