Hospitality Jobs Research Articles

Estimating Nantucket\u2019s Effective Population

This paper extends demographers’ traditional approaches to estimating local populations using symptomatic data. We augmented those approaches in order to track one community’s de facto population—both its permanent residents (“Census population”) and other sojourners—and assorted others in residence for shorter spells of time (“impermanent residents”). We illustrate how a new type of mobility data—the anonymous “pings” emitted by people’s personal mobile devices—can unveil the presence and mobility patterns of de facto populations within a community by month, week, and day. We use these data to gauge the seasonal ebb and flow of population on Nantucket Island, MA, a seasonal resort community whose effective population far outnumbers its “Census population.” We distinguish the following factors: (1) Permanent Residents, for whom Nantucket is their “usual place of residence” and where one votes and files one’s tax return; (2) Commuting Workers, who reside off-island and regularly commute to jobs on-island via high-speed ferry or air taxi; and (3) Sojourners of three types: (a) Seasonal residents, most occupying a second home they either own or rent; (b) Seasonal workers, present for several months to fill many hospitality, landscaping, and other temporary jobs from April through September; and (c) Visitors, present for shorter stays, as vacationers or on business. For each segment, we highlight the estimation methodologies we devised and evaluate their strengths and limitations. Our research exemplifies the evolution of traditional demographic methodologies to address practical concerns at local community scales using “Big Data.” Resort communities and winter “snowbird” destinations in Sunbelt locales experience regular annual influxes of visitors and/or seasonal residents in particular months. Just as daytime urban populations strain downtown infrastructure and transportation, such impermanent residents—however, brief or lengthy their stay—impose seasonal strains on local infrastructure and public services.

Do Women Make Better in Tourism and Hospitality? A Conceptual Review from A Customer Satisfaction and Service Quality Perspective

ABSTRACT Women are disadvantaged at work in a wide variety of industries, including tourism and hospitality. This review paper aims to explore and discuss the role of gender from the perspective of women’s suitability for tourism and hospitality jobs. The study adopts a customer satisfaction and SERVQUAL perspective, and it analyzes research findings from various disciplines, including anthropology, biology, psychology, sociology, services marketing and management, and tourism and hospitality marketing and management. The analysis of multidisciplinary research findings shows that, in general terms, women may be better equipped than men in performing and overseeing a wide variety of tourism and hospitality jobs. The study has implications for women employment and entrepreneurship in tourism and hospitality.

What factors influence Generation Y’s employee retention in the hospitality industry?: An internal marketing approach

Individuals from Generation Y are entering into the hospitality job market, but little is known about their intention to remain in the hospitality business. The purpose of this study was to examine what factors affect a Generation Y employee’s intention to remain with a hospitality company with respect to internal marketing tactics. Qualtrics, an online survey service company, was used to distribute and collect a self-administered questionnaire survey. A theoretically proposed model was tested using structural equation modeling. The results of this study indicated that “work environment” significantly influence Generation Y employees’ job satisfaction, followed by “empowerment,” “pay,” and “relationships with managers,” which in turn, influences “employee commitment” and “intention to remain in hospitality business.” The implications of the study are discussed.

Employees’ evaluative repertoires of tourism and hospitality jobs

Purpose This paper aims to examine employees’ evaluative repertoires of tourism and hospitality jobs and segments them based on a set of job attribute preferences. Understanding the social–cultural underpinnings of employees’ job preferences is vital if employers are to overcome the challenging task of finding and retaining talented employees in the tourism and hospitality industry. Design/methodology/approach A discrete-choice experiment with waiters, barkeepers, cooks and front-desk employees working in the Tyrolean tourism industry was conducted. Employees were categorized into distinct segments using a hierarchical Bayesian analysis and a cluster analysis. Findings Results show that flexible working hours and the ability to balance professional and private aspirations are the most important job attributes for employees. Overall, the evaluative repertoires of the “green” and “domestic (family)” conventions are most prevalent. Research limitations/implications This study contributes to literature on talent management by providing insights into employees’ evaluations of jobs and their evaluative repertoires embedded in the broader social–cultural context. Practical implications Industry representatives and employers can adapt their recruiting and retention strategies based on employees’ job preferences. Social implications Adapting job attributes according to employees’ evaluative repertoires helps to ensure the long-term sustainability of the industry workforce. Originality/value Applying the Economics of Convention (EC) perspective, combining organizational job attributes and socially embedded evaluative repertoires provides a new approach to analysing and understanding employees’ job preferences.

