Human resource challenges confronting the Cyprus hospitality industry

Purpose The primary purpose is to investigate specific human resources issues that challenge managerial level employees of the Cypriot hospitality industry. In particular the study, aims to examine: the motivational factors that directly impact on hospitality managers; burnout among hospitality managers; and the factors most likely to cause managers to either change employers or change industry segments entirely. Design/methodology/approach The research design included both an extensive literature review of secondary data sources relevant with the topics under investigation and a quantitative primary data collection tool; a survey questionnaire. The sample consisted of 200 randomly selected individuals currently holding managerial level positions in 5‐, 4‐ and 3‐star hotels operating in Cyprus, in order to address our research questions. The data was analyzed utilizing both descriptive and inferential statistics. Findings The findings on motivation tend to echo those which relate to the content motivation theories whose focus is on what it is about the individual. Furthermore, the findings affirm earlier research which suggests that motivational factors are likely to change as demographics change. In addition, the findings indicate that hospitality managers experience low levels of accomplishment, irrespective of age, while those with high levels of customer contact are at greater risk of experiencing burnout. Practical implications As far as turnover and leakage issues are concerned, the local hospitality industry could do well by reviewing its manager retention practices. Originality/value An investigation of this type has not been undertaken in Cyprus before. Consequently it is creating new knowledge in the Cypriot hospitality industry, and which could be utilized by the stakeholders in their future human resource strategies.