PKF hospitality group: „Salary Compass“ for the Viennese hotel market shows consistency and stability in a post-Pandemic operating environment
21 February 2024
The PKF hospitality group has now published the „Salary Compass“* for the Viennese hotel market. The survey is once again instrumental in providing benchmarks for salary ranges within the upscale and luxury segments of Vienna’s hotel sector.
Akshara Walia, Director of Research at PKF hospitality: „The objective is to gather up-to-date market information for operators, owners and stakeholders to benchmark salary levels and headcounts (FTEs) per department against the average of local competitors.“
Excerpts of survey findings: All departments (select positions)
Over 200 positions were analysed across seven departments in order to ascertain minimum and maximum salary thresholds, bonus and overhours inclusion and possibilities for outsourcing. In addition, a variance table was also included to examine year-on-year fluctuations in mean salary levels.
Excerpts of survey findings: Year-on-year growth, 2022-2023 (select positions)
Rising tourist arrivals continue to close the gap between current and pre-pandemic levels for the Viennese hotel sector, reflecting a robust and stable operating environment for upscale and luxury products. The 2023 Salary Compass results indicate trends of recovery and stabilisation across the surveyed departments, with year-on-year growth (approx. 10 %) witnessed for the vast majority of strategic and operational positions and in keeping with current inflation levels.
The top five management/executive roles by salary range are as follows:
- Director of Finance (Administration and General)
- Director of Sales and Marketing (Sales and Marketing)
- Director of Operations (Administration and General)
- Executive Chef (Food and Beverage)
- Director of Human Resources (Administration and General)
In general, year-on-year growth is witnessed across strategic and operational positions in almost all departments. Highest growth ranges were observed for the following positions:
- Systems Manager (Information and Telecommunication Systems – Management; min. 25% and max. 25%)
- Director of Revenue (Sales and Marketing – Management; min. 23% and max. 16%)
- Uniform Room Attendant (Rooms – Housekeeping; min. 19% and max. 23%)
- Night Desk Clerk (Rooms – Front Office; min. 14% and max. 17%)
- Accounting Clerk (Administration and General – Accounting; min. 16% and max. 16%)
On the other hand, some positions witnessed a relatively steep decline from 2022 figures:
- Human Resource Manager (Administration and General – Management; min. -23% and max. -21%)
- Sales Manager (Health Club and Spa – Management; min. -20% and max. -17%)
- Director of Information Systems (Information and Telecommunication Systems – Management; min. -14% and max. -14%)
- Rooms Director (Rooms – Management; min. -14% and max. -5%)
Payroll as a share of revenue ranged from around 37 % to 49 % (with an average around 42 %) for hotels in the sample.
Note: For full results and pricing, contact the PKF hospitality team at vienna@pkfhospitality.com
