One hotel chain in Japan has decided the only way to deal with a severe labor shortage is to double salaries to unprecedented levels.

Mystays Hotel Management, owned by Fortress Investment Group¡¯s fund and the island nation¡¯s fourth-largest operator, is offering monthly salaries of ?500,000 ($3,210) for new hires into its fast-track program aimed at training managers for its 151 properties across Japan.

After letting go of staff during the pandemic, many hotels are now struggling to add workers as a resurgence of visitors overwhelms the hospitality industry. Rising prices and corresponding wage growth also make it harder for employers to attract workers without offering more attractive salaries. More than 60% of hotel operators say that their workforce remains stuck below pre-pandemic levels, according to Teikoku Databank.

¡°We¡¯re going to see a situation where staff with new skills are going to overtake those who have come up through the ranks,¡± said Masako Taylor, a professor at Osaka Gakuin University, adding that language ability and other skills are in greater demand across the industry as it seeks to cater to high-end tourists.

Founded in 1999, Mystays was acquired by a Fortress fund in 2012. The company reported ?117 billion in commission sales in 2023, a 58% increase from 2019, before the pandemic. Shunsuke Yamamoto, chairman of MyStays, is seeking to turn the company into the top operator of hotels in Japan within 5 to 10 years.

¡°We want workers who might join technology or consulting companies to look at us¡± as an employment option, Yamamoto said in an interview.

The hiring program is aimed at attracting new hires in their 20s, and promote them quickly if they show promise. The starting salary being offered by MyStays is almost double the average salary of the accommodation and food service industry, according to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare¡¯s Basic Survey on Wage Structure in 2023.