3 Behavioral Interview Mistakes Hospitality Leaders Make — and How to Fix Them

When it comes to hiring top talent in hospitality, it’s not just what you ask — it’s how you ask. Even when brands adopt behavioral interviewing, many slip on the execution. At BTGHR, we’ve identified three common mistakes hospitality leaders make — and how you can correct them.

Mistake #1: Asking behavioral questions without follow-up

It’s one thing to ask “Tell me about a time you handled a difficult guest.” But without a follow-up, you miss the depth. Too many interviews stop at “What happened?” and don’t go further:

• What did you do exactly?

• What was the result?

• What learning came from it?

• Without that, you get storytelling, not real insight.

• Fix: Prepare follow-ups in advance. For every core question, have “What was the outcome?”, “What would you do differently?” ready. Encourage interviewers to push until the candidate gives specific actions and reflections.

  
  

Mistake #2: Using generic scenarios not aligned to your brand or operations

Asking “Tell me about a time you worked as part of a team” is too broad. Hospitality operations have very specific stress-points: last-minute banquets, guest complaints, high turnover shifts, multi-location coordination. If your question doesn’t reflect your challenges, you’ll get surface answers.

Fix: Map out 3-5 scenario types unique to your brand and operations. Tailor your question bank accordingly. For example: “Describe a time when your shift went over 200% occupancy and a major system failure happened. How did you respond?” That level of specificity forces richer answer, revealing real capability.

Mistake #3: Relying solely on gut feeling over structured evaluation

Many hospitality teams pride themselves on “feel” or “vibe” in an interview — which has value, but bias creeps in easily (similar looks, shared hobbies, same hometown). Without structure you risk inconsistency and bad hires.

Fix: Develop a simple scoring rubric:

• Problem-solving (1-5)

• Initiative/ownership (1-5)

• Learning/reflection (1-5)

• Brand fit (1-5)Then, after each interview, score independently and compare.

• Use this alongside notes about cultural fit to make consistent, transparent decisions.

Putting it all together

Start your next hiring cycle by revisiting your interview process:

• Review your current behavioral questions: Are there follow-ups built in?

• List your common operational challenges and build scenario-based questions.

• Build or update your rubric, and train your interviewers on it.

• After each hire, revisit one key behavioral question: “Did their actual performance reflect the story they told during the interview?” Use that reflection to refine your process further.

  
  

Why the payoff is worth it

Fixing these mistakes pays big dividends: reduced bad hires (which cost up to 150% of first-year salary), stronger team culture, better guest satisfaction, and lower turnover. In hospitality, where service is your brand, getting the right people in the right seats matters more than ever.

Behavioral interviewing done well is your competitive advantage in hospitality hiring. Avoid the common traps: no follow-up, mis-aligned questions, and unstructured decisions. At BTGHR we’ve seen brands transform their teams and performance by simply recalibrating the interview process. If you’re ready to hire smarter, we’d love to support.