Summary: The annual employee turnover rate in the U.S. hospitality industry is 70 percent.<br> When compared with 10 to 25 percent at other industries, the rate at which people leave hospitality jobs is at a “disastrous level,” said one of the experts we interviewed about recruiting and retaining employees.<br> In this episode of Lodging Leaders, we report exclusive data on retention and turnover rates.<br> Guests also offer practical solutions to the problem, including better managing labor costs to be able to give employees a pay raise.<br> Overall, the experts agree that creating awareness about the opportunities to build a meaningful career should be the central strategy to recruiting and retaining employees.<br> We feature Ron Mitchell CEO of Virgil Holdings, which owns Hcareers, a recruitment website; Del Ross, chief revenue officer at Hotel Effectiveness, which helps hotels manage labor costs; Davonne Reaves, CEO of The Vonne Group, a hospitality consulting firm; and Sarah Smart, vice president of global recruitment at Hilton Worldwide.<br> Resources and Links<br> <br> * <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/delross/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Del Ross</a> at <a href="https://www.hoteleffectiveness.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Hotel Effectiveness</a><br> * <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahsmart/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Sarah Smart</a> at <a href="https://www.hilton.com/en/corporate/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Hilton Worldwide</a><br> * <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/davonnereaves/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Davonne Reaves</a> at <a href="https://www.thevonnegroup.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Vonne Group</a><br> * <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/ronaldmitchell24/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Ron Mitchell</a> at <a href="https://www.hcareers.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Hcareers</a><br> <br>
