Hospitality employee benefits: Perks to attract and retain talent

In this article, our hospitality recruitment specialists outline which benefits resonate the most with hospitality employees and how operators across the sector are delivering them.

We’ll help you to highlight some of the changes you might want to make to your benefits offering to attract new employees and improve staff retention rates in your business.

Why are employee benefits important to the hospitality industry? 

Employee benefits are essential for the hospitality industry because they help to attract and retain top talent in a highly competitive market. In the hospitality industry, turnover rates can be high, and employee benefits play a significant role in reducing staff turnover and increasing employee satisfaction.

The hospitality industry is known for its long working hours, which can cause burnout and high stress levels among employees. By offering benefits such as health insurance, paid time off, and wellness programs, employers can show their staff that they care about their well-being, which can improve employee morale and job satisfaction.

Additionally, employee benefits can also help employers attract top talent. In a highly competitive job market, candidates are looking beyond salary to the overall compensation package offered by employers. A comprehensive benefits package that includes things like retirement plans, tuition reimbursement, and employee discounts can make an employer stand out and increase the likelihood of attracting the best candidates.

Finally, offering employee benefits can be a cost-effective way to retain staff. It can be expensive to continually recruit and train new employees, and turnover can disrupt business operations. By offering benefits, employers can increase employee loyalty and reduce the likelihood of staff leaving for better benefits elsewhere.

Top 6 most important benefits to employees 

What is considered to be a ‘top benefit’ to an employee will vary from company to company, and employee to employee. But there tend to be some common themes. Here we take a look at the top 5 most important employee benefits, according to the UK’s Largest Hospitality Salary Survey.

1. A fair salary

95% considered this to be very or quite important 

Most of us could probably have guessed that this one would take number one spot. Some might not even consider it a benefit, more a requirement. But that doesn’t make it any less important.  

Whilst 95% of employees consider a fair salary to be very or quite important, just 48% feel they are paid appropriately. So, it’s fair to say that there’s some work to be done here. If you’re not sure if you’re currently offering a fair wage, it might be time to take a look at the market, speak to your industry peers, and maybe even survey your employees to make sure you’re offering competitive wages. 

2. Holiday entitlement and paid time off  

92% considered this to be either very or quite important

Ranking second in importance in the Hospitality Salary Survey was ‘holiday entitlement’. Statutory annual leave will vary depending on how many hours an employee works; but more and more hospitality employees are looking for holiday entitlements that go beyond the norm. Typically, hospitality employees work long and unsociable hours, so having time off available for them to spend with their friends and family is even more crucial than it may be in other industries.

Thankfully, employers seem to be recognising this, with the Hospitality Salary Survey identifying it as the employee benefit available to the greatest percentage of employees. But there’s still room for improvement, with 31% of respondents reporting ‘holiday entitlement’ as something not currently available to them.

3. Training and development

88% considered this to be either very or quite important 

All too often, hospitality roles aren’t seen as long-term careers. In fact last year, the Hospitality Salary Survey found that just 1 in 2 say they are likely to still be working in hospitality this time next year. In 2024, this figure has seen some improvement, with 62% now reporting that they think they will be working for the same company next year, indicating that employers are making positive strides in improving employee satisfaction.

A key contributor to increasing employee satisfaction in hospitality is debunking the perception that there aren’t opportunities for progression. With the right training opportunities available to them, and clear development paths in place, this can be changed.

Naturally, training and development opportunities will be easier for larger hospitality businesses to offer than smaller, single-site businesses. Multi-site hospitality operators will generally have more resource available to help upskill employees as well as greater opportunity for internal progression. But that’s not to say we can’t all be offering something. Smaller businesses may want to consider an internal mentoring scheme, whilst larger businesses may want to look into implementing a learning and development solution to help take their employee training to the next level.

4. Flexible hours

83% considered this to be either very or quite important 

Work/life balance has become increasingly important to employees in recent years. And this is reflected in their requirement for flexible working hours. Offering flexibility can be challenging with the current staffing crisis the hospitality industry is facing. But if you can offer it, even to some extent, it’ll aid staff retention and make your business more attractive to potential recruits.

There are a number of ways you can provide your team with the flexibility they are looking for; helping them balance their personal and work life. For example, a workforce management solution can help you automate shift allocation that accounts for employee preferences and give your team the means to arrange shift swaps between themselves, via a mobile app.

5. Mentoring

75% considered this to be either very or quite important 

Rated higher in this year’s Salary Survey, and overtaking bonuses and tips as an important benefit, hospitality employees continue to demonstrate their passion for development opportunities.

With only 25% of companies offering mentoring opportunities as a benefit, employers have an opportunity to stand out from the crowd in terms of the benefits they offer their teams. Mentoring programmes such as those offered by Otolo improve rates of retention of skills in hospitality with a high rate of people being retained in their role. Mentoring can help showcase some of the amazing career opportunities the hospitality industry has to offer and helps your business demonstrate their commitment to hospitality careers.

6. Bonus / tips  

73% considered this to be either very or quite important 

With new legislation coming in imminently, fair tip distribution is a hot topic right now. And it’s important to your employees too. Recognition for the work they have done is key to driving motivation. 

Whilst it can be a tricky one to manage, the fair distribution of tips is something all hospitality businesses are going to have to be doing in the not-so-distant future. So, there’s no better time than now to get started.

There are several approaches you can take to tronc. For example, you could implement a points-based system, distribute tips based on hours worked, or as a fixed rate. What you choose will depend on your business set-up - here’s a little bit more about the approaches you could take. Your business may benefit from implementing a solution to help automate the fair distribution of tips; removing the need for hours of admin and the risk of human error. 

What other benefits can you offer your employees? 

In addition to the top 6 benefits highlighted in the UK’s Largest Hospitality Salary Survey, there are several others you may want to consider offering. Perks that are attractive to potential employees, but easier and/or cheaper to implement. To name a few...

• Staff discounts 
• Reduced gym membership  
• Private health care  
• Wellbeing & mental health support – more on how you can achieve this here 
• Team building events 
• On-site accommodation  
• Autonomy  

There are far more employee benefits than listed in this article, and you’re unlikely to be able, or want to offer them all. If unsure where to start, start with your team. Ask your employees what they want and go from there. What better way to kick off improved employee benefits than with a bit of autonomy. 

Next steps

There are a huge number of benefits to consider offering your team, and as mentioned, some are easier to roll out than others. For the top 5 mentioned in this article, there are numerous solutions available to help you make improvements and tick all the boxes when it comes to providing the employee benefits your team is looking for.

For example, a workforce management solution can help you with tronc calculations, managing shifts to allow for flexible working hours, as well as calculating & managing holiday entitlement. And a learning & development solution can help you ensure your team is always trained correctly and provide opportunities for them to upskill. 

But a good benefits package is just one of the ways to attract and retain staff. Be sure to remember the other things that are attractive to employees. The Hospitality Salary Survey found the thing most likely to keep hospitality employees in their role to be ‘working with great people’. 

For more great insights on what hospitality employees are looking for in a new or existing role, download the UK’s Largest Hospitality Salary Survey here >

Access Hospitality has a number of solutions that can help hospitality businesses effortlessly deliver on the benefits employees are looking for. Ultimately, helping you attract new employees and improve retention rates through engaging training and development specifically for the hospitality industry.