Recalibrating talent management for hospitality: a youth development perspective

PurposeThis paper aims to challenge existing assumptions in talent management (TM) research, showcasing a misalignment between commonly held assumptions and the characteristics of the youth-intensive hospitality sector workforce.Design/methodology/approachFollowing a review of the TM literature, Piirto’s educational talent pyramid is adopted to conceptualize a recalibration. Drawing on multidisciplinary literatures (i.e. adolescent development, youth employment, positive psychology), and adopting a (talent) developmental approach, a reframing of prevalent TM discourses is enunciated based on the logic that the hospitality workforce is predominantly in a developmental state.FindingsTM discourses are misaligned with the workforce composition of the hospitality industry, which is dominated by young, often unexperienced, workers. The need for dramatically recalibrated TM structures and underlying assumptions, centred around a greater attention to the “development” of talent and a more employee-focused and inclusive approach, can facilitate greater alignment between TM and hospitality.Research limitations/implicationsThis paper extends a body of work advocating for more inclusive TM and developmental postures. The contribution, via a hospitality industry context, has been to create linkages between talent- and youth-development discourses.Practical implicationsThis paper outlines a number of implications, among which are a pathway forward for hospitality industry to rebuild its poor HRM image and conversion of “transient” hospitality jobs to career jobs (for youth).Originality/valueThis paper identifies youth as a distinct workforce entity and suggests that hospitality jobs represent a critical developmental context for young people, resulting in a series of critical implications for TM practice and theorizing.

Global business shunning hospitality jobs: a disguised power struggle

The hospitality industry has been portrayed as producing precarious workers by recruiting foreigners who are willing to work for lower salaries, under unregulated working conditions, and with limited opportunities for development and career progression. This situation has earned the industry a negative image among the host population, triggered by the belief that hospitality jobs are low-status and should be avoided. This study explored the mechanisms of this phenomenon in order to provide a more in-depth understanding of its emergence. Informed by intergroup conflict theory and in-depth interviews, this study shows that perceived threat lies at the heart of prejudice formation, which is the host population's mechanism to remove competition. Adding to this, the findings also show that long-term challenges entailed in hospitality employment cannot be understood unless structural issues are taken into account. The managerial and policy implications of these results are discussed.

Workforce Diversity-Challenges in Inclusion of People with Disabilities in the Hospitality Industry

The existing literature on diversity, disability and employability points out towards social inequality and highlight the gaps that exist in the hospitality job market for people with disabilities. The nature of tasks and job roles in the hospitality sector has created unrealistic and problematic expectations for people with disabilities. The purpose of this paper is to identify the challenges faced by people with disabilities as far as employment in the Indian hospitality sector is concerned. In-depth interviews with ten managers belonging to ten different five-star hotels were conducted with the help of a semi-structured questionnaire. The responses were analyzed, transcribed, and common themes were identified. One of the significant findings of the study is that most of the hotels consider employing people with disabilities as a corporate social responsibility. Professional and social factors emerged as important challenges in the inclusion of people with disabilities (PWDs) in the Indian hospitality industry.

Contested ‘respectability’: gender and labour in the life stories of Tanzanian women and men in the hospitality industry

ABSTRACTAlthough ‘disrespectability’ has been discerned as an important discourse that accompanies Tanzanian women’s engagement in hospitality jobs, it remains unclear how they counter this devaluation and whether their male co-workers are affected as well. Using a life-story methodology with a sample of 20 male and female employees, this study shows how men and women are unevenly hit by the assignment of ‘shame’ and how they resist. Better pay and more professional training could improve workers’ standing, but might also trigger new processes of closure detrimental to gender equity.

The Prestige of Hospitality Occupations

To date, little research has been conducted on the occupational prestige of hospitality occupations. To fill that gap, this study attempted to assess the perceived prestige of a select group of hospitality occupations among the general population in the US. Using social identity theory, several aspects of occupational prestige were compared between a select group of hospitality occupations and similar professions in other industries. For this purpose, a representative sample reflecting the US population was surveyed online. Analysis of variance (ANOVA), logistic regressions, and t tests were conducted to compare different aspects of occupational prestige. The results demonstrate that contrary to common beliefs, many hospitality jobs are not perceived to be lower in prestige than similar jobs in other industries. Furthermore, the respondents' demographic characteristics, such as employment status, income, race, age, and gender did not affect the difference in the perception of prestige between hospitality occupations and similar professions in other industries.

