COVID-19 Layoffs Hit Hospitality Industry Employees Hardest, According to Gecko Hospitality Industry Salary Survey

By HRTech News Desk On Mar 8, 2021

Unemployment and Business Closed Cited as Primary Reasons

Gecko Hospitality, North America’s premiere recruiting firm that connects top talent and companies within the hospitality and restaurant industries, released its fifth annual Hospitality Management Salary Survey Report for 2019-2020.

“This past year was like no other,” said Robert Krzak, President, Gecko Hospitality. “Both the hospitality and restaurant industries were affected as ‘COVID-19 layoff’ became one of the biggest reasons many qualified candidates were looking to make a change.”

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In 2020, “unemployed” and “business closed/downsized” were the top reasons given by candidates who were looking for new roles, versus “better opportunity” and “improve quality of life” in 2019.

In total, more than 2,500 restaurant and hospitality management professionals — 1,769 men and 822 women — throughout the United States and Canada participated in the survey between January 2019 and December 2020.

Participants span the hospitality segment: quick service (QSR), fast and upscale casual, family and upscale dining, hotels, resorts, and vacation destinations. Participants also came from growing hospitality segments including private clubs, senior living facilities, and casinos.

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Survey results include key industry insights on gender, geographic location, turnover, and salary bonuses and increases.

Key findings include:

Average starting salaries for men in key hospitality positions, including Executive Chef, Executive Housekeeper, Hotel General Manager, Director of Operations, and Director of Finance, are higher than that of women in the same role. Women edged out their male counterparts for average starting salaries in some roles including Director of Food & Beverage, Director of Sales, and District Manager.
When accepting a management position with a new company, twenty-six percent of women received a salary increase compared to twenty-two percent of men.
Of those who received bonuses, men averaged $9,521 (sixteen percent of salary) compared to women, who averaged $6,580 (twelve percent of salary).
Twenty-nine percent of women cited unemployment as the reason for leaving their employer versus only eleven percent of men.
Participants, both women and men, averaged 2.4 jobs in the past 5 years.

“We’re already seeing an uptick in hiring, and we’re optimistic for the year ahead,” said Krzak. “Resume gaps that could cause concern in prior years are commonplace for 2020. Our clients are ready to hire qualified, talented professionals.”

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