An Analysis Oftraining Budgets and Training Needs Assessments in Mid-Sized Hotels in the United States

Abstract

Training for hotel employees is taking on greater importance with the advent of high performance work teams, the learning organization, and participative design. One hundred ninety-three hotels, representing all regions of the United States and ranging in size from 150 to 300 rooms, responded to this survey on training budgets and needs assessment. The data reveals that budgets are low and needs assessments are poorly executed compared with other industries. Suggestions for the improvement of training programs in hotels include soliciting input from employees in the needs assessment process, and having employees set goals for performance improvement that supports organizational goals.

An exploratory study of food and beverage training in private clubs

“…Other writers have focused on the relatively scant amounts that the industry allocates to its training budgets. In the same study by Breiter and Woods (1997), the researchers found that the majority of responding hotels allocated less than 1.5 percent of payroll costs to training employees, far below the recommended amount of 4 percent. Clements and Josiam (1995) identified problems with the way in which training budgets are established in the industry and recommended taking a step-bystep approach to determining training costs and subsequently conducting a cost/benefit analysis to highlight the long-term financial benefits of training.…”

“…Researchers have also been critical of the industry's use of training needs analyses, formulation of training budgets, and training methods utilized. In Breiter and Woods' (1997) study of training in the hotel industry, the authors found that problems existed with the methods used in conducting training needs assessments. Instead of continuing to rely on such tools as customer comment cards and employee evaluations, the authors proposed the use of a skills matrix to establish needs within organizations.…”

Correcting for Scale Perception Bias in Tourist Satisfaction Surveys

“…Tourist researchers generally put effort when dealing with multicultural differences in tourist responses by improving survey questions (Fornell et al 1996; Breiter and Woods 1997; Tribe and Snaith 1998). Some ways of implementing this are by designing careful question wording in the implementation of pilot surveys and focus groups, translating and back-translating questionnaires, cognitive debriefing, and other techniques utilized to improve survey questions (King and Wand 2007).…”

Workplace learning in rural contexts

“…The hospitality industry is noted for its large, low-skill workforce (64 percent), lack of formal training structure, high turnover, poor and nonexistent career structures, and absence of a trade union presence (Baum, 2002). In a survey of midsized hotels (150 to 300 rooms) in the United States, a category that would cover many large, rural tourist destinations, Breiter and Woods (1997) conclude that training budgets are low and needs assessments poorly executed. Increasingly, skill shortages in hospitality are viewed as generic rather than technical, demanding communications, people management, and problem-solving training for employees (Baum, 2002).…”