Omani tourism and hospitality students’ employment intentions and job preferences

PurposeThis paper aims to assess receptiveness for Tourism and Hospitality as a career path among students in the Tourism Department of Sultan Qaboos University (College of Arts and Social Sciences), located in the Sultanate of Oman. The following objectives were identified to achieve this aim: assess respondents’ perceptions of tourism and hospitality employment; respondents’ tourism and hospitality employment commitment factors; and respondents’ perceptions of tourism and hospitality jobs.Design/methodology/approachA self-administered questionnaire was used to gather data and measure respondents’ perceptions of the subject under investigation. Survey questions were developed from the literature reviewed which provided the framework for the questionnaire. The questionnaire comprises four different question categories: general information; students’ general perception of tourism and hospitality employment; and tourism and hospitality employment commitment factors; students’ perceptions of tourism and hospitality jobs. Data were tested for normality of distribution; then, means were used for data description and ranking; thereafter, the independent-samples t-test and analysis of variance were conducted to test for significance between groups of respondents; the level of significance used was p ≤ 0.05.FindingsThe paper revealed that nearly 41 per cent of the students will continue working in tourism and hospitality for some time. For them, working in the industry is a step on the way, but is not a career path. Only 21.6 per cent are willing to consider tourism and hospitality as their long-term chosen career path. Tourism and hospitality students’ perceptions of the industry tend to be negatively affected as they progress in their study plan. Commitment to employment in Tourism and Hospitality is shaped by four major interrelated factor categories: industry, personality, education and society. The Omani tourism and hospitality industry was not able to project an image that could generate interest among Omanis. Consequently, very few graduates join the Tourism and Hospitality job market, leading to shortages in Omani workers in the industry. The major drawback of such trend is the inability to achieve the Omanization planned figures.Originality/valueThe findings are intended to assist tourism and hospitality educators, employers and policymakers better understand students’ future employment intentions.

Too close to servility? Why is hospitality in New Zealand still a ‘Cinderella’ industry?

Abstract Something strange is going on in New Zealand’s hospitality industry. While the sector is booming (with tourism bringing in 34.7 billion dollars in 2016 and driving record growth in hospitality jobs and hotel building), New Zealanders seem to remain unconvinced about the legitimacy of hospitality as industry and as a career choice. At a time when there are thousands of new jobs being created in hospitality, why does it remain a ‘dummy subject’ in schools? Why do so many parents ‘get the hint’ and hope their kids do anything other than hospitality work? In the 1950s the New Zealand tourism sector was known as the ‘Cinderella of industries’, underfunded, of ‘doubtful value’ and home to poor quality jobs. This paper argues that the New Zealand hospitality is the modern Cinderella industry and is burdened by three historical legacies, which are affecting our ability to maximize the current opportunities in hospitality, and threaten a sustainable future for the sector: distrust, disdain and the legacy of neo-liberal reform.

Book Review: Racial Cleansing in Arkansas, 1883–1924: Politics, Land, Labor, and Criminality by Guy Lancaster

Guy Lancaster Racial Cleansing in Arkansas, 1883-1924: Politics, Land, Labor, and Criminality, New York: Lexington Books, 2014; 186 pp.: ISBN 0739195492, 24.95 [pounds sterling] Lancaster provides a historical and sociological account of racial cleansing in the state of Arkansas from the post-Reconstruction era until the post-World War I period. Its historical account examines the racial politics and violence of the period and employs the concept of racial cleansing, the use of which provides the sociological basis of the work. The term 'sundown town' refers to a town or community that employed tactics to remove African Americans, often by force, from the area or to keep them from inhabiting that area. These settlements were often found in the American South, but away from the agricultural regions where the labour of Blacks was needed to sustain the local economies. Lancaster feels the term 'sundown town', while capturing its historical significance, is inadequate in that it fails to explain the rationale behind the motivations that created these spaces; therefore, the term 'racial cleansing', a derivative of the more widely used term ethnic cleansing, is used. Although similar in many respects to lynching, lynching was normally used to punish a target offender and functioned as a visible reminder to others in the community of the horrendous consequences of challenging the White power structure. Other vigilante actions such as nightriding and whitecapping were attempts to terrorise, but not necessarily extirpate, whole communities. Therefore, though normally not as violent as lynching or vigilantism, racial cleansing had the effect of changing the demography of a region, with its long-term social, cultural, political and economic effects. The Democratic Party gained state political control of Arkansas politics due to a series of manoeuvres that ended up protecting the interests of the moneyed landowners. At the same time, German immigrants began entering the state, escaping both religious persecution and a tenuous economy, to work on Arkansas' newly completed railway system in the 1870s. Blacks outside the region also entered the state, often enticed by bogus claims of hospitality and abundant job opportunities in a fertile agricultural region. The political administration of counties with growing Black populations was initially maintained through a series of'fusion agreements', in which Blacks and Whites shared in local governance. These arrangements soon deteriorated due to White fears of Black domination, fears which were often fuelled by a few instances of racial conflict. Certain politicians took advantage of this conflict to cement racial segregation and maintain White hegemony. Not only were Blacks driven away or repulsed from the railroad industry, terroristic threats and attacks were made against African American workers in other occupations in the developing timber and mining industries and in the well-established field of agriculture. Many poor White farmers, fearing Blacks would take over their jobs, became involved in whitecapping and nightriding activities; however, some large landowners thwarted these terroristic activities through legal action. As the vigilantes were arrested, the cases proceeded through the legislative system, eventually making their way to the US Supreme Court. The highest court in the land ruled that decisions on these racial cleansing activities would be left to the states, basically clearing the way for various forms of racial oppression to continue in the state of Arkansas. …

