The annual survey of hospitality employee engagement, presented by Korero and The Caterer, supported by Umbrella Training.
Best Places to Work in Hospitality recognises employers and workplaces that lead the way in culture and engagement. Korero and The Caterer have partnered to deliver Best Places to Work in Hospitality since 2014.
These unique awards are defined by employee opinion, the criteria they look for in a great place to work and how they rate their employer against them. In return, employers who enter gain valuable data, insight, and benchmarking to inform their people strategy and support business success.
Many of the winners share the secrets behind their success at The Caterer People Summit, and the top two from each category can enter the prestigious Best Employer Catey Award.
This is a strong achievement for hospitality employers, reflective of the hard work they have put in to create engaged teams.
Employee advocacy is crucial for brand strength and talent attraction, and is often reflected in eNPS scores. A good indicator of the ‘people health’ of a business, the eNPS reflects employee satisfaction, loyalty and engagement. Respondents are asked whether they would recommend their employer, and detractors are then deducted from promoters.
This year the 2025 BPTWIH eNPS was an impressive +66. To give you context, in general, +30 is considered good and +50 excellent.
We recommend that eNPS is monitored on an ongoing basis to identify and respond to sentiment changes in good time.
Through the survey, employees prioritise the criteria they value most at work and rank their employers against them.
The results show that employees continue to highly value a positive culture that actively supports and engages its people. The top four most important factors for employees have remained a priority year on year.
Numbers in (brackets) are 2025 ranks.
Team achievement is now the top priority for employees, along with company reputation and fairness in pay. Interestingly, ‘company values’ dropped to 8th place, previously having been ranked in the top 3, whilst ‘company purpose’ rose year on year from 8th place to 6th — perhaps highlighting an interest in genuine reasons for being against corporate company values.
Fair pay remains the top area for improvement for employees. Whilst there have been significant rises in pay for entry-level roles, it’s possible that salaries for more experienced or management roles have yet to catch up.
Beyond pay, there are increased concerns around factors such as decision making/autonomy, measuring performance, sharing information and managing change. This might suggest that employees feel under-supported and seek to influence their workplace experience, in what continues to be a challenging time for the industry.
Alongside the ranked criteria, every BPTWIH respondent answers six ‘headline’ questions. These are the cultural pulse of the sector — together they drive our engagement and eNPS numbers, and individually they show where great workplaces put their energy.
Highest-scoring question every year since 2022.
Has climbed every year since 2022.
Third-highest score, two years running.
Biggest year-on-year jump of the six.
The highest score on this question in five years.
Lowest of the six. Climbing fast.
Just 4% of the people who responded to the BPTWIH survey are ready to leave their employer now (down from 4.5% in 2025). The majority of those looking to leave now have been employed between two and five years, showing the importance of stronger mid-career engagement and progression.
Consistent with the last two years, those who have been with their employer the longest remain the most loyal, with those who have been employed for over five years with their employer stating they are ready to stay for another five years.
The 2026 Best Places to Work in Hospitality survey findings continue to show strong engagement and advocacy across the sector, with employees proud to recommend their workplace. Teamwork, reputation and purpose remain clear strengths.
But there are clear new areas for improvement. Fair pay remains the leading concern, while employee voice and how change is managed have become more prominent improvement priorities.
Retention risk is now more evident among employees in years two to five, highlighting the need for sustained engagement, fair reward and clear progression beyond the early stages of employment.
Providing spaces for meaningful dialogue with your employees and regularly gathering insight on their priorities and satisfaction levels will help you put your effort where it will have impact and create a workplace people want to be part of.
Korero helps employers strengthen culture, improve engagement, and make informed people decisions by bringing consistency, compliance, and meaningful insight to every career conversation.
Korero is an intuitive, agile platform designed for real conversations; not rigid review cycles or form-filling. It brings quick feedback, structured check-ins and deeper development discussions into one place, helping teams stay connected and moving forward.
Korero is informed by deep expertise in workplace culture and integrates smoothly with your existing systems. Built-in analytics give managers and leaders the insight they need to make better decisions, while tools help ensure conversations are documented, consistent and compliant.
Whether you’re introducing documented, compliant conversations, replacing an outdated appraisal system, building more consistent people practices or shifting towards a genuinely people-centred culture, Korero gives you the tools, insight and expertise to make it happen.
"For a workplace culture that's as individual as you are, say hello to Korero."
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