Hotel development in China: A review of the English language literature

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to offer an overview of the existing English literature concerning the development of China's hotel industry by means of reviewing the topic from three academic online databases. Design/methodology/approach: The paper reviews published studies found in refereed journals that can be accessed online via Emerald Management Review, ProQuest Basic Search and EBSCO Host Web. A total of 66 refereed journal papers were found over the period 1984-2007. They were grouped into four major themes: strategy and development; marketing; service quality and human resources management. Findings: Research on China's hotel development grew rapidly with the rise of China's hotel industry, reflecting the situation, problems, challenges and opportunities affecting hotel development. Strategy and development is a dominant theme, accounting for 43 per cent of all papers. Practical implications: The paper summarises research on China's booming hotel industry, offers a general review of its historic development and identifies current important issues. The authors recommend further research opportunities examining career development and job satisfaction in China's hotel industry. Originality/value: This paper is one of the first to profile research related to the hotel industry in mainland China. By grouping the published studies into four major themes, this study clearly demonstrates key emerging issues in China.