Skip to content
1981
Volume 12, Issue 1
  • ISSN: 2042-7913
  • E-ISSN: 2042-7921

Abstract

This article discusses the social processes underpinning the co-construction and performance of hotel hospitality culture. The influence of culture within the hospitality sector has inspired conceptual and empirical research resulting in a significant literature base. However, gaps remain in understanding how culture manifests itself through behaviour in the publicly accessible areas of a hotel. This gap was addressed by research designed to uncover the social processes and behavioural dynamics underpinning the construction of hotel culture/s. Informed by social constructionism, a purposeful sampling strategy and a range of qualitative methods were employed: participant observation, a fieldwork diary recording observations of behavioural encounters, conversational and semi-structured interviews. The findings demonstrate that hotel hospitality culture is co-constructed and performed through interactions between people. Two distinct hotel cultures emerged, / and . The findings provide a deeper, more holistic understanding of how hospitality culture is brought to life in hotels through the taken-for-granted social encounters between people, encounters wherein hospitality is given, received and experienced.

© 2022 Intellect Ltd
Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journals/10.1386/hosp_00043_1
2022-03-01
2026-04-16

Metrics

Loading full text...

Full text loading...

References

  1. Abo-Murad, M., and Al-Khrabsheh, A.. ( 2019;), ‘ Turnover culture and crisis management: Insights from Malaysian hotel industry. ’, Academy of Strategic Management Journal, 18:2, https://www.abacademies.org/articles/Turnover-culture-and-crisis-management-insights-from-malaysian-hotel-industry-1939-6104-18-2-342.pdf. Accessed 6 September 2021.
     [Google Scholar]
  2. Andrews, H.. ( 2011), The British on Holiday: Charter Tourism, Identity and Consumption, Bristol:: Channel View Publications;.
     [Google Scholar]
  3. Andrews, H., and Leopold, T.. ( 2013), Events and the Social Sciences, Abingdon:: Routledge;.
     [Google Scholar]
  4. Andrews, H.,, Roberts, L., and Selwyn, T.. ( 2007;), ‘ Hospitality and eroticism. ’, International Journal of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research, 1:3, pp. 247–62.
     [Google Scholar]
  5. Avermaete, T., and Massey, A.. (eds) ( 2013), Hotel Lobbies and Lounges: The Architecture of Professional Hospitality, Abingdon:: Routledge;.
     [Google Scholar]
  6. Bauman, Z.. ( 1997), Postmodernity and Its Discontents, Cambridge:: Polity Press;.
     [Google Scholar]
  7. Bell, D.. ( 2011;), ‘ Hospitality is society. ’, Hospitality & Society, 1:2, pp. 137–52.
     [Google Scholar]
  8. Bryman, A.. ( 1995), Disney and His Worlds, London:: Routledge;.
     [Google Scholar]
  9. Chen, R. X. Y.,, Cheung, C., and Law, R.. ( 2012;), ‘ A review of the literature on culture in hotel management research: What is the future?. ’, International Journal of Hospitality Management, 31:1, pp. 52–65.
     [Google Scholar]
  10. Cresswell, T.. ( 1996), In Place/Out of Place, Minneapolis, MN:: Minnesota Press;.
     [Google Scholar]
  11. Creswell, J. W.. ( 2007), Qualitative Inquiry & Research Design: Choosing among Five Approaches, , 2nd ed.., London:: Sage;.
     [Google Scholar]
  12. Crotty, M.. ( 2004), The Foundations of Social Research: Meaning and Perspective in the Research Process, London:: Sage;.
     [Google Scholar]
  13. Cuthill, V.. ( 2007;), ‘ Sensing and performing hospitalities and socialities of tourist places: Eating and drinking out in Harrogate and Whitehaven. ’, in J. G. Molz, and S. Gibson. (eds), Mobilizing Hospitality: The Ethics of Social Relations in a Mobile Worlds, Aldershot:: Ashgate;, pp. 83–100.
     [Google Scholar]
  14. Dallabona, A.. ( 2016;), ‘ At home with the Missoni family: Narratives of domesticity within Hotel Missoni Edinburgh. ’, Home Cultures, 13:1, pp. 1–21.
