The determinants of a culture of partying among managers in the hotel industry

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the apparent norm of partying that persists in the hotel industry despite evidence suggesting it can negatively affect both employees and organizations. Design/methodology/approach – Telephone surveys of 544 managers from 65 hotels were conducted. Multiple regression analyses and analyses of variance were performed to examine the extent to which differences in hotel organizational culture, hotel classification, hotel corporate organization, hotel size and manager age affect the extent to which employees spend time gathering and partying with their work colleagues outside work. Findings – The paper finds that in hotels with organizational culture oriented towards work and family balance, managers displayed less partying behavior. It also finds that such work and family culture may vary based on certain hotel corporate organizations, hotel location classifications, and hotel sizes, because partying behavior significantly varies based on such corporate, locational and size differences. Findings also indicate that relatively older employees spend less time than younger employees partying with work colleagues outside work. Research limitations/implications – Limitations include the use of self reports of hotel managers from full‐service hotels in the USA. Practical implications – A workplace culture oriented towards work and family balance may yield less partying behavior, which may be particularly relevant in certain hotel types and sizes, and may have positive implications for reducing turnover and health care costs. Originality/value – This study explores the common practice, but understudied topic of hotel employees partying with colleagues outside work. In so doing, it provides greater understanding of the phenomenon to researchers and practitioners.