Development and validation of a work motive measurement scale

Purpose The purpose of this study was to develop a measurement scale to assess work motives for hospitality employees utilizing McClelland’s theory of needs as the theoretical underpinning. Design/methodology/approach Both qualitative and quantitative methods were applied to achieve the study purpose. First, individual interviews were conducted to explore employee work motives and develop work motive scale items. Second, data from a self-administered paper questionnaire, completed by 388 respondents, were used to validate the developed scale. Findings Four themes were identified which reflect employees’ perspectives of hospitality jobs and culture: the job itself, need for affiliation, need for achievement and need for power. The developed scale, consisting of 22 items, was found to be reliable and valid in assessing work motives. Research limitations/implications The majority of participants were entry-level employees; therefore, the developed scale may not be useful when assessing work motives of individuals not in front-line positions. Future research could extend the measurement model to investigate work motives of individuals in managerial positions. In addition, future research could assess work motives as antecedents of employee organizational behaviors and attitudes. Practical implications The developed scale could be used as a selection tool to assess applicants’ work motives, thereby assisting employers in making effective hiring decisions. Originality/value This study contributes a new reliable and valid measurement scale developed specifically to address the unique work motives desirable for individuals seeking employment in the hospitality industry.

Motivating frontline employees: Role of job characteristics in work and life satisfaction

Abstract This study examined the intrinsic motivation for hospitality jobs and the effects of job characteristics on job satisfaction, job stress, and life satisfaction. Data were obtained from the survey responses of 401 frontline employees working at six full-service, upscale hotels in China. Results indicated that autonomy, task identity, and task significance reduced job stress, feedback increased job satisfaction, and task significance enhanced life satisfaction. Surprisingly, skill variety was negatively associated with job satisfaction, but positively associated with job stress. The composite Motivating Potential Score was positively associated with job satisfaction, but negatively associated with job stress. One recommendation is for hospitality organizations to analyze their service jobs to improve the intrinsic motivation of their employees.

Why do you feel stressed in a “smile factory”?

Purpose– This study aims to theoretically construct the role of hospitality job characteristics (HJCs), conceptually identify specific HJCs and empirically examine the relationships of these to work–family conflict and job stress. Hospitality employees work in a “smile factory” – often under stress.Design/methodology/approach– Data were collected from 346 hotel employees in China and analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM) and a series of hierarchical regression analyses (HRA).Findings– The SEM results confirmed the general role of HJCs as a job stressor, and the HRA findings differentiated the specific impacts of the characteristics on work–family conflict and job stress.Research limitations/implications– The survey was cross-sectional and correlational in nature. Furthermore, the results were also from selected hotels, and the respondents do not fully represent all hotel employees. Finally, the measures of hospitality job uniqueness were employees’ subjective agreement on the given statements.Practical implications– The study offers a systematic framework of specific job characteristics in the hospitality context for the reconciliation of previously inconsistent research findings. The findings may also be useful to hospitality managers as they attempt to analyze and understand the specific job characteristics that are the most salient reasons for withdrawal attitudes and behaviors.Originality/value– The present study identified the list of HJCs by summarizing previous studies and examining the roles of HJCs in work attitudes among hospitality employees. These efforts could be helpful both for scholars by constructing a consistent base for future research and for managers by precisely analyzing the specific job attributes.

