What next for hospitality after a brutal January?

Empty tables. Deep discounts. Strained margins. For large-scale hospitality groups managing multi-site operations, these aren’t just seasonal fluctuations—they’re structural challenges demanding urgent solutions. 

The #JanuaryInHospitality trend on TikTok has showcased just how quiet venues have been. But for decision-makers overseeing national and international hospitality brands, the concerns go far beyond low footfall. Wage increases, tax hikes, energy costs, and evolving consumer expectations are forcing industry leaders to rethink how they manage their workforce, control costs, and maintain operational efficiency. 

I shared some thoughts on LinkedIn recently, and the response highlighted that this isn’t just a UK issue. From Colombia to the U.S., leaders are grappling with the same challenges: rising costs, a shrinking labour pool, and the need to balance efficiency with employee engagement. The key question is: how do we get ahead of this? 

Your HR system: A cost or an untapped asset? 

Most enterprise hospitality businesses already have a workforce management or HR system in place, but many aren’t using them to their full potential. In times of crisis, your technology should be a strategic enabler, not just an admin tool. If your HR Technology isn’t helping you proactively manage labour costs, improve scheduling efficiency, or support retention strategies, it’s either not configured properly—or it’s the wrong system altogether. 

Making workforce planning work for you  

• Are your demand forecasting tools delivering real, usable insights? If staffing levels across your locations still rely on last year’s trends rather than real-time performance data, there’s a gap in how your system is being used. .
• Do your managers have the flexibility they need? If automated rota management exists but isn’t aligned with actual footfall patterns, it’s an oversight that could be costing you thousands.
• Are you still dealing with last-minute shift chaos? Your system should enable seamless shift swaps (of suitable employees) and cross-location staffing, ensuring you always have the right number of people at peak hours without paying for unproductive shifts.  

Are you tracking costs or controlling them?    

• You have labour cost reports, but are they pseudo real-time and actionable? If your system tells you what you’re spending but not why or how to fix it, you’re missing an opportunity to optimise payroll spending in real time. . 

• Do you have visibility over wage trends across all locations? If decisions around pay structures, contract types, or overtime policies aren’t data-driven, you’re leaving money on the table.
• Compliance management should be automatic, not reactive. If HR teams are still manually tracking rest breaks, contractual hours, or local labour laws, your system isn’t doing its job properly. 

Retention: your best cost-saving strategy  

• What is your HRIS telling you about turnover risks? If you’re waiting for exit interviews to understand why employees leave, you’re already too late.
• Are engagement insights translating into action? Employee sentiment tracking is only useful if it informs decision-making. If sites with the lowest engagement also have the highest absence rates, what interventions are in place?
• How well is your onboarding process supporting retention? If you’re hiring at volume but not getting employees up to speed quickly and effectively, churn is eating into your margins before staff even reach full productivity. 

Is your data working hard enough?  

• Are you using predictive analytics or just looking at the past? Understanding historical trends is useful, but leading brands are moving beyond that—using AI-driven insights to forecast demand shifts and anticipate scheduling needs before they happen. 

• Can your HR team easily compare location performance? If benchmarking workforce efficiency across sites is time-consuming or inconsistent, your data isn’t being leveraged properly.
• Are you proactively preventing cost overruns? Your HR system should flag wage creep, unnecessary overtime, or underperforming shift patterns before they impact the bottom line.  

The next steps for hospitality leaders 

Hospitality isn’t just dealing with another tough quarter—it’s at a turning point. Those who continue to treat their HR systems as administrative tools will struggle. Those who maximise their systems’ strategic potential will maintain profitability while keeping teams engaged and operations running smoothly. 

If your HR tech isn’t giving you real-time, actionable insights that help you stay ahead of these challenges, it’s time to ask why. Either you need better system utilisation, or you need a system that actually meets the demands of enterprise hospitality.

The conversation on LinkedIn was packed with valuable insights.