Towards a personology of a hospitality professional

Abstract

Understanding the key characteristics of people who choose hospitality as their profession is of great importance to an industry that is estimated to be contributing $7.17tr to the global economy. With the hotel sector alone contributing $457bn to the global economy the need for quality employees that consider hospitality a long term career is evident. The industry holds a perceived status by employees as a hardworking and low paying industry. If employers wish to retain existing talent and attract new they need to have a better understanding of their employees. This paper addresses this gap in knowledge and proposes a model of understanding hospitality professionals through the notions of self-efficacy, career inheritance and career commitment. This typology of a hospitality professional will enable both, researchers and hospitality managers to establish key life history indicators that facilitate a deeper understanding of a hospitality professional and can facilitate better interviewing results during the recruitment process.