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Who will serve the guest tomorrow?
- Pakuts Tamás
- jún. 26.
- 7 perc olvasás
Guest worker strike, a sector in despair, the workforce situation in the Hungarian hotel and catering industry
A recent LinkedIn post inspired me to write this article. Róbert Pintér, Operations Director of Hotel Silvanus, shared his own experiences with employing workers from third countries, because even one of the country's most iconic hotels would no longer be able to function properly without them. This is especially relevant in light of the fact that the government has not only announced, but also implemented, stricter measures regarding the employment of guest workers.
One of the most inconvenient truths of the Hungarian hospitality and hotel industry is no longer hidden somewhere in the background, but is right there behind the breakfast counter, in the sink, by the maid's cart, in the kitchen prep area, and at the staff entrance.
Without workers from Sri Lanka, India, the Philippines and other third countries, many Hungarian hotels, restaurants, wellness hotels and tourism service providers would no longer operate or would simply have a more difficult time operating.
The debate about guest workers in tourism is therefore not a matter of political slogans or some theoretical labor market attempt, but simply a matter of everyday survival.
Anyone who has ever worked in a hotel knows for sure: the guest experience does not begin in the management and owner's offices, but at six in the morning, when the buffet has to be opened for the first hungry guests, when the bread, pastries, cold cuts and hot dishes have to be fresh, the tables clean and the servers fresh and smiling, the rooms clean and ready by early afternoon and the background constantly functional. Without adequate, trained and motivated staff, there is no quality. And in the absence of quality, all advertising campaigns are in vain, it does not matter if it is a record year elsewhere or if the country's image is improving.
In June 2026, the new government implemented a strict change in the regulation of guest workers. According to the National Directorate General of Immigration, it will not be possible to apply for a new guest worker residence permit from 6 June 2026 , because there is currently no third country whose citizens are eligible for this title [1]. Previously, the maximum number of employment and guest worker residence permits that could be issued for work purposes in 2026 was set at 35,000 [2].
According to a Reuters analysis , the government's tightening measures are partly driven by political will to respond to social concerns about the increasing number of foreign workers , while several employers' organizations have warned that significant labor shortages continue to exist in certain sectors [3].
It is important to clarify: this does not mean that all foreign workers will disappear from Hungary overnight. Different rules may apply to permits already issued, pending cases and other residence permits. But the political message is clear: the system is narrowing, uncertainty is increasing, and employers do not know what to plan for. In the hospitality industry, this is not an administrative inconvenience.
This is an emergency.
It is also worth recalling the example of Hotel Silvanus. According to Róbert Pintér, a few years ago it was unusual to see Indian or Filipino colleagues in a rural hotel, but today they make up a significant part of the workforce. Silvanus is open to this direction for three reasons: due to the constantly decreasing domestic labor supply in manual jobs, they need foreign colleagues who can be trained based on their existing and well-functioning training and mentoring system, and new employees can improve the performance of the entire organization. Since the hotel reopened, more than twenty Indian colleagues have been working for them, who make up about 15 percent of the total staff, several of whom have already been promoted to group leader positions.
The most important message, however, was that the long-term strategy had not changed: developing Hungarian hospitality talent would continue to be a primary goal.
For years, the sector has been turning to Sri Lanka, India, the Philippines, or other distant labor markets not because it is convenient or cheaper, but primarily because there are simply no applicants for many positions at home.
There are not enough maids, dishwashers and kitchen helpers, just as there is no oversubscription for chambermaids and cleaners, and breakfast or server positions are no longer popular in Hungary. Generation Z in particular, but others also do not want to work on weekends, holidays, in split shifts, in season, or under physical strain.
The industry has long expressed its concerns. In May 2026, the Hungarian Hotel and Restaurant Association and VIMOSZ clearly stated that the employment of third-country nationals is essential in tourism [4].
The absurdity of the situation is that while political statements are about protecting Hungarian jobs, in many cases in tourism it is not a Hungarian and a foreign worker competing for the same job. Rather, it is a foreign worker and a vacant position facing each other. If there is no Filipino maid, it is not certain that a local maid could be found to replace her the next day. It may simply be that fewer rooms will be cleaned. If there is no Sri Lankan kitchen helper, it is not certain that a Hungarian worker will immediately take her place. The service may be slower. If there is no Indian or other Asian background worker, it is not certain that there will be clean bed linen or that the problem of the dripping tap would be solved.
