Effectiveness of Staff Training on the Performance of Hotels in Kisumu City, Kisumu County, Kenya

The hotel industry is one of the fastest growing economic sectors globally. Its impact to economic development of a country cannot be underscored. As evidenced in Kenya, international hotel chains are opening their branches to maximize market opportunities available. One of the key attributes to the success of hotel industries is the kind of training staff undergoes for effective service delivery in the hotel industry. This is for the reason that staff training and development has been identified by different scholars as an aspect of achievement and business growth in the hotel industry. However, there exists paucity of literature in the country on staff training. This paper therefore, seeks to evaluate the effectiveness of hotel staff training on performance of hotel industry in Kisumu city, Kenya. The study adopted a descriptive research design. Quantitative and qualitative research approaches of data collection were adopted using a questionnaire which was distributed to 120 respondents. Data collection instruments for this study were unstructured and semi-structured interviews and questionnaires. Qualitative research helped in obtaining insights about the phenomena in question and identifying the missing part of what is unknown and/or partially known. The study found that employee training plays a key role in improving employees productivity in hotels. However, the major challenge was that the trainings are not frequently conducted. It was also evident that hotel staffs are motivated by positive customer service. The study recommends that there is need to conduct training needs assessment to ensure that trainings are needs driven. This will enhance the competitiveness of the staff as they will be equipped with necessary competencies and current trends within the hotel industry. Finally, training in hotel industry should be continuous to be able to update the employees of the changing trades in the industry for better performance.