Deidre Lewis, Vice President of Human Resources, Xclusive Services on staff turnover in the hospitality industry and some ways to takle the problem.
Staff turnover in the hospitality industry is more than a human-resources issue; it touches on core business issues and can often be the difference between a property’s success or failure. Just like with rooms, vacancy has a cost: recruiting, onboarding, training, lost productivity, and the decline in guest satisfaction that follows when teams are constantly in flux.
After more than a decade supporting hotels and resorts across the country, I’ve seen this pattern repeat: properties focus heavily on hiring, but not nearly enough on why people stay. The result is an expensive cycle that can erode morale, brand reputation, and profitability.
Reducing staff turnover in the hospitality industry doesn’t happen through a single program or pay increase. It requires a holistic approach that starts with listening to employees, valuing them as individuals, and ensuring your staffing partnerships reinforce the same culture of care that you expect inside your own property.
The financial impact of staff turnover in the hospitality industry is staggering. Replacing an hourly employee can cost thousands in recruiting, training, and temporary coverage. That’s before factoring in the hidden costs: lower productivity, decreased team cohesion, and service inconsistencies that affect guest experience.
When an experienced housekeeper or supervisor leaves, their absence ripples through operations. Guest rooms take longer to turn, brand standards slip, and other team members shoulder extra workload. Even the best-run hotels can find their service scores decline when the team behind the scenes keeps changing.
That’s why turnover must be treated not just as an HR metric, but as a key performance indicator for overall business health.
Employees rarely leave because they dislike the work itself. More often, they leave because they don’t feel valued, supported, or connected. In today’s environment, where teams are expected to do more with less, those feelings can intensify quickly.
Retention improves when people have the tools to do their jobs, know their contributions matter, and can see a future with the company. It’s also where a strong staffing partnership makes a measurable difference.
A partner that views workers as interchangeable will inevitably feed the turnover cycle. But a partner that builds genuine relationships getting to know people, checking in on morale, and solving small issues before they grow helps sustain engagement and stability across the operation.
Exit interviews tell you why people left. Stay interviews tell you why they stay. That distinction is critical.
Stay interviews provide an opportunity to gather insights from current employees about what’s working and where improvements are needed. At Xclusive, we conduct stay interviews regularly and share trends with property leaders. When we act on that feedback, we see morale and retention rise almost immediately.
For example, stay interviews often reveal practical issues. Outdated equipment, inconsistent schedules, or missing supplies can quietly drive turnover. Addressing these small barriers sends a powerful message: we’re listening, and we care.
Recognition doesn’t have to mean awards or elaborate programs. It starts with inclusion. When every worker whether employed by the hotel or a staffing partner feels part of the same team, engagement follows naturally.
Properties that invite all workers to morning huddles, acknowledge milestones, or celebrate team wins build a culture of shared pride. Recognition is most effective when it’s human.
I’ve seen employees go the extra mile because they knew their leaders genuinely cared. When a manager can call an associate on their day off for extra coverage and the person says yes that response doesn’t come from obligation. It comes from trust, respect, and mutual care built over time.
Sometimes improving retention means rethinking the rules. At one property in a college town, management struggled to recruit and retain room attendants. Traditional eight-hour shifts weren’t appealing to students balancing classes and part-time jobs.
Together, we redesigned the housekeeping schedule into shorter, four-hour blocks. The result? A surge in applications and lower turnover, without compromising productivity.
In another case, a transportation allowance helped employees working an hour away justify the commute. Again, a win for both recruitment and retention.
These solutions for improving staff turnover in the hospitality industry didn’t come from a handbook. They emerged from a collaborative relationship between the property and its staffing partner. When both sides are willing to be flexible and creative, everyone benefits.
Retention also depends on growth. Many people enter hospitality through entry-level roles, but few stay unless they can see a path forward.
We’ve learned that even modest career progression structures. For example, moving from Trainee to Housekeeper I, II, and III with incremental pay and responsibility can dramatically improve engagement. Employees begin to view their role as a career, not just a job.
One of my favorite success stories involves an employee who started at an entry level, advanced through our leadership development system, and is now managing a hotel team. That type of trajectory demonstrates what’s possible when leaders invest in potential rather than just filling shifts.
There’s no question that technology has improved staffing efficiency. Scheduling tools, apps, and automated communications make operations faster and leaner. But technology should never replace the personal connection that defines hospitality.
At Xclusive, we embrace technology, but we never let it distance us from the people we serve. Employees still want to talk to a real person, especially when an issue arises. A culture of care can’t be automated; it must be built through consistent communication, empathy, and leadership presence.
Reducing turnover requires alignment across every part of the hospitality ecosystem from the property’s leadership team to its staffing partners. Retention isn’t a standalone initiative; it’s a shared responsibility.
When hotel operators and staffing partners approach workforce management as a partnership, not a transaction, they create an environment where people stay because they’re valued, supported, and growing.
The financial benefits follow naturally: stronger teams, better guest experiences, and improved profitability. But the deeper impact is cultural. Guests notice when employees are happy to be there and that feeling can’t be replicated with training alone.
Reducing turnover starts with relationships: between leaders and their teams, and between hotels and their staffing partners. When everyone is invested in the same goal building stable, engaged teams the results extend far beyond retention numbers. They show up in every guest interaction, every consistent standard, and every team that chooses to stay.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
Job Openings and Labor Turnover Summary (JOLTS), July 2025.
Official government data showing high separation and quit rates in leisure and hospitality compared to all industries.
https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/jolts.pdf
HR Dive.
“Leisure and Hospitality Top List of Industries With Highest Quit Rates in the U.S.” (July 2024).
Analysis based on BLS data showing that nearly three million workers in the sector left their roles between January and April 2024, underscoring turnover as a systemic business issue.
https://www.hrdive.com/news/industries-with-highest-quit-rates/721216
American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA).
2025 State of the Hotel Industry Report.
Discusses rising labor costs, persistent workforce shortages, and the need for investment in employee engagement and retention to maintain service quality.
https://www.ahla.com/sites/default/files/25_SOTI_Report_update.pdf
Abreu-Peña, E. (2025).
Factors That Affect Retention in the Hotel Sector in the United States.
Doctoral dissertation, Florida International University College of Business.
Demonstrates that professional development, job autonomy, and organizational culture are key drivers of retention in hospitality.
https://business.fiu.edu/academics/graduate/doctor-of-business-administration/docs/2025/erika-abreu-pena-etd.pdf
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