Predicting hotel attractiveness via personality traits of applicants: the moderating role of self-esteem and work experience

Purpose – Despite the fact that hotels rely heavily upon frontline employees, extant evidence on what makes a hotel attractive in the eyes of job applicants is scarce. Thus, this study incorporates the Big Five (BF) personality traits model to identify what potential hotel job applicants are likely to seek in their prospective employers. Design/methodology/approach – Applicants for non-managerial, frontline posts at upscale hotels were approached via 3 branches of a career agency located in England, UK; their responses were gathered via a self-administered questionnaire. The 522 usable responses were utilized in a covariance-based, multi-group structural equation modeling scheme to investigate three main research propositions with regards to the applicants’ personality traits’ influence on their perceptions of a hotel’s attractiveness as a potential employer. Findings - Analysis of responses indicates significant differences regarding the impact of extraversion, conscientiousness and openness on perceived facets of employer attractiveness. Additionally, findings suggest that high self-esteem does make applicants more demanding while work experience also influences their preferences regarding the hotels’ profiles as an employer. Research limitations/implications - The results of this study are limited to applicants for non-managerial, frontline job positions in upscale hotels in the UK. Practical implications - Practically, this study offers practitioners valuable feedback regarding the potential applicant’s personality profile that grants the best fit with a hotel. Originality/value–While different studies tried to identify the organizations’ attributes that attract potential applicants, evidence on what attracts individuals to a hotel is very limited. Hence, the present study tries to address this gap and link potential applicants’ personality profiles with that of hotels as employers