Needs Analysis of Hotel Front Desk Staff: Considerations for ESP Course Design

Abstract

While previous studies on needs analysis of hotel front desk staff tended to adopt a quantitative method (i.e., closed-end surveys), qualitative studies that carry out a formal needs analysis of front desk staff have been rare. In an attempt to bridge this gap, qualitative research methods, including interviews and observations were adopted for data collection in the current study. In order to gain a thorough understanding of English skills needed by hotel front desk staff and their expectations about ESP course design, we conducted needs analysis of hotel front desk staff at international hotels in Vietnam. In particular, drawing on Woodrow’s (2017) steps of needs analysis for ESP course design, English skills used and problems faced by Vietnamese hotel front desk staff were explored. A total of 15 hotel front desk staff and three managers from five different hotels were invited to participate in this study. The findings showed that speaking and listening skills are frequently used by hotel front desk staff, whereas reading and writing skills are less used. Thus, it is suggested that ESP courses could focus on listening and speaking skills. We found that the participants often encountered difficulties in listening in their workplaces such as understanding guests’ accents and catching up with their speeds of talking, especially when dealing with guests’ complaints and telephone conversations. Based on the findings, course syllabi that can be used by ESP instructors for training hotel front desk staff are provided in order to tackle those problems.