PurposeGiven the intense competition in the hotel industry, this study investigates the effect of overwork (OW) and overtime (OT) on turnover intention (TI) as well as the moderating effect of incentives in the context of non-luxury hotels in an emerging market.Design/methodology/approachUsing a purposive sampling technique, a total of 271 front-line employees who are currently working in non-luxury hotels in Sarawak responded to the study. Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was used to perform latent variable and moderation analyses.FindingsThe findings show that both OW and OT have a direct impact on TI. Contrary to the past studies, incentives do not exert any moderating effect on the relationship between OW, OT and TI among the employees working at non-luxury hotels.Originality/valueThis is one of the first studies to explore the effect of incentives between OW and working OT on TI in the context of the non-luxury hotels in an emerging market and show why incentives might not work. It further advances the understanding of the JD-R theory, demonstrating the necessity for organizations to provide matching resources to address job strains.