Generational attitudes in SME family hotels : practical implications for employer brand profiles

The hospitality workforce is characterized by various generations working together, who share different values and expectations towards their employer. The purpose of the study was to examine which attitudes differentiate Generations X, Y and Z employed in SME family hotels. A quantitative method using an online questionnaire was used to collect data from former and present employees in the Austrian hospitality industry. In this context, an eight-dimensional model derived from a systematic literature review, was tested. The results of the study illustrate that Generations X, Y and Z differ significantly in their attitude towards work ethic and values, career opportunities, task attractiveness, and instrumental and symbolic characteristics. As practical implications, we created employee personas to represent the values and expectations of each generation working in SME family hotels.