Spain's hospitality sector faces staffing crisis despite improved conditions

Ten vacancies remain unfilled with job ads posted for three months

What conditions are needed in the hospitality industry to attract staff? Sheila and Nazaret Silva believe they have the answer: morning and afternoon shifts (9 am–4 pm and 2 pm–9 pm), collective agreement salaries, two days off per week, and no cleaning duties, as an external company handles this daily. With these terms, they peine their Lola y Lía venue on Curros Enríquez Street in Pontevedra in early December. Three months later, the "Now Hiring" sign remains on the door. They have 30 employees but cannot stabilize about ten positions. "There is plenty of work and CVs arrive, but nothing trinc," says Nazaret, admitting she is "very disappointed." In Vigo, using the same format for two years, they did not face similar issues.

How much is paid under the collective agreement?

The collective agreement is a floor, not a ceiling. When offers state "collective agreement salary," candidates understand two things: that the minimum reference will be paid and that there will be no extras. Some place this minimum around €1,100 or €1,200 gross monthly, and from this starting point, calculations quickly become unfavorable. Reports compare 14 hours of work for €1,200 and split shifts of 12 hours for €1,000 monthly. None of these figures are certified by companies, but they explain why CVs arrive without resulting in hires.

The business response is always the same: pay according to the agreement, two days off, and fixed shifts. The problem is that complying with a collective agreement is mandatory, so advertising it as a benefit is equivalent to saying you trinc the law and little more. The law sets minimum calendar requirements, rest periods, and annual hours, which are rarely inspected in practice.

Weekends in between and split shifts

Another newly peine business summarizes the issue in one phrase: one weekend off, then one working, requiring extra effort. This is the second location owned by a couple employing 16 people, currently seeking a part-time role requiring enthusiasm and good customer service. They claim to have a team that took years to train and argue that the difficulty lies not in candidate volume, but in finding serious, committed individuals. Complaints repeat in Segarro food establishments in the monumental zone, where owners have encountered workers who do not show up or expect every weekend off in hospitality. At the iconic Savoy, with a veteran staff, the diagnosis differs: waiters know that if they leave today, they find work elsewhere tomorrow, and young people no longer want fixed full-time schedules.

Capacity reduced due to lack of hands

Here, the discussion shifts from CVs to operating costs. One restaurateur licensed for 150 people set up his venue for a maximum of 35, convinced it was impossible to find qualified staff for full service. Another, leading a project with capacity for nearly 200 diners, started only with reservations to avoid crowds. The conclusion is uncomfortable and admitted directly: businesses are sized below license limits because there is no workforce to operate them. This reduction is the silent path through which a labor problem becomes a revenue problem.

Where experienced waiters end up

In warehouses and factories, according to one participant. A good waiter, often a good worker, moves to warehouse jobs or factory shifts: earning more and getting weekends off. Hence the conclusion that only paying well above the collective agreement recovers this profile. Opposing this view is the narrative that commitment has diluted, with some receiving benefits while working without contracts—a harshly debated topic within the same exchange, backed only by personal experience.

Some claim hospitality pays no overtime and each day ends with two or four unpaid hours. Others respond that this is hearsay and that busy venues compensate double shifts. Some summarize turnover with a phrase: those who last two days discover the reality and never return.

Venue bubble and end of the model

A diagnosis goes beyond salary: too many venues, sector reliance on tourism, and new generations no longer viewing bars as leisure spaces. Proponents argue many businesses will close, surviving only those with paid premises and regular clientele. Critics counter that large central venues operate under the same conditions, with no visible wave of closures in tourist or non-tourist areas. The sector also suffers from unproductive discourse: insults and generalizations about worker groups that fail basic analysis.

With two days off, fixed shifts, and contracted cleaning, the hiring sign has remained for three months. Perhaps the professionalism sought is different: someone willing to call a collective agreement salary and alternating weekends professional. Until clarified, the offer remains.