Southeast Asia’s fast-growing hospitality industry has a people problem. Here’s what leading brands are doing to get the staff they need

A hotel is already alive long before it welcomes its first guest. Housekeepers make the rounds before dawn, kitchen crews rehearse dishes yet to be ordered, concierges prepare for the day. 

This unseen work is now expanding as Southeast Asia’s travel sector expands at an unprecedented pace. The region’s hospitality sector is projected to grow to roughly $208 billion by 2033, up from $136 billion in 2024, according to Deep Market Insights, a market research firm.

Hotel construction across Asia‑Pacific is hitting record highs, according to a pipeline trend report by Lodging Econometrics. By late 2025, the region’s pipeline (excluding China) had grown to more than 2,200 projects and over 430,000 rooms, a year‑on‑year increase of around 9% in projects and 6% in rooms, with Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia among the most active markets.

People, not concrete or capital, are becoming the biggest constraint to growth. Across Asia‑Pacific, hotel operators report persistent talent scarcity, with high turnover and higher salaries in other industries making it hardest to recruit for guest‑facing roles. In Singapore alone, recent analysis su...