By Partner, Corina Chen
In hospitality, your workforce is your product.
Guests might remember the room or the view, but what brings them back is the people and their experience – familiar faces, confident teams, amazing food. And yet, finding and keeping good people remains one of the biggest pressure points for hoteliers across Australia.
As an Australian immigration lawyer working closely with hotels and hospitality groups, I see the same issues surface again and again. But I also – often from behind the scenes – see what works.
These are five workforce insights I wish more hoteliers were talking about.
1. Visa planning works best when it starts early
One of the biggest misconceptions I encounter is that visas are something you deal with when a problem arises – when a staff member’s visa is about to expire or a role suddenly becomes hard to fill.
The hotels with the strongest teams do the opposite.
They identify key roles early, monitor visa timelines, and have conversations before there’s urgency. That forward planning opens up far more options and avoids rushed decisions that limit outcomes.
While visa solutions are effective for crisis management, it works best as part of workforce planning.
2. Sponsorship isn’t just for “last resort” hires
Employer sponsorship is often labelled as complex or risky, particularly in hospitality. In reality, when done properly, it can be one of the most stable workforce solutions available.
I regularly see hotels use sponsorship strategically for chefs, cooks, and management-level staff – roles where experience and consistency matter.
The key is to sponsor the right people for the right reasons, with proper advice and systems in place.
3. Retention is where visas can really add value
High turnover is often accepted as “just part of hospitality”, but the hidden cost of training, lost knowledge, and service inconsistency adds up quickly.
For some employees, visa certainty provides something recruitment alone can’t: a motivation to stay.
When people know there’s a pathway forward, they’re more likely to invest in the business, take on responsibility and grow with the team. Over time, that stability flows directly into patron & guest experiences and operational confidence.
4. Compliance doesn’t have to be complicated
Visa compliance can seem intimidating, but in practice, it’s rarely about volume of paperwork but rather structure.
The businesses that manage immigration well usually have:
- Clear records;
- Visibility over visa expiry dates; and
- Alignment between HR, payroll and immigration advice.
It pays to have the right lawyer by your side, because once those basics are in place, compliance becomes manageable and it’s far less stressful than trying to fix issues after the fact.
5. The strongest workforce decisions are people-led
The hospitality businesses that stand out aren’t just focused on filling roles. They’re focused on building teams.
Supporting staff through visa pathways sends a strong signal that they’re valued, that you’re invested in your workforce. In an industry where talent competition is relentless, that matters.
It also creates something harder to measure but easy to feel – loyalty, pride, and continuity. And people notice that difference.
What’s next?
Visa solutions won’t solve every workforce challenge, but they can be a powerful part of building a stable, committed hospitality team when used thoughtfully.
The most successful hoteliers won’t ask whether visas are worth considering – they ask which people they want to build their business around, and they plan accordingly.
If you want to explore how you can utilise visa solutions effectively, then the Mullins Migration team is ready to assist.