Human resource management challenges in the hotel industry in Taiwan

Contemporary international literature identifies three major human resource management (HRM) issues as being critical in the hospitality industry across the globe, both currently and in the future. They are: service quality, training and development, and staff recruitment and selection. This study involved interviews with the most senior managers in a sample of chain hotels in Taiwan nominated by the hotels as being responsible for HRM. This study explored whether three major HRM issues identified in the literature are perceived as important by Taiwanese hoteliers. The results suggest that although most participants perceive these issues as significant and challenging, they are focused mainly on operational rather than strategic solutions for dealing with these issues. It is argued that the current and emerging challenges facing the industry demand an approach to HRM that is far more strategic than the traditional focus of personnel administration. The implication is that HRM has a key role to play in creating and sustaining competitive advantage in hotels. A particular strength of this study was its use of face-to-face interviews, which enabled a more intensive exploration of the thinking of participants than is often the case with quantitative surveys