Human resources challenges and opportunities in China: a case from the hospitality industry

The purpose of this study is to underline some of the distinctive practices of the hospitality industry in China. Particularly, we have interviewed several industry experts in luxury hotel properties in China and the USA and have compared their human resources practices. We found that luxury hotels that want to achieve international levels of service must invest more time in hiring and training their Chinese employees. Chinese employees are hired based on personality, and are found to be lacking a service mentality. Cultural and institutional differences in human resources account for the differences that exist between Chinese employees in the hospitality industry in the USA and China.