Skills and work in the hospitality sector The case of hotel front office employees in China Kong Hai-yan School of Business, Shandong University at Weihai, Shandong, China, and Tom Baum The Scottish Hotel School, University of Strathclyde, Scotland, UK Abstract Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to develop a picture of the skills profiles, work background, educational attainment, attitudes and plans of the employees in front office in hotels in China by means of a survey of employees in four and five star hotels. Design/methodology/approach – Data was collected by means of a questionnaire survey conducted in major tourist cities in China, including Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, Jinan, Qingdao and Weihai. In each selected city, four and five star rated hotels were chosen as those properties most likely to be operating in the international market. The survey focused on staff working in front office in four and five star hotels and all questionnaires were collected onsite. A total of 350 questionnaires were distributed and 276 of these returned were usable which form the basis of this analysis of hotel front office work in China. Findings – Results show that the main workforce strength of front office in Chinese hotels consists of graduates from tourism colleges and professional schools. Front office work is a challenging and demanding area of work and oral communication is identified as the most important skill. Practical implications – Gathering information about this important area of service and work in the hospitality industry provides first-hand data for improving training and career development. The paper concludes that high-quality human resources are lacking in the hospitality sector in China and it is essential for hotels to develop professional development and further training in order to improve the skills of staff in front office. Originality/value – This paper is one of the first to look in detail at employees within the hospitality sector in China. Keywords Skills, Career planning, Hotels, China, Hospitality services Paper type Research paper Introduction People are one of the most important resources for businesses throughout the world. This is particularly true with respect to a service-intensive sector such as hospitality. It is only through focused developmental support of all staff with an emphasis on high-quality and high-skills that the hotel industry can reach its full business potential. The functional area of front office, with its roles of reception and marketing as well as acting as the centre for liaison and communication within the operating business, plays the role of the “brain” in the hotel. Employees working in front office undertake an important task in building up a hotel’s image and reputation. Therefore, skills and quality of staff are among the most important factors in underpinning the competitive success of the hotel. An increasing number of researchers in China and elsewhere The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at www.emeraldinsight.com/0959-6119.htm Skills and work in the hospitality sector 509 International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management Vol. 18 No. 6, 2006 pp. 509-518 q Emerald Group Publishing Limited 0959-6119 DOI 10.1108/09596110610681548