• Four million US hotel industry jobs could be eliminated in the coming weeks as hotels experience unprecedented booking cancellations due to the coronavirus, according to the American Hotel & Lodging Association.
  • Hotels employ a variety of workers, such as concierges, housekeepers, accountants, and event planners.
  • The Bureau of Labor Statistics provides data on wages and employment in the hotel industry.
  • Servers earn a median of $23,100 a year, while housekeeping cleaners earn a median of $23,310 a year.
  • Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.

Nearly four million US hotel industry jobs could be eliminated in the coming weeks, according to the American Hotel & Lodging Association. It comes as hotels across the country experience unprecedented booking cancellations due to the coronavirus.

Marriott, the largest hotel company in the world, has already begun furloughing tens of thousands of employees amid global hotel closings, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Hotels employ a wide variety of workers, and salaries range from well below the median wage to very high paying, so some workers will be better poised than others to handle layoffs.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Occupational Employment Statistics program offers data on employment and wages across different occupations and industries, including the traveler accommodation industry.

Hotel jobs tend to be lower paying than average. The median annual wage for an employee in the traveler accommodation industry was just $32,420, below the overall median wage of $38,640, in 2018 (the most recent data). Housekeepers, for example, earned just $23,310 per year in 2018.

Here are all the occupations for which at least 4% of hotel-industry establishments reported having employees, ranked from lowest to highest wage, along with their median annual pay and the number of people in that job:


37. Non-restaurant food servers earn a median of $22,460 a year, and there are 28,560 employed in the hotel industry.

Foto: Food servers. Source: Robert Pratta/Reuters

36. Servers earn a median of $23,100 a year, and 156,740 are employed in the hotel industry.

Foto: Servers. Source: Patrick T. Fallon/Reuters

35. Maids and housekeeping cleaners earn a median of $23,310 a year, and there are 466,660 employed in the hotel industry.

Foto: Housekeeper. Source: Joe Raedle/Getty Images

34. Combined food preparation and serving workers earn a median of $23,330, and there are 14,080 employed in the hotel industry.

Foto: Restaurant. Source: Rachel Askinasi/Business Insider

33. Dining room and cafeteria attendants, as well as bartender helpers, earn a median of $23,390, and 57,510 are employed in the hotel industry.

Foto: Dining room workers. Source: Foursquare/Chris 'Spike'

32. Laundry and dry-cleaning workers earn a median of $23,400 a year, and 36,200 are employed in the hotel industry.

Foto: Dry cleaning. Source: Tim Boyle/Getty Images

31. Desk clerks earn a median of $23,640 a year, and 242,660 are employed in the hotel industry.

Foto: Desk clerk. Source: Ben Curtis/AP

30. Taxi drivers and chauffeurs earn a median of $23,730 a year and 8,700 are employed in the hotel industry.

Foto: Chauffeur. Source: Carlo Allegri/Getty Images

29. Bartenders earn a median of $23,770 a year, and 42,700 are employed in the hotel industry.

Foto: Bartender. Source: Mama Shelter

28. Restaurant hosts and hostesses earn a median of $24,150 a year, and 18,710 are employed in the hotel industry.

Foto: Hostess. Source: Ross D. Franklin/AP

27. Baggage porters and bellhops earn a median of $24,390 a year, and 23,440 are employed in the hotel industry.

Foto: Bellhop. Source: Paula Bronstein/Getty Images

26. Dishwashers earn a median of $24,410 a year, and 30,340 are employed in the hotel industry.

Foto: Dishwasher. Source: Julie Zeveloff/Business Insider

25. Food preparation workers earn a median of $26,760 a year, and 13,880 are employed in the hotel industry.

Foto: Food prep. Source: Dan Kosmayer/Shutterstock

24. Landscaping and groundskeeping workers earn a median of $27,870 a year, and 11,500 are employed in the hotel industry.

