As an integral component of the Young Hoteliers Summit (YHS), the YHS Employer Rankings report seeks to improve opportunities for young talent by putting global hotel companies in the spotlight. The report aggregates the results obtained from the YHS Employer Rankings survey; it puts into perspective the expectations of hospitality students and alumni and offers insights into how employers may attract and retain talent. Completed by over 1,219 participants from more than 285 different hospitality schools across 100 nationalities, the survey investigated factors such as respondents’ future employment preferences and career aspirations. The report outlines four key findings:
Students are the most motivated to work in traditional hospitality upon graduation As in previous years, traditional hospitality is the most popular sector for hospitality students, with 42% of respondents being extremely motivated to work in this sector. However, this trend appears to be declining. There is an overall decrease in motivation across all hospitality sectors, with traditional hospitality experiencing the steepest decline of 4.66%. This seems to suggest that respondents may be less decisive on the sectors in which they would like to work, and perhaps more exciting career prospects may be necessary to attract these young talents.
Career Path and Advancement is the key in retaining talent 5% of hospitality alumni leave their job within a year. In contrast, only 4% of current students expect to leave their first position in the same time frame. With the data unveiling a gap between students’ expectations of their first job and the reality of the alumni turnover, this finding establishes the importance of implementing effective retention practices. Based on the results, the three most critical motivators are Career Path and Advancement, Training and Development, and Empowerment and Responsibility. Therefore, intrinsic motivators are the clear front-runners for keeping young graduates motivated, while extrinsic factors such as salary took only fifth place. Thus, against what some studies may state about the young generation of future employees, or so-called Millennials assumedly considered as "job hoppers", motivators which imply long-term goals have been mentioned first. This result is consistent with student's aspirations about tenure and loyalty in their first job.
Four Seasons takes back first place as the most desired brand in the Luxury & Upper Upscale segment In 2018, Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts lost its position as the most preferred Luxury & Upper Upscale brand to The Ritz-Carlton. However, Four Seasons has taken back the crown this year, with The Ritz Carlton now coming in second, and Marriott Hotels & Resorts in third place. Listed as one of the FORTUNE 100 Best Companies to Work For for the 22nd year in a row, Four Seasons has a long-standing reputation as a company powered by its people.
Multi-brand hotel companies continue to dominate the rankings Across all segments, multi-brand hotel companies such as Marriott International and Hyatt Hotels governed the landscape. This may be explained by a larger brand awareness and perception of better career advancement opportunities with the possibility of moving between different brands and properties within a hotel company. Accor Hotels is also clearly gaining momentum in the Midscale & Economy segment with its three Ibis brands ranking in the top 5 of this segment.
For the full YHS Employer Rankings report or for more information on YHS in general, please visit us at www.yhsglobal.com.
For interest in becoming a partner or speaker of the 11th Edition of YHS, and for all YHS-related matters, please contact us at info@yhsglobal.com.
