India's hospitality industry is one of the fastest-growing industries, generating significant employment across the country. The vastness and potential of the Indian hospitality industry cannot be overstated, from luxury hotels and boutique resorts to homestays and cafés. Hospitality is a people business that uses knowledge workers to deliver exceptional experiences. One of the most important considerations for hospitality employers is whether to hire local job seekers or migrant workers.

Hiring local or migrant workers is not just about availability or price, but having an impact on service quality, brand image, employee retention, and sustainability in the long run. As the Indian hospitality market becomes more competitive and fluid, employers must take both local and migrant worker hiring options into consideration.

In this blog, we will be discussing this issue through the perspective of labour dynamics, regional aspects, policy & legal context, and real-world strategies to help with recruitment.

Understanding the Trends in Hospitality Hiring in India

Hiring in Indian hospitality is witnessing a surge driven by the adoption of new technologies and sustainable practices. This sector is projected to see significant growth in hiring with an expected increase of 8.2% in the second half of 2025. Demand for skilled workers in hospitality is soaring with expected growth in tourism, especially in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities.

Migrant workers had been a popular option filling gaps in kitchens, housekeeping, maintenance, and front office roles because of mobilisation and availability of work, but in recent years, as a result of increased awareness, vocational training, and government initiatives for hiring local candidates from the hospitality background have gained momentum. 

Benefits of Migrant Workers

• Accessibility and Flexibility: Many migrant workers are willing to relocate and often work longer hours, making them ideal for busy seasons.
• Cost-Effectively: Because migrant workers have lower expectations when it comes to wages, they can assist employers in minimising their tight salary budgets.
• Background from Hospitality Chains: A large portion of migrant workers have worked for hospitality chains and are often familiar with a variety of locations.
• Reduced Attrition in Season: If worker accommodations and food are provided, many migrant workers will stay engaged for the entire season.

Disadvantages of Hiring Migrant Workers

• Cultural Differences: Language and cultural disconnect may impact service delivery, especially in destinations with cultural sensitivity.
• High Rates of Off-Season Attrition: Migrant workers generally return to their homes in the off-season, and the continuity of their employment may be disrupted.
• Legal and Compliance: Employers will need to ensure that the documentation of labour and laws is followed, especially in the post-COVID context.
• Reduced Local Involvement: In areas with high numbers of migrant workers, the local community may feel marginalised, or there could be a justified political outcry to sourcing opportunities away from the locals.

Hiring Local Candidates is Becoming More Popular

With increasing levels of literacy and skill development in various fields, residents are becoming better equipped to consider career options in hospitality. There are large groups of potential local workers in some of India's most hospitality-rich areas (e.g. Uttarakhand, Kerala, Goa, Sikkim, and parts of Maharashtra).

Benefits of Hiring Local Workers

• Cultural Competence: In many cases, residents have an intimate understanding of regional etiquette, festivals, language, and traditions, which can enhance the offerings provided to guests.
• Lower Turnover: In many cases, locals will not move away from the community they call home, meaning less disruption in staffing for the business.
• Positive Perception Management: Hiring locals provides a stronger relationship with the community and often resonates with socially- and environmentally-responsible travellers.
• Lower Relocation Expenses: We do not have to organise housing for workers (which can be extremely difficult in remote situations) or even arrange transport.
• Support by local authorities: Local governments often have elevators for local workers via subsidies or a smoother licensing process.

The Drawbacks of Using Local Workers

• Limited Availability in Tourist or Rural Areas: In popular tourist areas or rural areas with few other employment opportunities, skilled local candidates may be hard to find.
• Higher Compensation Expectations: In some cases, locals may demand higher compensation or quicker promotion processes than migrant workers.
• Resistance to Non-Traditional Shifts: Locals, like anyone, will be less willing to work late shifts or split shifts. Women participants, especially in conservative areas, will be less likely to agree to split shifts.
• Local workers have limited exposure: With limited exceptions, local candidates rarely receive varied cross-cultural experiences as often as migrant workers.

What Should Employers in India Consider?

Here’s a list of considerations for employers in hospitality to make it easier to assess the need for local or migrant workers in hospitality: 

Geographic Location of the Property

• If your property is located in a remote tourist destination, you rely more on migrant workers. 
• If the property is located in urban or semi-urban areas, then a combination is viable.

Type of Role

• Back-end roles (housekeeping, kitchen help and utility staff) can usually be filled using migrant workers. 
• Front-facing roles (concierge, food & beverage service and guest relations) are usually much more effective when filled with locals, simply due to their knowledge of the regional culture and language.

The Seasonal Aspect 

• If you are operating a seasonal resort (for example, Goa, Manali, etc.) Hiring migrant workers for peak months is more viable than hiring locals.
• For year-round hotels, where a longer-term term fuller employment is more viable and creates stability, locals can be more beneficial.

Brand Positioning

• Most luxury and boutique brands convey a local connection and rationalise hiring locals.
• Budget properties, on the other hand, are sometimes only concerned with absorbing costs, and migrant labour can be advantageous.

Training Capabilities

• If you have a solid approach to training staff, you can hire locals and train them to your standards.
• If training possibilities are limited, trained migrant workers can fill in the experience deficit quickly.

A Hybrid Hiring Strategy: The Best of Both Worlds

Many of the hospitable brands that are thriving in India adopt a hybrid workforce model, which captures the best of local workers and the best of migrant workers. Here's how.

• Hire migrant workers for back-of-house duties and seasonal tasks.
• Empower local workers in guest-facing, community and pipeline roles to leadership roles.
• Provide cross-training and mentoring opportunities to build team and culture.
• Provide migrant staff with language training and soft skills training related to guest interaction.

By doing so, they decreased reliance on only one talent pool to lessen their vulnerabilities and improve their resilience and brand integrity.

The Final Call

The decision to hire local or migrant workers in the Indian hospitality sector is not simply an either-or. It is based on your business decisions, culture, location, workforce planning and service model. 

Understanding the benefits and constraints of both types of workers, and how they fit with your long-term objectives, will help you to select a diverse, loyal, motivated and capable hospitality workforce for your business, which will delight your guests and contribute to sustainable local growth. 

If you are in charge of a beach café in Gokarna or a luxury spa retreat in Sikkim, the workforce you hire has the potential to influence your guest experience and your brand reputation for many years. 

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