     [Google Scholar]
  15. Dawson, M., and Abbott, J.. ( 2011;), ‘ Hospitality culture and climate: A proposed model for retaining employees and creating competitive advantage. ’, International Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Administration, 12:4, pp. 289–304.
     [Google Scholar]
  16. Delaney, C.. ( 2011), Investigating Culture (with Deborah Kaspin) , Chichester:: Wiley-Blackwell;.
     [Google Scholar]
  17. Dewalt, K. M., and Dewalt, B. R.. ( 2002), Participant Observation, Walnut Creek, CA:: Altamira Press;.
     [Google Scholar]
  18. Dikeç, M.. ( 2002;), ‘ Perak, Peras, Poros: Longings for spaces of hospitality. ’, Theory, Culture & Society, 19:1&2, pp. 227–47.
     [Google Scholar]
  19. Dregen, M.. ( 2008), Sensing Cities: Regenerating Public Life in Barcelona and Manchester, London:: Routledge;.
     [Google Scholar]
  20. Emerson, R. M.,, Fretz, R. I., and Shaw, L. L.. ( 2011), Writing Ethnographic Fieldnotes, , 2nd ed.., Chicago, IL:: University of Chicago Press;.
     [Google Scholar]
  21. Eriksen, T. H.. ( 2004), What is Anthropology?, London:: Pluto Press;.
     [Google Scholar]
  22. Fetterman, D. M.. ( 2010), Ethnography: Step-by-Step, , 3rd ed.., London:: Sage;.
     [Google Scholar]
  23. Fine, G. A.. ( 1996), Kitchens: The Culture of Restaurant Work, Berkley, CA:: University of California Press;.
     [Google Scholar]
  24. Fisher, G., and Beatson, A.. ( 2002;), ‘ The impact of culture on self-service on technology adoption in the hotel industry. ’, International Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Administration, 3:3, pp. 59–77.
     [Google Scholar]
  25. Flick, U.. ( 2007), Designing Qualitative Research, London:: Sage;.
     [Google Scholar]
  26. Geertz, C.. ( 1973), The Interpretation of Cultures, New York, NY:: Basic Books;.
     [Google Scholar]
  27. Giddens, A.. ( 1991), The Consequences of Modernity, Cambridge:: Polity;.
     [Google Scholar]
  28. Goffman, E.. ( 1959), The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life, London:: Penguin;.
     [Google Scholar]
  29. Hall, S.,, Evans, J., and Nixon, S.. (eds) ( 2013), Representation, , 2nd ed.., London:: Sage;.
     [Google Scholar]
  30. Hamera, J. A.. ( 2006;), ‘ Introduction: Opening Opening Acts. ’, in J. Hamera. (ed.), Opening Acts Performance in/as Communication and Cultural Studies, London:: Sage;, pp. 1–10.
     [Google Scholar]
  31. Hemmington, N.. ( 2007;), ‘ From service to experience: Understanding and defining the hospitality business. ’, The Service Industries Journal, 27:6, pp. 747–55.
     [Google Scholar]
  32. Höykinpuro, R.. ( 2015;), ‘ Front stage with no front-stage employees: Customer perceptions of self-service hotels. ’, in A. Ropo,, P. Salovaara,, E. Sauer, and D. De Paoli. (eds), Leadership in Spaces and Places, Cheltenham:: Edward Elgar Publishing;, pp. 163–80.
     [Google Scholar]
  33. Huizinga, J.. ( [1949] 2002), Homo Ludens: A Study of the Play-Element in Culture, Abingdon:: Routledge;.
     [Google Scholar]
  34. Inglis, D.. ( 2005), Culture and Everyday Life, Abingdon:: Routledge;.
     [Google Scholar]
  35. Jackson, M.. ( 1995), At Home in the World, Durham, NC:: Duke University Press;.
     [Google Scholar]
  36. Jenks, C.. ( 2005), Culture, , 2nd ed.., Abingdon:: Routledge;.
     [Google Scholar]
  37. Kvale, S., and Brinkmann, S.. ( 2009), Interviews: Learning the Craft of Qualitative Research Interviewing, , 2nd ed.., London:: Sage;.
     [Google Scholar]
  38. Lashley, C.,, Lynch, P., and Morrison, A.. (eds) ( 2007), Hospitality: A Social Lens, Oxford:: Elsevier;.
     [Google Scholar]
  39. Lefebvre, H.. ( [1974] 1991), The Production of Space (trans. D. Nicholson-Smith.), Oxford:: Blackwell;.
     [Google Scholar]
  40. Leonard, K.. ( 2019;), ‘ The importance of training & development in the hospitality industry. ’, Chron, 25 January, https://smallbusiness.chron.com/importance-training-development-hospitality-industry-64312.html. Accessed 20 May 2021.