According to the Central Statistical Office (KSH), in April 2026, there were 4 million 619 thousand employed people in Hungary, with 216 thousand unemployed. The potential labor reserve was 311 thousand people, while 108.7 thousand foreign nationals worked for Hungarian employers [5]. These numbers may seem manageable at a national level. However, the hotel industry does not operate on national averages, but on specific locations, in specific shifts, with specific people, under difficult conditions, as an obstacle course.
A hotel on Lake Balaton does not choose from the entire Hungarian labor pool. A four-star hotel in Budapest cannot serve breakfast with abstract statistical categories. A wellness hotel in the countryside cannot make a bed with a potential labor pool. You need a real person there who is available, trainable, has housing, accepts the unfavorable work schedule and does not quit after two weeks.
According to the Telex/G7 analysis, Hungary is still not considered a country with an exceptionally high proportion of foreign workers in European comparison. The proportion of foreign workers compared to the total number of employees was approximately 2.3 percent, which is much lower than the EU average [6]. The problem is not that Hungary is “full” of foreign workers. The problem is that in some sectors and in some jobs, nothing can be done without them.
There have been several specific hotel examples of this in recent years. The professional press wrote in 2023 that 50 Sri Lankan guest workers worked at the Hotel Ózon & Luxury Villas in Mátraháza, making up nearly a third of the staff [7]. In 2024, HVG gave an example from Lake Balaton of a hotel where Indian and Singaporean guest workers also appeared [8]. The role of the Filipino workforce has become a separate topic in Hungarian tourism, because the long-term labor shortage in the hotel and catering industry is increasingly visible in their reliance [9], and with good reason, as they are highly motivated colleagues who can be easily loaded.
This is no longer the exoticism of luxury hotels, but the everyday general operating model, which is why it is dangerous to suddenly intervene with a political handbrake in a system that the industry built out of real necessity.
The issue of wages cannot be avoided, of course. According to the 2024 situation report of the Hungarian Hospitality Industry Association, the average salary in the accommodation and catering sector was still among the lowest, reaching only 64 percent of the national average [10]. This is serious data. In the long term, tourism cannot rely on low-prestige, underpaid, burnout-prone positions and people.
The guest worker ban alone will not improve the wage strategy or the popularity of vocational training, it will not become a seasonal management model, and if we brake while the engine is already pulling, the road may not be safer, and the car may simply stall.
According to the WHC 2026 analysis, the demand for labor in tourism and hospitality during the spring-summer period could increase by up to 30 percent, especially among waiters, bartenders, cooks, kitchen assistants, maids, cleaners and receptionists [11]. In other words, precisely in those jobs without which there is no daily operation.
Meanwhile, according to the Central Statistical Office (KSH), in April 2026, 1.4 million guests spent 3.3 million guest nights in domestic tourist accommodations [12]. So the guest is arriving. The question is: who will serve him? Foreign workers have not become the enemies of Hungarian tourism, but in many places they have become its last pillars.
We definitely need to talk about how to bring more Hungarian workers back into the sector. We can talk about wages, housing, vocational training, more humane positions, better management, a fairer work culture. But until these are in place, suddenly expelling guest workers is not a solution, but rather increases the risk factors in the sector.
The example of Hotel Silvanus also shows that employing foreign workers is not necessarily about replacing the Hungarian workforce. It is much more about ensuring that an operating business is able to maintain its service standards while continuing to build on the training and retention of domestic professionals.
The Hungarian hospitality industry is not afraid of having too many foreign workers today, but of the fact that without them, there will be no one to open the door tomorrow morning.
References
[1] National Directorate General of Immigration (OIF) – Information on guest worker residence permits
About the author
Tamás Pakuts has been working in the world of tourism, hospitality, aviation and luxury shipping for nearly 35 years. During his international career, he has gained experience in management, consulting and development positions in many countries in Europe and Asia.
His professional interests focus on how tourism is linked to transport, economic policy, regional development and national competitiveness. His analyses often examine areas where tourism goes beyond the world of hotels and guest nights and has an impact on the national economy as a whole.
As the founder of Szálloda.blog, he regularly publishes on current issues in tourism, mobility and transport, paying special attention to long-term trends, international best practices and strategic connections.
The original article was written in Hungarian, the translations are generated by AI.
Source of images: AI, szalloda.blog