The UK Hospitality Recruitment Market (2024–2025):

FOH, Revenue & Operations Director

“UK Hospitality Recruitment Market (2024–2025)”, “Vacancy trends”, “Role-by-role insights”

Hiring in UK hospitality across 2024–2025 has been shaped by two forces: vacancy rates are easing from their post-pandemic highs, while employer cost pressures (wage uplifts, NICs, and tighter budgets) are pushing businesses to hire more selectively. Here’s what’s changed for Front-of-House (FOH), Revenue Directors, and Operations Directors—and how to adapt your recruitment strategy.

Market context & vacancy trends

  • Vacancy levels have been trending down since late 2024 but remain slightly above 2019.

  • Illustrative ONS-based levels: Q4 2024 ≈ 98,000 vacancies, Q1 2025 ≈ 82,000, Q2 2025 ≈ 79,000 (Accommodation & Food Services).

  • Seasonal postings fell sharply year on year into summer 2025, reflecting cost control across the sector.

  • A growing share of over-50s in hospitality has helped stabilise service teams and retention.

  • Ongoing site closures among smaller operators are trimming the number of available roles outside major urban centres

“Infographic showing UK hospitality job vacancy trends from Q4 2024 to Q2 2025, with bullet points on seasonal hiring decline, older workforce growth, site closures, and market resilience for FOH, Revenue Directors, and Operations Directors.”

Role-by-role insights

Front-of-House (FOH)

What’s positive

  • More experienced talent entering or returning to FOH, including older workers who lift service quality, reliability, and team mentoring.

  • With vacancy pressure easing, acceptance rates improve when packages and progression are clear.

What’s challenging

  • Fewer seasonal/entry-level roles are being posted, shrinking the pipeline of future supervisors and managers.

  • Wage and scheduling expectations are higher; candidates favour employers with predictable shifts and transparent pay bands.

Hiring tips

  • Lead with flexibility (stable patterns, optional extra hours), training (coffee, wine, service craft), and clear progression ladders (Team Member → Supervisor → Assistant Manager).

  • Consider multi-site or event-support contracts to increase weekly hours and earnings.

“Front-of-House hospitality team greeting guests in a hotel lobby, representing UK hospitality recruitment trends in 2024–2025.”
Operations Director overseeing hotel staff and facilities, highlighting leadership roles in the UK hospitality industry.

Operations Directors

What’s positive

  • Ops leadership is critical to productivity, standards, and multi-site consistency; boards still prioritise the role.

  • Consolidation creates opportunities to professionalise processes and unlock scale benefits.

What’s challenging

  • Site closures and cautious expansion temper demand outside big cities.

  • Mandates are broader—cost, people, compliance, and CX—so candidates need wider spans of control and data confidence.

Hiring tips

  • Pitch the transformation story (playbooks, labour modelling, procurement discipline, guest-journey improvements).

  • Offer clear autonomy, budget authority, and a 12-month roadmap with measurable wins.

Revenue Director analysing performance reports in a hotel office, reflecting strategic commercial roles in UK hospitality recruitment

Revenue Directors

What’s positive

  • Commercial leadership remains essential in resilient markets (e.g., London, event-led cities).

  • Strong ADR/RevPAR in core locations supports investment in pricing, mix management, and channel strategy.

What’s challenging

  • Budget caution means more replacement hires than net-new headcount.

  • Candidate expectations include hybrid working and defined transformation agendas (tech stack, BI tooling, forecast accuracy targets).

Hiring tips

  • Advertise the mandate (e.g., “+2–3 pp margin via mix and distribution”), the tooling (PMS/RMS/BI), and reporting lines.

  • Be explicit on scope (cluster vs. single asset), team size, and KPIs (RevPAR index, GOPPAR lift, conversion).

Positives vs negatives: quick snapshot

Positives

  • Demand is steady in core markets; senior commercial and ops roles remain mission-critical.

  • Vacancy pressure has eased, improving time-to-hire and acceptance rates.

  • Experienced talent pool (including over-50s) strengthens FOH stability and service.

Negatives

  • Higher labour costs and NICs keep teams lean; many requisitions face tighter approval.

  • Seasonal/entry-level cuts reduce FOH pipelines.

  • Closures and uneven regional demand limit opportunities outside hubs.

What to do now (practical moves)

  1. Hire for range, not just role
    Prioritise multi-skilled FOH and leaders who can flex across service, events, and training.

  2. Publish pay bands and progression
    Transparent steps tied to skills shorten time-to-accept and reduce churn.

  3. Rebuild the pipeline
    Launch apprenticeships/term-time contracts now so they convert before Q4 peak.

  4. Target resilient markets first
    Focus senior searches where ADR/RevPAR is strongest; consider interim/fractional leadership for transformation projects.

  5. Make the business case
    For Revenue/Ops Directors, quantify the mandate (e.g., +2–3 pp margin, –5% labour variance) and the tools and autonomy to deliver.

Need support finding the right people? Our specialist UK hospitality recruitment services for employers connect you with top FOH, Revenue, and Operations talent — see how we can help.

Final word

The UK hospitality market in 2024–2025 is balancing steady demand with tighter cost control. Senior hires in revenue and operations remain vital to performance, while FOH success hinges on experienced, multi-skilled teams and clear progression. Focus your energy on resilient markets, rebuild your early-career pipelines, and make every leadership hire count.

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