     [Google Scholar]
  41. Lim, F. K. G.. ( 2007;), ‘ Hotels as sites of power: Tourism, status, and politics in Nepal Himalaya. ’, Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute (NS), 13:3, pp. 721–38.
     [Google Scholar]
  42. Lugosi, P.. ( 2006;), ‘ Between overt and covert research: Concealment and disclosure in an ethnographic study of commercial hospitality. ’, Qualitative Inquiry, 12:3, pp. 541–61.
     [Google Scholar]
  43. Lugosi, P.. ( 2008;), ‘ Hospitality spaces, hospitable moments: Consumer encounters and affective experiences in commercial settings. ’, Journal of Foodservice, 19:2, pp. 139–49.
     [Google Scholar]
  44. Lugosi, P.. ( 2014;), ‘ Hospitality and organizations: Enchantment, entrenchment and reconfiguration. ’, Hospitality & Society, 4:1, pp. 75–92.
     [Google Scholar]
  45. Luo, A.,, Guchait, P.,, Lee, L., and Madera, J. M.. ( 2019;), ‘ Transformational leadership and service recovery performance: The mediating effect of emotional labor and the influence of culture. ’, International Journal of Hospitality Management, 77, pp. 31–39.
     [Google Scholar]
  46. Lynch, P.. ( 2015;), ‘ Understanding hospitality. ’, Hospitality & Society, 5:1, pp. 3–5.
     [Google Scholar]
  47. Lynch, P.,, Germann Molz, J.,, McIntosh, A.,, Lugosi, P., and Lashley, C.. ( 2011;), ‘ Editorial theorizing hospitality. ’, Hospitality & Society, 1:1, pp. 3–24.
     [Google Scholar]
  48. Lynch, P., and MacWhannell, D.. ( 2000;), ‘ Home and commercialized hospitality. ’, in C. Lashley, and A. Morrison. (eds), In Search of Hospitality: Theoretical Perspectives and Debates, London:: Routledge;, pp. 100–17.
     [Google Scholar]
  49. Mallett, S.. ( 2014;), ‘ Understanding home: A critical review of the literature. ’, The Sociological Review, 52:1, pp. 62–89.
     [Google Scholar]
  50. Mars, G., and Nicod, M.. ( 1984), The World of Waiters, London:: Allen and Unwin;.
     [Google Scholar]
  51. McGinley, S.,, Wei, W.,, Zhang, L., and Zheng, Y.. ( 2021;), ‘ The state of qualitative research in hospitality: A 5-year review 2014 to 2019. ’, Cornell Hospitality Quarterly, 62:1, pp. 8–20.
     [Google Scholar]
  52. Moore, A.. ( 1980;), ‘ Walt Disney World: Bounded ritual space and the playful pilgrimage center. ’, Anthropological Quarterly, 53:4, pp. 207–18.
     [Google Scholar]
  53. Morrison, A.. ( 2018;), ‘ Hospitality research: Legacies and futures. ’, Tourism Management Perspectives, 25, pp. 189–92.
     [Google Scholar]
  54. Nazarian, A.,, Atkinson, P., and Foroudi, P.. ( 2017;), ‘ Influence of national culture and balanced organizational culture on the hotel industry’s performance. ’, International Journal of Hospitality Management, 63:1, pp. 22–32.
     [Google Scholar]
  55. Ogbonna, E., and Harris, L. C.. ( 2002;), ‘ Managing organizational culture: Insights from the hospitality industry. ’, Human Resource Management Journal, 12:1, pp. 33–53.
     [Google Scholar]
  56. Palmer, C.. ( 2001;), ‘ Ethnography: A research method in practice. ’, International Journal of Tourism Research, 3:4, pp. 301–12.
     [Google Scholar]
  57. Palmer, C.,, Cooper, J., and Burns, P.. ( 2010;), ‘ Culture, identity, and belonging in the “culinary underbelly”. ’, International Journal of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research, 4:4, pp. 311–26.
     [Google Scholar]
  58. Pizam, A.. ( 1993;), ‘ Managing cross-cultural hospitality enterprises. ’, in P. Jones, and A. Pizam. (eds), The International Hospitality Industry: Organizational and Operational Issues, London:: Pitman;, pp. 205–25.
     [Google Scholar]
  59. Prince, S.. ( 2021;), ‘ Performing genealogy through travel narratives. ’, Annals of Tourism Research, 86, pp. 1–10.
     [Google Scholar]
  60. Pritchard, A., and Morgan, N.. ( 2006;), ‘ Hotel Babylon? Exploring hotels as liminal sites of transition and transgression. ’, Tourism Management, 27:5, pp. 762–72.
     [Google Scholar]
