A Global evaluation of the drinks hospitality industry

Understanding the strengths and challenges of the hospitality sector to enable employers to bridge the gap to success

August, 2025

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A global evaluation of the drinks hospitality industry, from CGA by NIQ, Celebrate Her, and Allara Global, explores why people enter—and leave—the sector, and the persistent challenges they face across gender, ethnicity, age, and background.

‘A global evaluation of the drinks hospitality industry’ collected responses from 743 hospitality industry employees across 55 different countries between February and April 2025. Employees qualified to participate if they were over 18 years of age and currently work in the hospitality industry or have done so within the past 6 months.

While team members remain deeply passionate about their careers, many feel let down by a lack of investment in their wellbeing, professional development, and safety.

Information taken from NIQ website

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Some key findings from the report

  • Training and development are critical to long-term career satisfaction, particularly for employees in the 4–10 year experience window. This window is a critical period where employees are most likely to consider leaving – many report inadequate support, which undermines confidence, performance, and progression.

    Employees would most like access to leadership and management skills (51%) and career development and personal growth training (45%). When training is too basic or inconsistent, it fuels dissatisfaction and increases the risk of attrition. In fact, 42% of those considering leaving the industry cite inadequate training as a major factor.

  • The report also highlights significant concerns around mental health. While 85% of respondents say mental health support is important, only 40% feel they receive enough from their employers. Nearly half of those experiencing mental health challenges feel unsupported at work, and many are reluctant to speak up—fearing they won’t be taken seriously.

    Top drivers of poor mental health in the sector include:

    • Stress and burnout (62%)

    • Poor work-life balance (41%)

    • Ineffective leadership (32%)

    • Lack of recognition (30%) and high workloads (29%)

    The most passionate of hospitality workers are at risk of burning out without meaningful wellbeing infrastructure.

  • Workplace safety and equity also emerged as key concerns:

    • 30% of respondents have felt unsafe at work due to harassment or similar issues.

    • Of those who reported incidents, 73% said the matter was never resolved.

    • Only 40% of workplaces consistently follow correct emergency reporting procedures.

    • 1 in 3 women feel they’ve faced career limitations due to workplace discrimination.

    Addressing gaps in safety and fairness will help hospitality to retain its workforce and foster a truly inclusive environment.

Information taken from NIQ website

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  • Lou Finn, CGA by NIQ’s Senior Consumer Research Executive

    “We’re passionate about providing insights to drive positive change. And the results of our study show that there is a real opportunity and need to do so. The study demonstrates massive potential for hospitality to be an industry where people are enriched but we will continue to lose talented people who want to stay if we don’t address workforce barriers. Operators who lean into these findings, understand the issues, and act on them will be best placed to lead the industry forward and build businesses where energy, loyalty, and success can truly flourish.”

  • Anna Sebastian, founder of Celebrate Her and Anna Sebastian Hospitality.

    Celebrate Her is calling on suppliers, operators, and industry leaders to treat the report as a roadmap for improvement. “While Celebrate Her is about supporting women, this survey allows us to gain invaluable insights into the wider workforce – data we can now use to influence better policies, working practices, and attitudes across the board.”

  • Andrew Lewis, Chief Executive Officer Allara Global

    “This report makes it clear: the hospitality industry has a choice. We can either lose our most passionate people, or we can listen and act. We believe education is the foundation for that action. It’s how we bridge the gap between passion and progression, creating the supportive leaders, inclusive cultures and safe workplaces that are essential for a thriving industry.”

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