Performance Appraisals in Hotels

A study of general managers of 389 United States hotels found that 87 percent of the respondents conducted regular performance appraisals for all of their employees. This percentage is similar to that found in other industries. The most frequent interval for performance appraisals by lodging managers is once per year, also echoing the findings for other industries. Most managers used more than one type of appraisal and used their appraisals for more than one purpose. Nearly half used a management-by-objectives approach for their appraisals (49 percent), followed by behaviorally anchored rating scales (41 percent), narrative essays (37 percent), and graphic rating scales (28 percent). One negative note is that nearly 15 percent of the managers do not follow their appraisals with feedback sessions to review those appraisals. The most frequent application of performance appraisals was for compensation decisions (86 percent), followed by assessing whether objectives had been met (78 percent), establishing training needs (73 percent), and determining promotions (65 percent). Three-fifths of the sample reported that performance appraisals were important to the success of their operation.