Cross-cultural Comparison of Hotel Managers’Competencies -Focused on the Perception of the Deluxe Hotel Managers’ Competencies in Korea and in the U.S.A.

Considering competencies as a key element in the success of the hotel industry, this research conducted comparative analysis of competencies that hotel managers in Korea and in the US are aware of, with an objective to provide findings in terms of hotel manager’s demographic characteristics. The findings and implications of the study are as follows. The sampling of this study was composed of hotel managers (supervisors and above) working in five deluxe hotels of Busan, Korea, and in six deluxe hotels in Miami, U.S.A. A survey was administered to a sample of approximately 330 hotel managers from August to September of 2007. First, among hotel managers in Korea and in the US, nine factors were identified through a self-appraisal questionnaire composed after screening competencies through a literature review. Second, the result of comparison of the US and Korea indicated the relative defects of the two countries’ hotel managers. Therefore, the two countries’ hotel managers will need to improve their poor competencies in order to achieve internationalization goals. Third, implications in terms of the survey objects’ demographic characteristics and the limitation of this study were discussed.