Anna Kralj

Exploring Consumer Perceptions of Green Restaurants in the US

Consumer attitudes and behavioural intentions towards environmentally sustainable practices in restaurants is an under-explored area in the hospitality literature, despite the growing ‘green’ trend. This article analyses data collected from 455 restaurant customers across five casual dining restaurants to gain insight into consumer attitudes towards, and willingness to pay more for, restaurants that engage in ‘green’ practices. The findings illustrate that there is an unfilled market niche for ‘green’ restaurants, as customers care about restaurants protecting the environment and would be willing to pay more to offset any additional costs associated with ‘green’ practices.

Legends of Service Excellence: The Habits of Seven Highly Effective Hospitality Companies

This article identifies hospitality firms that are frequent subjects of positive customer storytelling and examines these firms for common practices. Seven exemplar firms were identified. Themes drawn from data were categorized into 10 theme clusters. A single theme—related to customer and employee obsession—was determined to be the common thread. An assessment of customer and employee practices from the exemplar firms is provided to give illustrations of specific practices. By understanding some of the practices of exemplar firms, managers can gain insights into how customer and employee treatment strategies can be incorporated into their businesses.

360 Degrees of Pressure The Changing Role of the HR Professional in the Hospitality Industry

Many hospitality companies highlight the importance of their employees, and this features strongly in their consumer marketing. However, the capacity of organizations to deliver “people first” practices is seemingly subject to increasing pressure within the international hospitality sector, both internally and from the external environment. Nowhere is this clearer than in the roles that are played with respect to the human resource management (HRM) function, both by those specifically designated in that post and by nonspecialist managers taking HRM responsibilities. This conceptual article has two principal aims: first, to illuminate the growing trend of formalized HRM practices being downgraded, eliminated altogether, or decentralized; and second, to highlight the need for a greater understanding and consideration of the external factors affecting hospitality HRM practice. The article reviews the nature and scope of the HRM function in hospitality, presents an overview of the trends toward internal reorganization through decentralization of HRM functions and, finally, assesses the impact of external pressures of the delivery of effective HRM. We then propose a dynamic framework designed to help facilitate greater understanding of the implications of internal and external pressures by HRM professionals and researchers, and conclude with reflections and recommendations followed by proposals for future research.

A Lodging Internship Competency Model: Enhancing Educational Outcomes through Work Integrated Learning

Abstract This paper examines current views of lodging industry executives as to competencies required of student interns and introduces a model for the development of these competencies through the ‘work integrated learning’ internship process. The purpose of this study is to gain insight into the intern competencies that are currently considered most necessary by the lodging industry – an area that is under-researched in the lodging internship literature – so as to progress understanding of how lodging management education programs, particularly internships, can improve educational outcomes for all stakeholders to the process – educators, industry and students. The paper first offers an introduction and background on work integrated learning, internships and lodging competencies, before presenting the results of a preliminary survey into lodging executives views of desired intern competency levels, pre-and post-internships, across 18 core essential competencies (CECs). The results of this preliminary survey indicate that leadership and interpersonal skills are the intern competencies most required by industry and that interns should even display some level of competence in these skills prior to commencing the internship. The Lodging Internship Competency Model proposed is an introductory model designed to highlight potential relationships between key variables in the competency development process of the lodging internship.

The Asia-Pacific Tourism Workforce of the Future Using Delphi Techniques to Identify Possible Scenarios

This article addresses the challenges of long-term planning for a tourism workforce at a regional level, a significant yet underconceptualized area in the literature. We draw on Yeoman’s future thinking techniques to generate a four-quadrant matrix designed to facilitate the development of scenarios that identify workforce challenges the tourism sector in the Asia-Pacific is likely to face through to 2030. Applying a modified Delphi technique, an expert panel aided in the formulation of dimensions on which our matrix is based. Their inputs over three rounds informed the development of four scenarios for the future of the tourism workforce in the Asia-Pacific. Utilizing these scenarios or “possibility spaces,” the article provides a framework for discussion and a platform for workforce planning and policy within this region.

