Intercultural Communication Competency Practices in the Hotel Industry

The purpose of this study is to develop an in-depth understanding of cultural diversity in China’s hotels by examining hotel employees’ Intercultural Communication Competency (ICC) practices. Following qualitative data collection and content analysis of 403 valid questionnaires collected from 16 multinational hotel companies in China, the study uses Exploratory Factor Analysis and Confirmatory Factor Analysis for scale development. Furthermore, Importance-Performance Analysis is conducted to identify employees’ perceptions and performance with regard to ICC practices. The proposed measurement scale for ICC is shown to be both reliable and valid for hotel employees, and the results suggest that the identification of competency gaps can help hotels to improve service quality through enhanced resource allocation. Overall, the findings may help increase the competitiveness of China’s hotel industry by informing the development of effective training programmes.