Professionalization of hotel management: A qualitative research on the context of 5-star hotels in Antalya

"Profession" has long been a popular claim in the field of hospitality but only a few studies have focused on this topic. In the professionalization literature, there is a growing debate about corporate professionalism and the professionalization of management. Thus, examining the professionalization of hotel management is potent to contribute to both hospitality and professionalization literature. The aim of this research is to investigate the professionalization of hotel management. The study focuses on top-level hotel managers in Antalya which is one of the leading tourism destinations. The source of data for this research comprised sectoral documents, focus group meetings, and in-depth interviews. The thematic analysis provided insights into the context of the professionalization process in Antalya and showed the professionalization indicators of hotel management. Findings are presented under four main themes; historicity, structure, managers, and professionalization. The context of professionalization in Antalya is explained by the historical developments that have led to significant transformations in hotel management (historicity), the region-specific structure of the sector and hotel businesses (structure), and the characteristics of hotel managers (managers). In addition, professionalization was examined with six sub-themes; body of knowledge and specialist skills, job autonomy, professional associations, occupational governance (self-regulation of the field), sense of calling, and ethics. The professionalization themes found in the research are congruent with the sociology of professions literature, however findings showed that the professionalization process differs in the context of 5-star hotels in Antalya by its contextual characteristics. The historicity theme explained that the first modern hotels in the city were established by the state incentives. These first hotels were run by international hotel chains and foreign managers, or managers who came from developed cities such as İstanbul and Ankara. While the first-generation managers were generally expatriates or who had the international chain or state-invested hotel experiences, a career developed in the context of Antalya resort hotels has gained importance for the second-generation hoteliers. According to the research findings, competencies in cost control and operation are considered vital to being a successful manager in Antalya. Frequent sectoral crises in the region and the size of the organizations are contextual conditions that force managers to develop their competencies and thus, support professionalism. However, structural conditions such as seasonal work, dependency relations with tour operators, investment type, investor characteristics, and service type prevent professionalization. Moreover, research findings indicate the importance of on-the-job experience to form the knowledge base in the field of management, and these findings allow discussion of the role of experience in professionalization. The issue of autonomy in the relations between the employer and the professional manager, and in the manager's decision-making process is discussed. Professional associations in the field of management, their role in representing the field, and the development of ethical codes for managers are discussed. Thus, considering the case of hotel managers, it is possible to contribute to the professionalization of management literature. The professionalization process started by the general managers at the individual level and the expectation of widening this process to the field level is an important finding of this study and may trigger further discussions on the process of professionalization. In addition, the study provided evidence for the significance of the context by explaining the impacts on the profile of managers, the progress in the professionalization process, and the professionalization at individual and field levels. Based on these context-specific findings, the present study provides theoretical contributions to future professionalization research in the field of tourism and hospitality, and also some practical suggestions for managers to carry out their professionalization projects.