Leader ‘leadership’ perceptions within a luxury hotel environment

  • Greta Marinotti York Business School, York St John University, York YO31 7EX, United Kingdom
  • Alan Johnston York Business School, York St John University, York YO31 7EX, United Kingdom
Article ID: 3483
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Keywords: communication; hospitality; servant leadership; transformational leadership

Abstract

This study considers the role of leadership within the hospitality sector as a key tool in raising performance levels. Hospitality is unique in its service-based approach, which relies on employees to ensure effective service. Post-COVID-19 and Brexit, the hospitality sector has seen a shift in reliance towards a home workforce, and as such, retention has become an area of greater importance. This case study investigation adopted a qualitative approach to consider the perceptions of six managers within a UK-based luxury hotel. Semi-structured interviews were used to draw out their experience of approaches used to ensure effective delivery in their areas of responsibility. The research concludes that a shift in leadership approach (from autocratic to democratic) is a necessity to retain staff, particularly as the shift to a greater reliance on a home workforce due to COVID-19 and Brexit starts to impact the sector. There does, however, remain a need to be more autocratic in certain situations to ensure the quality of service. Subsequently, communication becomes critical in the building of relationships. The research considers leadership approaches from a managerial perspective and is based on individual perceptions. Traditionally, research has been conducted from an employee perspective.

Published
2024-03-25
How to Cite
Marinotti , G., & Johnston, A. (2024). Leader ‘leadership’ perceptions within a luxury hotel environment. Human Resources Management and Services, 6(1), 3483. https://doi.org/10.18282/hrms.v6i1.3483
Section
Article

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