The Impact of Staff Limitations on Service Quality and Organizational Performance in Hospitality Industry across Saudi Arabia.

Abstract

The research examined how staffing limitations affected service quality and organizational performance within the hospitality industry in Saudi Arabia. The research was guided by the SERVQUAL framework, the Service-Profit Chain, and human-resource performance models to identify how shortages in staff numbers, skills, and experience influenced hotel operations.

A qualitative design was adopted, and data were collected through semi-structured interviews with three hospitality professionals working in operational, human-resources, and international roles. The interview data were analyzed using thematic analysis.

The findings indicated that a limit in staffing generated huge operational pressure, increased workload stress, and reduced employee motivation, resulting in noticeable declines in responsiveness and reliability, both are important in service quality.

Recruitment challenges related to Saudization policies, skill mismatches, and turnover were found to intensify these issues. Training and development practices partially mitigated the negative effects, although such practices were less structured compared with international benchmarks such as Switzerland.

The study concluded that staffing limitations have a direct and measurable impact on service consistency, guest satisfaction, and organizational performance in Saudi hotels. Recommendations were provided for improving workforce planning, training systems, and employee retention strategies to support the sustainable development of the sector.