Whitbread Reviews

3.1

39% would recommend to a friend

(1,308 total reviews)

Dominic Paul

31% approve of CEO

27% positive business outlook

Whitbread has an employee rating of 3.1 out of 5 stars, based on 1,308 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The Whitbread employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Restaurants and food service industry (3.7 stars).

Reviews by job title

1K reviews
4.0
6 Nov 2025
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

good working environment and benefits

Cons

not the strongest management communication

2.0
27 May 2019
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

• The work-life balance is very good • The people are genuinely very nice. Much nicer than in most FTSE companies, it is a different culture and a positive one • The bonus structure is quite generous although base pay is lagging the industry – the overall comp is probably just about in line

Cons

• While the people are very nice there is, in my opinion, a lack of top talent at the company. There are very few employees from top universities and this is even more true at senior grades and, unfortunately, it shows with the quality of work produced around the business. • There is a very ‘if your face fits’ culture. Some junior employees enjoy promotions they probably don’t deserve while higher quality employees get glossed over. They don’t take the time to explain why a junior employee is promoted so rapidly and there are no performance metric to justify the decision. Unfortunately, from my position, it does often look like more senior men are promoting junior men who remind them of them. Which in turn means glossing over high performing women. • Senior management is woefully poor. I really wanted to write that senior management is outstanding but, unfortunately, I can’t. Alison, the CEO, has a background in finance not hospitality and the lack of experience is apparent. The entire board seem to be out of ideas to the extent that they are looking at innovations of, historically, much poorer competitors to see what changes can be made at Premier Inn. It’s a sorry state of affairs. • Due to the above factors the company has endured a very tough year and this looks set to continue in the medium term. The company feels rudderless in what is a very buoyant market.

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Whitbread Response
6y
Thank you for taking the time to post a review, and giving a thorough review. As a company we are always looking to improve to give our people the best possible experience when growing their career with us. We’ve thrived for 277 years by listening to our people and building the business around them. However, without critical information, we aren't able to offer comment or investigate further. Please email glassdoorreviews@whitbread.com and give us the best opportunity to use your insight to help us understand and implement any required changes to the way we work.
1.0
16 May 2016

Bullying Culture is Rife! avoid at all costs

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

There are some really fantastic people that work for Whitbread I made a few friends for life, the free costa in reception was a bonus

Cons

The Premier Inn head office senior management and management teams promote a culture of bullying and back stabbing. Its a company that allows people of a certain position to attack, humiliate and demotivate their employees. I for one am over the moon to have escaped with my sanity from such a horrible soulless place Do not waste your time or efforts with Whitbread!

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Glassdoor has 1,379 Whitbread reviews submitted anonymously by Whitbread employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if Whitbread is right for you.