Hospitality Turnover: 3 Key Findings
- Annual staff turnover in hotels is now estimated at an astonishing 105%.
- Losing a single employee can cost businesses more than $5,000 on average in recruiting, hiring and training.
- Stagnant wages and rising living costs and the lure of better opportunities elsewhere are driving the exodus.
Hospitality turnover is still soaring in 2025, leaving restaurants and hotels stuck in a costly cycle of rehiring, retraining, and inconsistent service.
This guide looks at what’s fueling the trend and how employers can better retain their teams.
Why Hospitality Turnover Keeps Rising: What’s Driving Workers Away?
Multiple converging factors have fueled an unprecedented wave of resignations in the hospitality sector.
For starters, wages have failed to keep up with the cost of living, leaving many hospitality workers feeling underpaid.
A recent industry poll found 40% of hospitality employees saw no pay raise in 2024, and another 25% received only a 1–2% bump.
Another major driver is burnout due to chronic understaffing and overwork.
Nearly half of hospitality managers report feeling burned out themselves, and 64% have seen employees quit specifically because of burnout.
At the same time, more attractive opportunities in other industries or the gig economy are pulling hospitality workers away.
During the pandemic, hundreds of thousands employees were laid off, and many never returned. Instead, they've found jobs in other sectors that offer better pay or flexibility.
Roles With the Highest Employee Turnover in Hospitality Industry
Certain positions in hospitality bear the brunt of this turnover crisis, with annual attrition rates that are astonishingly high even by industry standards:
- Bartenders: About 41% of front-of-house restaurant employees quit within a year of starting
- Kitchen staff: Back-of-house positions have roughly a 43% one-year turnover rate
- Housekeepers: An astonishing 55% of Room Attendants left their job within the first 90 days of hire.
What a High Staff Turnover Costs the Hospitality Industry
Losing a single employee can cost hospitality businesses more than $5,000 in recruiting, hiring, training and lost productivity.
High churn also undermines service quality — it can take up to two years for a new hire to become “fully productive”.
Beyond the dollars, operational performance and service quality take a hit when turnover is high.
Constantly losing experienced workers means many roles are perpetually filled by relatively new, less experienced staff.
Employee Retention in Hospitality Industry: Can It Be Fixed?
Faced with this churn challenge, many hospitality businesses are urgently adopting new strategies to improve retention and make service jobs more appealing.
A top focus has been raising pay and benefits to better align with employee expectations.
Recent data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that hospitality worker wages have risen about 30% on average in the last four years.
Improving workplace culture and career growth opportunities is another retention tactic. Many hospitality workers quit due to poor management or lack of advancement.
In response, some restaurants have launched mentorship programs and clearer promotion paths to show employees a future with the company.
Will Turnover in Hospitality Industry Ever Stabilize?
The next few years will be critical in determining whether hospitality’s labor crunch finally stabilizes or becomes an ongoing norm.
There are some optimistic signs that the worst may be behind us. As of late 2024, the quit rate in hospitality had begun to tick down from its peak.
Government data showed that by December 2024, the monthly quit rate in accommodation and food services was 3.8%, which is lower than the previous 4.6%.
However, turnover is still far above historical norms. The same dataset shows quits in hospitality remain the highest of any sector and many hotels are still struggling to find enough workers.
Ultimately, the path to retaining its workforce will hinge on the industry’s willingness to address the root causes of dissatisfaction.
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Written by Lidija Misic
Lidija holds a BA in English Language and has lived in five different countries, where she has worked in various roles, including as a flight attendant, teacher, writer and recruiter. Her biggest passion is crafting great content and reading. She is particularly passionate about creating punchy copy that inspires people to make positive changes in their lives.
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