The Development of Professional Standards for Hotel Employees in Thailand

Abstract

The purposes of this research were 1) to define and characterize occupational standards of Thai hotel personnel, 2) to define and characterize career path of the hotel supervisor and 3) to propose the professional standards development guidelines for the hotel personnel. The total number of research population was 6,897 which consisted of 3 to 5 stars domestic and international chained-brand hotels, Thai hotels association, and Higher education institutions which offering degree in hotel management. This research was conducted in both quantitative and qualitative. The questionnaires were completed by 870 volunteers and in-depth interviewed by 65 purposive sampling. The research instruments were 1) a five rating scale questionnaire from hotel personnel, Thai hotel association and chair curriculum, 2) semi-structured interview from hotel administration and 3) focus group from stakeholders of all population group. The analytical methods of this research consisted of descriptive statistics, content analysis and data triangulation to validate the research finding. The research findings were as follows (I) occupational standards ( =4.56) defined as required knowledge and skill for hotel personnel in every level including 1) knowledgeable in hotel profession ( =4.58), 2) academic knowledge and practical in duty for each level ( =4.42), 3) ability in supervise and control service quality ( =4.55), 4) hospitality minded for excellent service ( =4.66) and 5) customer service behavior ( =4.58), (II) Career path for hotel supervisor ( =4.53) defined as required operational process for hotel supervisor including 1) ability to perform according to ASEAN Common Competency Standards for Tourism Professionals ( =4.61), 2) good score for work appraisal ( =4.46), 3) ability to generate the initiative in hotel development ( =4.47), 4) ability to propose the suggestion to administrative level, and (III) professional standards development guidelines ( =4.54) defined as strengthening the professional standards and personnel career path including 1) strengthening the required academic knowledge which needed for new era hotel management ( =4.56), 2) competency development and skill for supervisory level ( =4.54), and 3) ad hoc training when needed ( =4.52). Professional standards for hotel personnel in Thailand can be defined as the key success factors for hotel administrative and professional practice for new era hotel management including 1) occupational standards for all level and 2) career path for personnel which should be developed from both public sectors and private sectors.