Foto: Landscaping. Source: Facebook/Majestic Yosemite Hotel

23. Janitors and cleaners (except maids) earn a median of $28,520 a year, and 44,660 are employed in the hotel industry.

Foto: Cleaner. Source: Matilde Campodonico/Getty Images

22. Office clerks earn a median of $28,780 a year, and 9,110 are employed in the hotel industry.

Foto: Office worker. Source: Getty Images

21. Restaurant cooks earn a median of $29,780 a year, and 80,440 are employed in the hotel industry.

Foto: Chef. Source: Larry French / Stringer / Getty Images

20. Security guards earn a median of $29,890 a year, and 29,930 are employed in the hotel industry.

Foto: Security. Source: Scott Barbour / Stringer / Getty Images

19. Concierges earn a median of $31,240 a year, and 13,420 are employed in the hotel industry.

Foto: Concierge. Source: AFP/Stringer/Getty Images

18. Maintenance and repair workers earn a median of $31,690 a year, and 88,550 are employed in the hotel industry.

Foto: Doing maintenance. Source: Tony Alter/Flickr

17. Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks earn a median of $33,090 a year, and 21,040 are employed in the hotel industry.

Foto: Accounting. Source: Flickr / Alex

16. First-line supervisors of housekeeping and janitorial workers earn a median of $35,730 a year, and 34,440 are employed in the hotel industry.

Foto: Housekeeping. Source: Shutterstock

15. Secretaries and administrative assistants earn a median salary of $37,190, and 8,740 are employed in the hotel industry.

Foto: Administrative assistant. Source: John Jacobi/flickr

14. First-line supervisors of food preparation and serving workers earn a median of $38,860 a year, and 28,900 are employed in the hotel industry.

Foto: Food prep. Source: Flickr/eGuide Travel

13. First-line supervisors of office and administrative support workers earn a median of $42,270 a year, and 33,210 are employed in the hotel industry.

Foto: Office supervisors. Source: Bold Content/flickr

12. Meeting, convention, and event planners earn a median of $47,230 a year, and 8,830 are employed in the hotel industry.

Foto: A convention. Source: David Becker/Getty Images

11. Sales representatives earn a median of $50,100, and 23,570 are employed in the hotel industry.

Foto: Meeting. Source: Shutterstock

10. Lodging managers earn a median of $52,850 a year, and 32,650 are employed in the hotel industry.

Foto: Hotel worker. Source: Brent Lewis/Getty Images

9. Human resources specialists earn a median of $54,480 a year, and 4,300 are employed in the hotel industry.

Foto: HR specialist. Source: Carlos Osorio/AP

8. Chefs and head cooks earn a median of $56,690 a year, and 13,730 are employed in the hotel industry.

Foto: Chefs. Source: Lucianna Faraone Coccia / Stringer / Getty Images

7. First-line supervisors of mechanics, installers, and repairers earn a median of $56,840 a year, and 7,870 are employed in the hotel industry.

Foto: Engineers. Source: Kai Hendry/Flickr

6. Accountants and auditors earn a median of $56,980 a year, and 8,300 are employed in the hotel industry

Foto: Office meeting. Source: filadendron/Getty Images

5. Food service managers earn a median of $63,950 a year, and 8,240 are employed in the hotel industry.

Foto: Food service manager. Source: Gary Friedman / Contributor/Getty Images

4. General and operations managers earn a median of $77,260 a year, and 15,780 are employed in the hotel industry.

Foto: Manager. Source: Reuters

3. Administrative services managers earn a median of $82,210 a year, and 3,480 are employed in the hotel industry.

Foto: Presentation. Source: filadendron/Getty Images

2. Sales managers earn a median of $90,820 a year, and 5,730 are employed in the hotel industry.

Foto: Sales. Source: PhotoAlto/Frederic Cirou/Getty Images

1. Financial managers earn a median of $103,170 a year, and 3,820 are employed in the hotel industry.

Foto: Financial meeting. Source: University of Exeter/Flickr