“We have to take care of them”: front office workers and the secret sexual encounters of guests in high-end hotels
ISSN: 0142-5455
Article publication date: 20 January 2022
Issue publication date: 22 April 2022
Abstract
Purpose
In line with the escapist dimension of hospitality settings, the article investigates how the front office staff of high-end hotels deal with clients' secret sexual encounters.
Design/methodology/approach
The article draws on data collected through a participant observation study conducted in two high-end hotels in Milan (Italy), during which the author held the role of front-line receptionist.
Findings
The research illustrates the ways in which workers frame events and conduct operations to guarantee the appropriate conditions for guests' extra-marital adventures and paid sexual encounters. In revealing the role of shared knowledge as well as non-formalised procedures in meeting guests' needs, the article shows how employees seek to protect their own work and the hotel's image.
Originality/value
The article sheds light on the very features of high-end service work by illustrating how workers satisfy clients' secret needs and unexpressed demands.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The author thanks Prof. Giovanna Fullin, Prof. Ivana Fellini (University of Milan-Bicocca) and Prof. Sylvie Monchatre (University of Lyon 2) for helpful discussions on the first version of this article.
Citation
Gaspani, F. (2022), "“We have to take care of them”: front office workers and the secret sexual encounters of guests in high-end hotels", Employee Relations, Vol. 44 No. 4, pp. 913-925. https://doi.org/10.1108/ER-12-2020-0535
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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