Hospitality industry’s recruitment and retention challenges: practitioners’ perspectives, Gen Z’s recommendations

Purpose This paper presents the rationale for the themed issue and introduces the articles written by students and alumni of Les Roches Global Hospitality Education; a Swiss Hospitality Applied University Institute. The issue explores practitioner perspectives of the pertinent matters of recruitment and retention in the global hospitality industry. Design/methodology/approach The issue is bookended by alumni and postgraduate students’ papers whose viewpoint papers explore the perspectives of professionals in the industry gathered through survey data. The central part of the issue consists of papers authored by undergraduate students, each analysing a particular case. The combination of these small-scale research papers based on interviews with stakeholders from diverse global hospitality contexts weaves a colourful and detailed tapestry which sheds light on the industry’s current challenges worldwide. Findings The article collection acknowledges the reality of the difficulties of recruiting and retaining quality staff in the hospitality industry worldwide. In each paper, the authors provide recommendations for the particular context they were exploring. These suggestions, in line with the qualitative paradigm, offer transferable perspectives for actors in similar contexts, rather than generalisable findings. Originality/value Gen Z is the next generation which will join the workforce. Unusually, this themed issue puts these young people at all stages of the research in the different papers: as participants, as data gatherers and analysts and as creators of recommendations. It is a rare opportunity to let Gen Z have their say about the industry they will be joining and eventually leading.