Hospitality Potential Development of Working Staff in Small Sized Hotel: A Study of Hotels in Loei Province

Abstract

Abstract
The purposes of this study were 1) to generally study the current situation of the small
hotel business; to find both obstacles and the readiness to enter in the ASEAN community 2) to
create a training program on hospitality knowledge by providing guidelines and the training course
and 3) to appraisal of knowledge and skills of hotel staff compared before and after the training.
The methodology used in this study were the integration of an action research starting from reviewing
related documents, quantitative and qualitative surveys; setting training courses, observation,
and informal talk. The combination of quantitative and qualitative statistical methodology were
used to analyze the data. The findings of the study were as follows: 1) in general, most hotel
firms were family management businesses. There was no formal training activity provided for their
staff, therefore they had learnt from actual practice with colleagues. Additionally, staff turnover
rates were rather high, the readiness of English communication skills of hotel staff for entering the
ASEAN community was still limited. 2) Hotel operators were behaving quite rationally in accepting
a strong focus on training activities. Five topics of hospitality knowledge and skills were required
to develop the staff servicing included 2.1) hospitality management 2.2) the use of information
technology 2.3) communication and coordination 2.4) leadership and entrepreneurship and team
development and 2.5) English language. 3) From self- evaluation before and after training activities,
all participants agreed that they became knowledgeable about what the hospitality aspects
were in small sized hotels more than before attending the training. Based on the study findings,
it was recommended that the government should support the hospitality potential development
and provide training programs for staff in small sized hotels. The establishment should cooperate
with the government by encouraging staff members to attend a training course.