Seasonal Staffing Trends: What Property Teams Are Planning This Year

As the 2025 holiday season ramps up, one trend is dominating workforce conversations: seasonal hiring is unusually weak across the U.S. According to recent reporting from The Washington Post, employers across multiple industries are scaling back holiday hiring plans in response to softened demand, tighter budgets, and a continued push toward operational efficiency.

And property management teams are feeling it too. To understand how the industry is responding, we launched a LinkedIn poll asking:

Why Seasonal Hiring Is Down: The Industry Pressures Behind the Trend

1. Budget tightening and rising costs: Many property teams are facing the familiar year-end squeeze, including rising operating costs, deferred maintenance, and limited payroll flexibility.

2. More efficient teams — out of necessity: With labor shortages lingering from previous years, teams have already learned to operate lean. Now, the lean model is becoming the new normal.

3. Cross-training is becoming a preferred strategy: Instead of bringing in short-term help, properties are investing in making core team members more versatile, especially in maintenance, concierge, and leasing support roles.

4. The shift toward digital tools: Self-service resident portals, AI-led communications, and mobile maintenance workflows are reducing the need for large seasonal surges.

What This Means for Property Management Teams

Even if seasonal hiring is down, the workload isn’t. Holiday package volume, maintenance requests, move-ins/outs, fire watch needs, year-end reporting, and resident events still pile up.

This creates a new challenge: How do you maintain service standards with fewer hands on deck?

Teams are responding in three key ways:

1. Smarter staffing models: Instead of short-term seasonal workers, teams are opting for as-needed, flexible workers who can support targeted tasks like turns, leasing tours, admin support, or maintenance backlogs.

2. Proactive cross-training: More property leaders are scheduling team-wide cross-training in mid-Q4 so they’re prepared before holiday PTO spikes.

3. External workforce support: Many properties are partnering with staffing and workforce solutions providers to fill roles quickly without committing to long-term payroll increases.

Poll Insight: The Industry Is Adapting — and Watching What Happens Next

This poll shows a clear directional shift: leaner, more agile end-of-year teams. The industry is moving away from large seasonal hiring pushes and toward flexible, skill-based staffing strategies.

As we head into December, property professionals are being asked to do more with less. But with smart planning, cross-trained teams, and the right external support, properties can still deliver a great resident experience, even during the busiest time of year.