Discourse about workforce development in tourism- an analysis of public policy, planning, and implementation in Australia and Scotland: Hot air or making a difference?

This article addresses the contribution of the policy formulation process in driving agendas relating to workforce development in the tourism sectors of Australia and Scotland. This discussion represents an exploratory study that seeks to fill a clear conceptual and empirical gap in the extant literature. The discussion is located within wider consideration of the role of public and private sector stakeholders in policy formulation and implementation as a manifestation of active labor market policy engagement. Using a process of systematic documentary analysis, the study considers public policy reports and implementation strategies published in Australia (24) and Scotland (34) between 2000 and 2012 and focuses on the role of key actors, methodologies employed, and the recommendations that arise within each report. Conclusions relating to the process of stakeholder engagement and its relative ineffectiveness are drawn.

Formal education effectiveness and relevance: lodging manager perceptions

In order to study the influence of formal education on lodging management success, opinions of 246 senior and middle-level executives from 28 states across the US were obtained. Success is measured in terms of competency development, and four highly relevant areas of knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs) are investigated: financial management, leadership and management, marketing and customer-centeredness. Consistent with the limited prior research in this area, the findings of the current research demonstrate that todays industry professionals perceive formal education as having only a moderate impact on lodging management success. Study findings have implications for educators, professionals and industry by providing opportunity for enhanced delivery of education and achieving lodging management success.

Attitudinal similarities and differences of hotel frontline occupations

Purpose The purpose of this study is to identify across a number of workplace variables the similarities and differences in attitudes between three key frontline hotel worker groups: housekeepers, front office employees and food and beverage front-of-house staff. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative study was conducted using 25 semi-structured interviews with frontline workers employed in full-service hotels across Eastern Australia. Analysis was augmented through the Leximancer® software package to develop relational themes in the aggregation and disaggregation of the occupations. Findings Although work/life balance was a common theme across the three occupations, several distinct attitudinal differences emerged, in particular regarding perceptions of one occupational group towards another. Practical implications This study highlights the importance of hotel managers being cognisant of occupational differences and collecting data capable of assisting in the identification of these differences. Several practitioner relevant recommendations are made. Originality/value This exploratory study challenges assumptions regarding a “pan-industrial” hospitality occupational community and applies an emerging qualitative software package to highlight occupational differences and relational perceptions.

An Asia-Pacific Core–Periphery Futures Paradox: Divergent Worker and Tourist Mobilities

Envisaging the future of tourism anywhere is difficult but is amplified when making predictions for the dynamic and rapidly changing Asia-Pacific region. The purpose of this conceptual article is to problematize a 2030 Asia-Pacific tourism future by modeling one polarized and probable scenario, theoretically framed within the mobilities paradigm and the core–periphery model. This scenario proposes that planning for the development of Asia-Pacific tourism will be heavily influenced by a growing tourist trend for experiences in the “pleasure periphery” while the contemporary pattern of increasing urbanization will continue to mobilize the required workforce toward the core. This scenario models divergent tourist and worker mobilities between the core and periphery. By focusing a scenario on this increasingly important discrepancy between labor supply and tourism demand, we can identify the challenges for those areas representative of this divergence that tourism development and destination stakeholders must plan for before 2030.

Reflective Practice in Food and Beverage Education

Food and beverage (F&B) management education is essential to hospitality, and arguably tourism and event, management students. Higher educators are challenged in resourcing various approaches. As many students have experiences as F&B workers and/or consumers, reflective assessment leveraging these experiences may be an effective learning tool. Using student reflective journals from an Australian institution’s undergraduate F&B management cohort, this article reports the process, effectiveness, and challenges associated with reflective learning. Using Nvivo®, analysis identified three key themes: students demonstrated comprehension for a theoretical topic by effectively interpreting a past experience; they applied this greater level of theoretical comprehension to further evaluate that past experience and challenge assumptions; and they leveraged increased theoretical comprehension and the application and evaluative processes of past experiences to effect reflective thinking. Findings suggest students from Confucian heritage backgrounds require additional tutelage in attempting reflective tasks. Implications for educators are discussed.