Menu

Nearly 2-in-5 Hospitality Workers Considering or Have Plans to Leave Their Job in the Next Two Months

Medallia Zingle report finds a quarter of global hospitality employees say their employee experience has suffered since the return to travel.

SAN FRANCISCO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–New research released today by Medallia, Inc., the global leader in customer and employee experience, reveals that 38% of hospitality workers say they’re considering or already have plans to leave their jobs in the next two months. This and other insights are available in the full report, Global Staffing Report: Employee Experience Impacts Hospitality, released today by Medallia Zingle, the leading intelligent messaging provider used by some of the world’s biggest hospitality brands.

For the report, Medallia surveyed more than 1,250 travel and hospitality workers from the United States, United Kingdom, France, Spain & Germany. Findings reveal major challenges affecting the hospitality industry today, including how the return to travel is impacting workers’ job satisfaction, their employee experience, and their relationships with guests.

With hospitality’s historic staffing shortage well-reported, the report’s uncovering that nearly two-fifths of global hospitality workers plan to leave their jobs by the end of the year — and that 59% of organizations are working with less staff now than they did prior to the pandemic — hints at a challenging holiday season ahead for brands across the world. In fact, the study found that while 67% of workers report that their organization is experiencing increased guest activity since the return to travel, nearly half (48%) say their employers’ handling of it has been “Just OK.”

This is worrying news at a crucial juncture in the industry’s reopening, but illustrates the opportunity that exists for brands to better equip their teams to handle the upcoming travel surge, and address the industry’s staffing crisis.

“All industries have been affected by the COVID-19 crisis, but the travel and hospitality sector has experienced a particularly significant impact on its operations,” said Ford Blakely, founder, senior vice president and general manager of Medallia Zingle. “And while it’s concerning that a significant amount of workers are considering or already have plans to leave their jobs before the end of the year, brands have a massive opportunity to adopt technology and communication strategies that allow their employees to do more with less and create a more empowered and engaged workforce that’s enthusiastic about providing their guests with a best-in-class experience.”

Additional highlights from the report include:

  • US’ Struggles Higher Than Global Average: 68% of U.S. hospitality workers say their organization is working with less staff now than they did prior to the pandemic.
    • Top 3 reasons globally: “health and safety concerns,” “lack of job security,” and because “workers obtained new jobs during the shutdown.”
  • Little Payoff for Employees: 61% of hospitality workers across the globe say their roles are harder and less rewarding since the onset of the pandemic.
  • Employee Experience Takes a Hit: A quarter (24%) of employees say that their employee experience has gotten worse and that they feel less engaged.
    • Additionally, 27% say that the customer experience they are providing has also gotten worse since the onset of the pandemic.
  • Hiring Woes Persist: More than half (52%) of hospitality employees across the globe say that hiring talent has been an issue for their organization.
    • Top 3 reasons: “not enough qualified applicants,” “lack of resources to offer competitive pay or benefits,” and “lack of flexibility/remote options.”

Medallia Zingle’s full “Global Staffing Report: Employee Experience Impacts Hospitality” report can be downloaded here.

About Medallia

Medallia is the pioneer and market leader in customer, employee, citizen and patient experience. The company’s award-winning SaaS platform, Medallia Experience Cloud, is becoming the experience system of record that makes all other applications customer and employee aware. The platform captures billions of experience signals across interactions including all voice, video, digital, IoT, social media and corporate messaging tools. Medallia uses proprietary artificial intelligence and machine learning technology to automatically reveal predictive insights that drive powerful business actions and outcomes. Medallia customers reduce churn, turn detractors into promoters and buyers, create in-the-moment cross-sell and up-sell opportunities and drive revenue-impacting business decisions, providing clear and potent returns on investment. For more information visit www.medallia.com.

© 2021 Medallia, Inc. All rights reserved. Medallia®, the Medallia logo, and the names and marks associated with Medallia’s products are trademarks of Medallia. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Contacts

PR Contact:
Eric Stoessel
[email protected]

IR Contact:
Carolyn Bass
[email protected]

Author Information

As a detail-oriented researcher, Sherril is expert at discovering, gathering and compiling industry and market data to create clear, actionable market and competitive intelligence. With deep experience in market analysis and segmentation she is a consummate collaborator with strong communication skills adept at supporting and forming relationships with cross-functional teams in all levels of organizations.

Sherril holds a Master of Business Administration in Marketing from University of Colorado, Boulder and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Rutgers University.

Latest Insights:
Did GitHub Agent HQ Quietly Show Up in Microsoft VS Code 1.110
March 10, 2026
Article
Article

Did GitHub Agent HQ Quietly Show Up in Microsoft VS Code 1.110?

Mitch Ashley, VP Practice Lead at Futurum, shares his insights on how VS Code 1.110’s agent plugins, hooks, and Git-based distribution embed agent development control surface capabilities directly into the development environment,...
Can Microsoft's Frontier Suite Deliver AI Excellence at Scale
March 10, 2026
Article
Article

Can Microsoft’s Frontier Suite Deliver AI Excellence at Scale?

Futurum analysts Keith Kirkpatrick and Fernando Montenegro share their insights on Microsoft’s Frontier Suite, and discuss the implications for both enterprise buyers and the company’s competitors....
Marvell Technology Q4 FY 2026 Earnings Raise Data Center Growth Outlook
March 9, 2026
Article
Article

Marvell Technology Q4 FY 2026 Earnings Raise Data Center Growth Outlook

Futurum Research analyzes Marvell’s Q4 FY 2026 earnings, focusing on raised data center outlook, scale-up networking expansion, and connectivity roadmap transitions....
Okta Q4 FY 2026 Earnings Highlight Agentic Identity Positioning
March 6, 2026
Article
Article

Okta Q4 FY 2026 Earnings Highlight Agentic Identity Positioning

Dion Hinchcliffe is Vice President & Practice Lead, CIO & Technology Buyers reviews Okta’s Q4 FY 2026 earnings, focusing on agentic identity positioning, evolving pricing models, and how large-customer platform expansion may...
Latest Research:
SiTime's Titan Platform and the Importance of MEMS Resonators
March 4, 2026
Research
Research

SiTime’s Titan Platform and the Importance of MEMS Resonators

In our latest market report, SiTime’s Titan Platform and the Importance of MEMS Resonators, completed in partnership with SiTime, Futurum Research examines how Titan’s miniaturization, integration, and resilience advantages could...
Nokia’s Global Data Center Network Migration: From Legacy Complexity to Automated, Reliable Operations
March 3, 2026
Research
Research

Nokia’s Global Data Center Network Migration: From Legacy Complexity to Automated, Reliable Operations

In our latest report, Nokia’s Global Data Center Network Migration: From Legacy Complexity to Automated, Reliable Operations, completed in partnership with Nokia, Futurum Research details Nokia IT’s automation-first data center...
Cybersecurity in the Age of AI: Moving from Fragile to Resilient
February 27, 2026
Research
Research

Cybersecurity in the Age of AI: Moving from Fragile to Resilient

In this Futurum Research report, Cybersecurity in the Age of AI: Moving from Fragile to Resilient, created in collaboration with N-able, we outline a modern framework for business resilience built...

Book a Demo

Newsletter Sign-up Form

Get important insights straight to your inbox, receive first looks at eBooks, exclusive event invitations, custom content, and more. We promise not to spam you or sell your name to anyone. You can always unsubscribe at any time.

All fields are required






Thank you, we received your request, a member of our team will be in contact with you.