Employees, sustainability and motivation: Increasing employee engagement by addressing sustainability and corporate social responsibility

An increasing number of academic studies indicate that we as humans are exploiting the planet earth to an extent that is no longer bearable. Put differently, we are actively destroying our very own basis of existence, especially considering the generations to come. It is therefore becoming increasingly significant for companies to develop more social and environmentally friendly ways to produce and distribute their products and services. Moreover, this is reinforced by the rising public awareness of sustainability issues. Apart from this, demographic changes make it increasingly difficult to attract and hire enough qualified employees. Besides, many employees all over the world lack a deeper meaning in what they are doing and consequently job-related motivation and engagement is alarmingly low. Such an issue is signally relevant in particular for the hospitality industry, since hospitality jobs are considered to demand a high performance but are rather poorly paid, while at the same time the industry operates with a high labour intensity, which leads to a substantially high staff turnover rate. The combination of the problems mentioned may in fact have a comprehensive solution. The approach is to actively involve employees in sustainability and corporate social responsibility (CSR) issues and in this way lead employees to the perception of their jobs as being meaningful. Consequentially, increased engagement is expected, which in turn is positively related to business performance and profitability. This research proposes an employee-focused process model that companies can exploit as a guideline towards greater sustainability, CSR and engagement.

Development and initial validation of a hospitality employees’ job satisfaction index

Purpose– The purpose of this study was to develop and validate a self-reporting tool: the hospitality employee’ satisfaction index.Design/methodology/approach– The 15-item instrument presented in this study was developed through an examination of the extant literature and seven focus groups representing the hospitality industry. The instrument was piloted online with 1,000 hospitality employees, refined and then distributed online to 9,000 hospitality employees.Findings– Factor analysis extracted three factors (career advancement, control and variety and relationships), and reliability analysis (Cronbach’s alpha) indicated high internal consistency. A stepwise multiple regression revealed that the control and variety factor related most strongly to overall job satisfaction, followed by relationships and career advancement factors, confirming that in the context of the hospitality industry, these factors were important in the measurement of job satisfaction. Control and variety was significantly related to the intention to stay in the job, and career advancement and control and variety were related to the intention to stay in the hospitality industry.Research limitations/implications– The data were gathered in Australia and were tested nationally to support the robustness of the instrument. Therefore, the hospitality industry can use this instrument as a generic index to evaluate the job satisfaction levels of employees.Originality/value– This specifically designed hospitality job satisfaction instrument can be used to evaluate the job satisfaction of employees at all levels and can be used in the development of a benchmark. This index is the first of its kind to be tested in the broader hospitality context, including accommodation, restaurants, coffee shops, fast food, clubs, hotels, convention, sporting venues, catering and institutional catering.

Big Five Personality Traits and Turnover Intention Among Thai Hotel Employees

This study hypothesized that the Big Five personality traits predicted turnover intention, and that hospitality competency and job satisfaction mediated the relationship of the Big Five personality traits to turnover intention among 183 Thai hotel employees. Regression analysis with bootstrapping was used to test the direct and mediation effects. Results supported two hypotheses: the Big Five personality traits negatively predicted turnover intention and job satisfaction mediated the relationship of the Big Five personality traits to turnover intention while hospitality competency did not. Thai hotel employees’ Big Five personality traits were related to their job satisfaction to predict their turnover intention.

Mobility strategies, ‘mobility differentials’ and ‘transnational exit’: the experiences of precarious migrants in London’s hospitality jobs

This article explores the patterns of occupational and geographical mobility of migrant hospitality workers, drawing on participatory research in London. It focuses on the ways in which migrants strategize around temporary employment and move across different jobs and locations trying to improve their precarious lives. Combining labour process theory and the perspective of the autonomy of migration the author reviews the concept of ‘mobility power’ as a form of resistance to degrading work. The findings illustrate that, while certain categories of migrants remain trapped in temporary employment, others manage to move on occupationally, develop aspects of their lives beyond work and engage in new migration. The main argument is that, in contrast to mainstream accounts of migrants’ labour market incorporation, migrant temp workers use their transnational exit power to quit bad jobs and defy employers’ assumptions about their availability to work under poor conditions.

Hospitality Management Curriculum and Potential Market Competencies: An Assessment of the Compatibility of AUST Graduates with that of the Lebanese Hospitality Job Market

Background: The recurring dilemma encountered by the academic programs in the Hospitality Management field is how applicable these programs are to the realities of the job market. That is, matching academic preparation to desired competencies sought by the market. This paper provides a positive insight into the elements that have led to the success of the curriculum of the Hospitality Management Department at the American University of Science and Technology (AUST) in Lebanon. It is a unique case which offers lessons to be learned, and which are applicable on a larger scale. Aims: This paper presents a brief description of the travel and tourism sector in Lebanon, and the requirements necessary in the development of adequate human resources to cover the market’s needs. The paper provides necessary facts to assess the potentiality of the university’s graduates and what the Faculty of Business and Economics of AUST can offer to create a value-added workforce. Original Research Article Hejase et al.; JSRR, Article no. JSRR.2014.9.01