An undervalued department or a terra incognita? Hotel housekeeping from the perspectives of executive housekeepers and room attendants

Yılmaz Ö. D.

TOURISM, cilt.65, sa.4, ss.450-461, 2017 (ESCI) identifier identifier

  • Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
  • Cilt numarası: 65 Sayı: 4
  • Basım Tarihi: 2017
  • Dergi Adı: TOURISM
  • Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI), Scopus
  • Sayfa Sayıları: ss.450-461
  • Anahtar Kelimeler: housekeeping department, executive housekeeper, room attendant, career opportunity, Turkey, WORK
  • Dokuz Eylül Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

Work in the housekeeping department is related to the sale of guest rooms, which is principally the main product in hotels. Nevertheless, considering a career in the housekeeping department of a hotel is beyond consideration among students studying tourism and new university graduates. This paper's aims are two fold, the first is to explore the reasons why housekeeping work remains undesirable. The second is to illustrate the importance of raising the visibility of this department as a career. Findings from 14 in-depth interviews with executive housekeepers and room attendants revealed that the perception of the work in housekeeping as "unskilled" is still quite common; however there are also some unnoticed career opportunities. After the discourse on these inquiries, the study concludes with recommendations for tourism graduates and tourism academicians, and also includes some suggestions for hotel managers.