Hospitality Sees High Attrition Levels Amidst Hiring
As per the data from Naukri.com, in the hospitality sector, average hiring growth in the first half of 2025 was 25 per cent, with five months recording double-digit growth. In July, hiring was as high as 26 per cent
Chennai: When hospitality management graduate Alex John (name changed) decided to quit his job in a five-star hotel in Bangalore after 16 months, 70 per cent of the new recruits in his batch had already given up. They were worn down by gruelling 12-hour shifts, erratic schedules, cancelled weekly offs, and denied leave. He endured them in the hope of a pay hike promised after the completion of a year, which never materialized.
“As the Indian hospitality brand known for their luxury hotels retains just a miniscule of the recruits from each batch, it is constantly on a hiring mode,” he says.
The hospitality sector has been posting double-digit hiring numbers for the past few years and even in the first half of the current year it was as high as 25 per cent. However, the employment generation by the sector is comparatively lower due to high attrition levels.
As per the data from Naukri.com, in the hospitality sector, average hiring growth in the first half of 2025 was 25 per cent, with five months recording double-digit growth. In July, hiring was as high as 26 per cent.
“Since the pandemic, new projects are coming up in tier II to tier V cities and hotels metros are also adding new keys. The sector has seen increased hiring in the past two to three years,” said Pradeep Shetty, president, FHRAI.
While FHRAI finds that the employment generation in the sector has moved up by 11 per cent since pandemic from 8-9 per cent earlier, the 25 per cent hiring in the sector points towards higher levels of attrition.
“Attrition is high in the entry level positions, mainly because the new recruits find it difficult to adapt to the work culture and look for opportunities elsewhere. The working conditions in the sector have improved now compared to what they were two decades before. Hotels largely stick to 9-10 hours of work hours, but there could be exceptions,” said Shetty.
According to industry insiders, while some of the international hospitality brands and top Indian hotel chains adhere to the working standards or pay for overtime hours, the situation in some of the domestic brands is pathetic.
As the industry grows and experiences the shortage of skilled talent, the companies will evaluate their HR practices and move towards providing a better working environment, they hope.
