Purpose: This paper aims to explore the relationship between human resource management practices, breach of psychological contract and employee turnover intentions among hotel frontline employees, considering the scant research attention to frontline employee’s perspectives in Indian hospitality industry. Design/methodology/approach: A survey design was used to collect responses from 294 frontline employees (front-office and food and beverage services). Multiple regression analyses have been used to test the hypothesized relationships. Findings: Selection, training and compensation practices were found to influence employee’s turnover intentions. In addition, psychological contract breach was found to enhance employee’s turnover intentions, despite the implementation of effective human resource management practices. Originality/value: This study examines the role of psychological contract breach as a moderator in the relationship between human resource management practices and turnover intentions in a highly labour-intensive context, the hospitality industry. © 2017, © Emerald Publishing Limited.