There is no single, general “staff shortage” in hospitality. There is a shortage of specific people for specific roles, at a specific moment in the season, under specific conditions. A seaside hotel on the Bulgarian Black Sea coast may hire receptionists fairly quickly in April, yet struggle for months to secure strong line cooks. A city restaurant in Sofia may find floor staff for lunch service, but fail to retain waiters for evenings and weekends. In Bansko and Borovets during the winter peak, the pressure on housekeeping and kitchen teams becomes a different problem altogether.
When hotel managers say “there are no people,” the issue is usually more precise than that. There are too few candidates who combine the right skills, can handle the pace, accept the package, and are available exactly when the business needs them. That is why some hospitality roles are consistently harder to fill than others.
The roles that are hardest to fill most often
Across Bulgarian hotels and restaurants, three groups of roles are consistently the most difficult to recruit for:
- chefs and cooks, especially hot kitchen, grill, and high-volume production roles
- experienced waiters who can work fast, cleanly, and under pressure
- housekeepers in larger hotels and seasonal resorts where the workload is intense and constant
Depending on the property, this often extends to:
- dishwashers and kitchen porters during peak periods
- pastry staff and breakfast cooks in more specialized operations
- housekeeping supervisors and executive housekeeper support roles
- commis or assistant cooks who can actually take responsibility, not just prep
These jobs may look very different on paper. In practice, the reasons they are hard to fill are similar: physically demanding work, inconvenient hours, measurable pressure, low tolerance for mistakes, and aggressive seasonal competition between employers.
Why chefs are usually the most difficult hire
If you rank roles by hiring difficulty, chefs are almost always near the top. Not every chef, of course. The sharpest shortage is among people who can step into a section and hold service pace from week one.
There are several reasons.
First, strong chefs have options. They rarely apply broadly through job ads. Most are already employed, move through referrals, and change jobs only when the offer is clearly better: stronger pay, accommodation, a shorter but better-paid season, a stable brigade, or a real development path.
Second, the kitchen is one of the toughest work environments in hospitality. Ten to twelve hours on your feet, heat, service peaks at fixed times, and constant pressure for speed and consistency. Not every candidate lasts more than a few weeks, even if they have some prior experience.
Third, there is often a large gap between CV and actual capability. Many candidates have “worked in a kitchen,” but that does not mean they can run a section independently, maintain standard at 200 to 300 covers, or function in a hotel setup with buffet, à la carte, and banqueting demand on the same day.
On the Black Sea coast, the problem becomes sharper because the hiring window is short. If a hotel has not secured the core kitchen team by late March or early April, May becomes a bidding war with competitors. In Bansko and Borovets, the same pattern appears before winter: the strongest candidates commit early, and late searches almost always end in compromise.
Why waiters are not an “easy” role
Many employers underestimate how hard it is to find truly good waiters. Yes, there are usually more applicants for front-of-house than for kitchen roles. But the number of people who can protect service standards, drive revenue, and avoid operational chaos is much smaller.
A good waiter is not simply someone who takes orders and carries plates. In a strong operation, that person must be able to:
- move quickly without losing control of details
- communicate clearly with kitchen, bar, and guests
- sell actively without sounding pushy
- absorb pressure during queues, complaints, and delays
- handle bills, POS work, and revenue responsibility accurately
This is where the hiring challenge appears. Many candidates want the role because of tips, but underestimate the physical and mental load. In seaside resorts, this becomes obvious in July and August, when a terrace or all-inclusive restaurant may run at near-continuous intensity. That is when people without real stamina drop out.
There is another factor: language skills. In properties with a higher share of international guests, basic English is no longer a bonus but a minimum. Add POS systems, upselling expectations, and brand standards, and the pool narrows quickly.
That is why waiters are often hard to fill not because there are no applicants, but because only a small percentage match the actual operational need.
Why housekeepers are chronically understaffed
Housekeeping is often left out of the public conversation, yet this is where many hotels lose the most time, quality, and control. Housekeepers are among the hardest roles to recruit for, especially in larger seasonal hotels, spa properties, and high-occupancy leisure complexes.
The reason is simple: the work is physically demanding, the pace is relentless, and good performance is most visible when it is done on time and without complaints. That rarely carries public prestige, but it requires high discipline every day.
The usual pressure points are:
- a high number of rooms to turn in a short check-out to check-in window
- physical strain every day, not only during peaks
- high expectations around detail and cleanliness
- frequent absenteeism and turnover in the team
- the need to train new starters quickly in the middle of the season
In practice, many candidates start but do not stay. Some cannot accept the pace. Others leave because of accommodation, transport, or a slightly better offer nearby. In resorts, this is common: one hotel trains someone for two weeks, then a competing property attracts that person with a slightly higher rate or a better shift pattern.
There is also a quality issue. A reliable housekeeper is not easy to replace. If a new hire lacks the habit of working to standard, the consequences show up immediately in guest reviews, reception complaints, and delayed check-ins.
Bulgarian seasonality makes the shortage sharper
The Bulgarian market does not just suffer from a shortage of people. It suffers from shortages in the same short periods every year. That makes employer competition much more intense.
The usual pattern looks like this:
- On the Black Sea coast, serious hiring for summer begins as early as January to March; searches left until May are expensive and risky.
- In Bansko and Borovets, active winter recruitment starts in early autumn; strong candidates rarely wait until November.
- In city hotels and restaurants, the issue is less seasonal but more constant: turnover, evening shifts, weekends, and competition from other sectors.
- During shoulder seasons, some workers move between sea, mountain, and city operations, creating short windows of availability but not long-term stability.
In other words, when everyone is chasing the same 20 to 30 percent of the labor pool in the same six to eight weeks, shortages become unavoidable.
What makes these roles hard to fill beyond pay
Pay matters, but it is rarely the only reason. In many cases, employers lose candidates because of the total package, not one number in a job ad.
Candidates look at:
- whether accommodation is provided and what condition it is in
- how long the shifts are and whether breaks are real
- how often wages are paid
- whether meals, transport, or end-of-season bonuses are included
- who the direct manager is and whether the team feels stable
- whether the role is described clearly from the start
A chef may accept BGN 200 less if the kitchen is organized and the brigade is strong. A housekeeper may choose a hotel with a lower rate if the accommodation is decent and the schedule is predictable. A waiter may stay for the whole season if table allocation, tips, and shifts are handled fairly.
How employers should look at the market realistically
The first step is to accept that not all roles are recruited in the same way. You cannot use one hiring strategy for chefs, waiters, and housekeepers and expect the same result.
A more effective approach is to:
- start planning earlier for critical roles
- separate must-have requirements from nice-to-have ones
- present a clear package, not just a wage figure
- shorten the interview and offer process
- maintain a backup candidate flow for peak periods and dropouts
Late decisions are usually the most expensive. An unfilled role in kitchen or housekeeping during peak season does not cost only one salary. It creates overtime, team burnout, quality decline, and sometimes direct revenue loss.
The hardest hospitality roles to fill remain the ones where the business has the least room for error: chefs, strong waiters, and reliable housekeepers. The reason is not mysterious. These jobs require skill, stamina, discipline, and readiness to work at exactly the moment when the whole market is looking for the same people.
If you are building a team for summer season, winter peak, or year-round operation in a city property, Horeca Staffing can help you secure people for the hardest roles faster and with less operational risk. Contact us to discuss what profile you need and on what timeline.