Managing Hotel Manpower amidst COVID-19 Pandemic: The Case Study of Upscale Hotels in Phuket

บทคัดย่อ

The hotel industry is vulnerable to catastrophes. Phuket, for instance, was a victim of the COVID-19 health crisis. This disruption generated detrimental impacts on many businesses worldwide, and the unemployment rate skyrocketed. While a few researchers have investigated human resources management practices in hotels during the COVID-19 pandemic, none of these studies have addressed insightful management practices during the prolonged situation in Phuket specifically. This research aims to fill this gap by examining the human resources management practices implemented by Phuket’s upscale hotels. Eighteen hotel executives managing sixteen upscale hotels were interviewed in person at their premises. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the data. The findings reveal fourteen human resources management practices that were widely undertaken by hotel practitioners. This research contributes profound knowledge in managing hotel manpower across the three waves of the pandemic. It also confirms that the Phuket hotel industry lacks readiness to tackle health crises. Hotel practitioners can adopt human resources management strategies that best parallel their hotel characteristics to prevail over future health crises.