The impact of hotel staffs' english language proficiency on tourists' satisfaction with hotels in Malaysia

Abstract

The hotel industry in Malaysia is rapidly expanding. An important component in the hotel industry is the human resource. Tourists do not just come for the facilities and attractions, they want to be treated right and well and that is why a good command of the English language is always regarded as an asset for personnel in the tourism industry since most visitors do not speak Bahasa Melayu, the national language of Malaysia. This study was conducted in order to analyze the possible relationship between the English language proficiency of the hotel staff and the satisfaction level of tourists. In order to so, data was collected from 72 foreign tourists regarding their expectations and perceptions of their stay about personal qualities of the hotels’ staff in different positions. The results obtained from the expectation of the guests indicate that the role and importance of the ‘English language proficiency’ in the tourism industry is relative to job function. ‘English language proficiency’ is more expected from those who often come into direct face-to-face contact with hotel guests such as the reception staff and it is more expected for the hotel management personnel as well. For other hotel staff, such as food & beverage and housekeeping staff, other qualities are expected more than ‘English language proficiency’ by hotel guests. The outcome of these results suggests that the emphasis on ‘English language proficiency’ for recruitment of the staff should also be based on the nature of job. An equal stress would only hinder the recruitment process. Another noticeable fact in this study indicates that the level of perceived ‘English language proficiency’ of the staff working in food & beverage and management departments still seems to be less than the level of guests’ expectation. As the gap observed was huge in these areas, especially in food & beverage section, more English language training is recommended.