Dive Brief:

• Marriott International has committed to hiring more than 3,000 refugees across the globe, the company’s president and CEO, Anthony Capuano, announced yesterday on World Refugee Day. Marriott has now committed to hiring more than 1,500 refugees throughout its European region by 2026. This follows its 2022 pledge to hire the same number of refugees in the U.S. by 2025. 
• The commitment comes as global refugee levels climb, with the U.S. expected to see 125,000 refugees enter the country this year. 
• Marriott joins a growing list of hotel companies that have set refugee hiring goals in line with the Tent Partnership for Refugees efforts. For many hospitality players, these efforts are a means to combat the industry’s still short labor force in the U.S.

Dive Insight:

Last year, Marriott and Hilton made similar commitments as part of the Tent Coalition for Refugees in the U.S. and Canada to add 1,500 refugee workers to their U.S. operations. Both companies have since expanded their targets to encompass their European markets. Hyatt and IHG Hotels & Resorts are also part of the coalition. 

Since last year, Marriott has hired 550 refugees across its U.S. markets, Apoorva Gandhi, SVP of multicultural affairs at Marriott, told Hotel Dive.

“There's great opportunities for us to help address [the hospitality labor shortage in the U.S.] with qualified, hardworking individuals who want to come and do great things here,” Gandhi said, noting many of the refugees Marriott has hired in the U.S. are from Afghanistan and Ukraine.

A number of Marriott hotels provide these recently resettled new hires with resources and tailored support, including on-site translators, prayer rooms and help navigating public transportation. Additionally, Marriott trains and hires refugees through a partnership with the International Rescue Committee.

All “forcibly displaced” people in the U.S. are eligible to work legally, according to AHLA research. Beyond hiring these incoming individuals to hospitality jobs, many hoteliers are pushing U.S. policymakers to pass legislation allowing them to get to work sooner upon entering the country. 

The Asylum Seeker Work Authorization Act, introduced by Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), would allow asylum seekers to work as soon as 30 days after applying for asylum, compared to the six months they currently must wait. 

Hundreds of hoteliers who attended AHLA’s Hotels on the Hill event in Washington, D.C., last month lobbied for the passing of the bill, which AHLA President and CEO Chip Rogers said has the potential to create a significant number of jobs.