The research suggested, therefore, that generalisations about employee management in such a diverse industry are difficult to make and, given that managerial responses to the pressures and tensions of the industry are difficult to predict, a contingent approach is necessary to understand managerial practice, especially in relation to strategic HR planning. Elements of the industry context, for example the unpredictability of demand and the subsequent “need” for employment flexibility, appeared endemic to most hotels yet managerial responses to their environment were diverse. Therefore, while the industry itself provides the broader context, it is the immediate circumstance of the individual establishment that appeared to provide the greatest influence on employment practice. The research highlights both the diversity of employee relations policies and practices adopted by managers and organisations in the UK hotel sector but also the relative paucity of strategic approaches to HRM across the sector. Even where more considered approaches to employee management were evident, considerable diversity of responses to environmental pressures were also found. While the survey gives some indication that larger hotels are more likely to demonstrate greater formality of employee relations11, the range of practices adopted, even within the selective interview sample, indicates that there is little uniformity even among similar establishments.