HRM in the Australian Luxury Hotel Industry: Signs of Innovation?

Abstract

The Australian luxury hotel industry has experienced substantial growth in recent years. Subsequently, this sector has become an increasingly important and influential dimension of the hospitality industry, as well as the service sector. Despite this, a paucity of empirical research exists, focusing on the human resource strategies and outcomes within luxury hotels. Little is known of the employment systems operating in these firms. Moreover, within the extant literature, which focuses more broadly on the hotel industry, contradictions have begun to emerge regarding the nature of hotels' management practices. While research has traditionally characterised hotels' employment strategies as adversarial and largely ad hoc, a small number of studies have documented more strategic and quality focused systems, reflecting more sophisticated human resource management (HRM). Consequently, this study analyses employment practices within luxury hotels in Australia in order to characterise HRM systems in these firms. The results provide an indication that luxury hotels are deploying a relatively more sophisticated approach to HRM than depicted by the traditional research literature.