ABSTRACT
The hotel industry is undoubtedly a substantial employer, and thus a worthwhile sector for investigation in relation to training policies. German hotels function with, say, only some 60 per cent of the labour force of British hotels; equivalently, labour productivity in German hotels is about 65 per cent higher than in British ones. Refurbishment of rooms took place equally frequently in both countries, usually at intervals of three to five years, and provided opportunities for incorporating labour-saving improvements. The capital cost of a computer suitable for most hotel work is equivalent to roughly one year's salary of a receptionist, or a little less. The way many British hotels had been designed and reconstructed, did not facilitate the use of chambermaids' trolleys. The difference between the countries in training for housekeeping occurred virtually entirely at the supervisory level, known as the housekeeper.
