The GMs’ Roles and Competencies Framework in Greek luxury hotels.

Abstract

This paper explores the General Managers’ (GMs) Roles and Competencies in Greek 4 & 5* hotels from a contextual perspective. The existing literature indicates that the work of GMs in luxury hotels is complex and requires an extensive set of competencies in order to perform the required roles. In addition, the literature provides evidence that the roles and competencies framework is influenced to a certain degree from contextual factors such as national and organisational culture. In order to identify the roles and competences profile of the GMs in 4 and 5* hotels, research conducted in 16 luxury (four and five star) city and resort hotels in four popular destinations: Athens, Thessaloniki, Crete and Rhodes. In total 32 GMs and their assistants participated in this country case study. The results have indicated that Greek managers fully understand and appreciate the generic managerial competencies and roles required in any other European country. On the other hand they cope with contextual challenges appearing mainly due to the Greek culture, by adapting these roles and competencies to their working environment. Based on research data, three different GM profiles are identified according to the ownership status of the hotel: family owned and local Greek chains; national Greek chains and franchised international chains; and international chains.