General manager turnover and root causes

Abstract

This study was conducted to examine hotel and holiday village general managers’ (GMs’) turnover and to identify root causes of GM turnover. GMs who were serving five‐star hotels and first‐class holiday villages operating mainly in coastal sides of Turkey (mostly the Aegean coast and the Mediterranean coast) were researched. GMs in 144 hotels and holiday villages were faxed a one‐page survey instrument developed by the researcher. At the end of two rounds, out of 144 GMs, 56 responded to the instrument. Analyzing the data, it is found that GMs are quitting hotels after 3.3 years on average, and hotels tended to change GMs every 2.5 years. The main causes of GM turnover are: management conflict and problems between property owners and GMs; and GMs’ career moves.