“Question: were there no American citizens who could fill those jobs as cooks, hotel superintendent, assistant hotel manager, etc, if indeed foreign workers were sought out for those positions?”
Probably so. The ones that could pass a drug test and show up on time are usually in higher-level positions. The low-end Americans simply collect welfare, rather than working. So - nope, next to impossible to find qualified help.
Puhleeze. I seriously doubt that low-end American workers would be sought out to fill the positions of assistant hotel manager and banquet manager (if foreign workers were indeed sought out to fill these positions), and I seriously doubt that welfare could compete with the $ these positions would give to the ones filling those positions.