  61. Ritzer, G.. ( 1993), The McDonaldization of Society, Thousand Oaks, CA:: Pine Forge Press;.
     [Google Scholar]
  62. Ritzer, G.. ( 2007;), ‘ Inhospitable hospitality?. ’, in C. Lashley,, P. Lynch, and A. Morrison. (eds), Hospitality: A Social Lens, Oxford:: Elsevier;, pp. 129–40.
     [Google Scholar]
  63. Schänzel, H. A.,, Brocx, M., and Sadaraka, L.. ( 2014;), ‘ (Un)conditional hospitality: The host experience of the Polynesian community in Auckland. ’, Hospitality & Society, 4:2, pp. 135–54.
     [Google Scholar]
  64. Schechner, R.. ( 2003), Performance Theory, , rev. and expanded ed.., New York, NY:: Routledge;.
     [Google Scholar]
  65. Schwartzman, H. B.. ( 1982), Transformations: The Anthropology of Children’s Play, New York, NY:: Plenum Press;.
     [Google Scholar]
  66. Selwyn, T.. ( 2000;), ‘ An anthropology of hospitality. ’, in C. Lashley, and A. Morrison. (eds), In Search of Hospitality: Theoretical Perspectives and Debates, Oxford:: Butterworth-Heinemann;, pp. 18–37.
     [Google Scholar]
  67. Shryock, A.. ( 2004;), ‘ The new Jordanian hospitality: House, host and guest in the culture of public display. ’, Comparative Studies in Society and History, 46:1, pp. 35–62.
     [Google Scholar]
  68. Telfer, E.. ( 2000;), ‘ The philosophy of hospitableness. ’, in C. Lashley, and A. Morrison. (eds), In Search of Hospitality: Theoretical Perspectives and Debates, London:: Butterworth-Heinemann;, pp. 38–55.
     [Google Scholar]
  69. Tresidder, R.. ( 2015;), ‘ Experiences marketing: A cultural philosophy for contemporary hospitality marketing studies. ’, Journal of Hospitality Marketing & Management, 24:7, pp. 708–26.
     [Google Scholar]
  70. Wagner, R.. ( 1981), The Invention of Culture, , rev. and expanded ed.., Chicago, IL:: University of Chicago Press;.
     [Google Scholar]
  71. Walsh, D., and Searle, C.. ( 2018;), ‘ Doing ethnography. ’, in C. Searle. (ed.), Researching Society and Culture, , 4th ed.., London:: Sage;, pp. 155–74.
     [Google Scholar]
  72. Walters, T.. ( 2016;), ‘ Using thematic analysis in tourism research. ’, Tourism Analysis, 21:1, pp. 107–16.
     [Google Scholar]
  73. Welten, R.. ( 2015;), ‘ Hospitality and its ambivalences: On Zygmunt Bauman. ’, Hospitality and Society, 5:1, pp. 7–21.
     [Google Scholar]
  74. Wolcott, H. F.. ( 1999), Ethnography: A Way of Seeing, Walnut Creek, CA:: Altamira Press;.
     [Google Scholar]
  75. Wu, S.-H., and Gao, Y.. ( 2019;), ‘ Understanding emotional customer experience and co-creation behaviours in luxury hotels. ’, International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 31:11, pp. 4247–75.
     [Google Scholar]
  76. Young, R. A., and Collin, A.. ( 2004;), ‘ Introduction: Constructivism and social constructionism in the career field. ’, Journal of Vocational Behavior, 64:3, pp. 373–88.
     [Google Scholar]
  77. Zhang, P.,, Gerdes, H., and Meng, F.. ( 2020;), ‘ The impact of national culture on hotel guest evaluation: A big data approach. ’, International Journal of Tourism Research, 22:2, pp. 582–92.
     [Google Scholar]
  78. Laerdal, Kirsti Margrethe,, Palmer, Catherine, and Lester, Jo-Anne. ( 2022;), ‘ Constructing and performing hotel hospitality culture. ’, Hospitality & Society, 12:1, pp. 3–26, https://doi.org/10.1386/hosp_00043_1
     [Google Scholar]
/content/journals/10.1386/hosp_00043_1
Loading
Constructing and performing hotel hospitality culture
Hospitality & Society 12, 3 (2022); https://doi.org/10.1386/hosp_00043_1
/content/journals/10.1386/hosp_00043_1
/content/journals/10.1386/hosp_00043_1
Loading

Data & Media loading...

  • Article Type: Article
Keyword(s): behaviour; co-construction; hospitality culture; hotel culture; performance; qualitative research

Most Cited Most Cited RSS feed

This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was a success
Invalid data
An error occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error
Please enter a valid_number test