Tourism and hospitality businesses across Oregon are facing a challenge that goes far beyond attracting visitors: building and sustaining the workforce needed to deliver exceptional guest experiences. A new feature in our magazine explores how industry leaders, workforce boards, educators, and destination organizations are collaborating to strengthen Oregon’s hospitality talent pipeline.

As Rebecca Donley of the Oregon Hospitality Foundation explains, workforce development has become inseparable from the future of Oregon’s visitor economy.

“The long-term strength of Oregon’s visitor economy rests on something less visible than marketing campaigns or infrastructure investments. It rests on workforce.”

That challenge intensified after the pandemic, when staffing pipelines collapsed and businesses across the state were forced to rebuild teams from the ground up. According to Jaime Eder of Travel Oregon, the issue goes beyond hiring — it’s also about changing perceptions.

“The skills and critical thinking you build in this industry … you can take those anywhere.”

The article highlights how organizations like Travel Oregon and the Oregon Hospitality Foundation are working together to connect employers with workforce boards, schools, and training resources. Kate Baumgartner of Travel Oregon describes the partnership as a way to bridge statewide strategy with local relationships.

“You’re the targeted messengers who are already in those communities, talking to those business owners, and know what their workforce needs are.”

One example is the Oregon Coast Hospitality Network, which brings together employers, educators, and workforce leaders to address regional workforce challenges collaboratively. The feature also explores how programs like ProStart are introducing students to hospitality careers earlier and helping reshape outdated assumptions about the industry.

Georgia Conrad of Oregon Workforce Partnership puts the stakes plainly:

“If we want to do anything, we have to have people working.”

The full feature dives deeper into the partnerships, policy conversations, and career pipeline strategies shaping the future of Oregon hospitality — and why collaboration across the industry has become essential.

Read the complete story in the digital Spring edition of the Oregon Restaurant & Lodging Association Magazine. (page 22)