The assessment of motivation in the Saint Paul Hotel employees

Abstract

Key words: hospitality and tourism, employees’ motivation, turnover, absenteeism, human resource. The collective hotel industry is a significant parrot of the world tourism industry. The industry is by design delivers services to be registered and non registered guests. Key in the process of delivering service in any hotel situation is the hotel staff. The ultimate quality of service provided will depend on the collective ability of staff, training and individual motivation to produce the services demanded by the guest. Hotels are physical structures supported by human resources that enable the delivery of service. Key in the process of delivering quality service is the individual motivation of all employees whether professional, skilled or unskilled. With the growth of the service industry the hotel industry now competes for quality service employees. Research finds that it is a challenge for hotel management today to motivate employees to provide quality services as high turnover and absenteeism is widespread in the United States hotel industry. This study evaluated the motivation factors of employees in a four star hotel in St. Paul, Minnesota. The study centered on why people choose to work for this specific hotel while modeling motivational factors that enable their overall performance. The study also sought to learn if there is a gender based difference in motivational factors. The results of the study revealed that the main reasons people choose to work at the hotel was based on the “quality” class of the hotel, interesting jobs, salary and job security. When considering the gender construct, gender did have a role influencing employees’ perception of motivational factors. Males preferred salary, job security and loyalty to employees, while females preferred interesting jobs, working environment and camaraderie with co-workers.