Many hotels look mainly for young people with hospitality experience and so overlook a large group: people who want to return to work after a few years away and experienced over-50s from hospitality or other sectors. Read which roles fit well, what these candidates look for, how to reach them and how to onboard them properly, without recruiting on age.
25 October 2026
The labour market for hotel staff is tight in many European regions, and the usual channels keep producing the same candidates. People returning to work and experienced over-50s are often overlooked. They bring life experience, calm at the desk and often a strong sense of service. They are also less likely to move on after a few months. That does not make them a miracle cure, but it does make them a group that deserves its own place in your recruitment plan.
Returners are people who have not worked for a while, for example because they were caring for children or a relative, were ill or ran their own business. Then there are experienced people over fifty: former hospitality workers who want to come back, people from retail, care, administration or education looking for a change, and people who have (early) retired and want to work a few shifts a week. This is not a uniform group. Treat them as individual candidates, each with their own wishes.
Across the EU, age discrimination in recruitment and selection is in principle prohibited. So do not put age limits or phrases like ‘young team’ or ‘maximum 30 years old’ in your job ads, and do not ask about age, family plans or health in the interview beyond what the role genuinely requires. Describe what the work involves: shifts, lifting, languages, systems. Then everyone can judge for themselves whether it fits. Check exactly what applies in your country with your adviser or industry association.
Many returners and older candidates are looking above all for predictability: fixed days or fixed shifts, a rota that is known well in advance and a number of hours that suits their situation. Respect, good support at the start and work that feels meaningful also count. High on the list is often that they do not want to be seen as a temporary stopgap. A hotel that can offer this clearly stands out among vacancies that only ask for flexibility.
Roles with a lot of guest contact and responsibility often fit well: reception, night reception, breakfast service, guest services or concierge, housekeeping supervision and banqueting coordination. Maintenance and stores are interesting for people with a trade background. Physically heavier roles such as room attendant or kitchen porter are not ruled out in advance. Simply discuss honestly what the work involves, rather than assuming beforehand what someone can or cannot do. See also when to hire candidates without hospitality experience.
State specifically which days and shifts are involved, how many hours are possible and whether part-time is an option. Mention that you provide training and that experience from other sectors counts. Use plain language rather than jargon and avoid words that unintentionally suggest a certain age, such as ‘dynamic young team’. A photo of a mixed team often says more than a sentence about diversity. See also what to include in a job ad for hotel roles.
Not everyone in this group searches actively on the well-known job sites. So look at local channels too: regional newspapers and free local papers, the municipality and the regional public employment service, back-to-work and returner programmes, community centres and local Facebook groups. Ask your own staff whether they know someone. An open walk-in session on a fixed morning often works well, because candidates see the hotel straight away. Read more about recruiting in a small labour market.
A gap of a few years in a CV says little about what someone can do. Ask instead what the person did during that period and which skills came out of it: planning, dealing with people under pressure, administration, solving complaints. Translate experience from retail, care or education into concrete situations at the desk or in the restaurant. Use the same questions and scoring as for other candidates, so you compare fairly. See which questions to ask per department.
For someone who has not worked in a hotel for a long time, or never has, a short trial shift is useful for both sides. The candidate sees the pace, the systems and the colleagues, and you see how the person deals with guests. Keep the shift short, supervise it and pay for it where that is customary or required. Read more about when a trial shift makes sense.
Agree in advance on which days and times someone is available and stick to that as far as possible. Fixed morning shifts at breakfast or fixed evenings at reception often combine well with the rest of someone’s life. Avoid giving new people the shifts nobody else wants straight away, and be cautious with split shifts. Also put the minimum number of hours in writing. See minimum hours and part-time work in hotels.
Lifting, standing for long periods and a lot of walking are part of much hotel work. That applies to employees of every age. Good equipment, such as linen trolleys at the right height, light vacuum cleaners and anti-slip mats, variety of tasks within a shift and enough breaks reduce complaints and absence across the whole team. Make it easy to say when something is becoming too heavy, so you can redistribute tasks in time rather than lose someone.
The property management system, the till, key cards and the internal app can be a lot of new things at once for someone who has not worked in a hotel for years. Plan extra practice time, preferably at quiet moments. A short written work instruction per task helps more than a quick explanation in the middle of a rush. Experienced colleagues who share their knowledge are invaluable here. See also cross-training hotel staff.
Pair each new employee with a fixed colleague for the first weeks, someone who answers questions and shows how things work in your hotel. Plan a short conversation after one week and after one month about how it is going and what is still needed. With returners in particular, it helps to hear early on where someone feels unsure, before that leads to them leaving. Read more about a solid first week.
A team of different ages works best when everyone knows what the others bring. Younger colleagues are often quicker with systems, experienced colleagues with difficult guests or complaints. Let them learn from each other deliberately. As a manager, watch out for remarks or jokes about age, in both directions, and step in when needed. A good atmosphere is often a more important reason for this group to stay than a few euros more per hour.
People who receive a pension or benefits, or who retired early, sometimes face rules on additional earnings. Those rules differ by country and by scheme. As an employer you do not need to work this out, but it does help to raise the subject and ask the candidate to check it with the relevant body before starting. That way you avoid someone having to cut their hours or stop after a few weeks.
• Are your job ads free of age limits and words that suggest an age?
• Do you state specific days, shifts and hours, and whether part-time is possible?
• Do you also recruit through local channels, the municipality and returner programmes?
• Do you ask about skills in the interview rather than about gaps in the CV?
• Do you offer a short, supervised trial shift?
• Do you agree fixed days and a minimum number of hours in writing?
• Is there extra practice time for systems and a fixed buddy in the first weeks?
AXXAZ Hospitality supplies reliable hospitality staff to hotels across Europe. While you expand your own team with returners and experienced new colleagues, we can cover busy periods and open shifts, so new people can be onboarded without rushing. It starts with a clear staffing brief.
Hire on what the work requires rather than on age, state days and hours specifically, look for returners and experienced over-50s through local channels too, translate their experience in the interview, let a trial shift show the work and give them time, a fixed buddy and a predictable rota during onboarding.