Cinderella in Babylon: the representation of housekeeping and housekeepers in the UK television series Hotel Babylon

Date
2011
Authors
Harris, C
Tregidga, H
Williamson, D
Supervisor
Item type
Journal Article
Degree name
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Intellect Ltd
Abstract

This article examines representations of housekeeping and housekeepers in the popular television series Hotel Babylon. We take a reflective approach in consid-ering how identities and roles in the Hotel Babylon series are constructed, regarding the housekeeping department and its workers. We identify that the representation of housekeeping work and employees is one of mainly sexualized victims, migrant workers and denigrated employees. Some possible effects of the identity and role constructed in this series are discussed; in particular an under-mining and undervaluing of a career in housekeeping. This study suggests more fundamental concerns about sustaining service quality and employment relation-ships in the hotel sector.

Description
Keywords
Hotel Babylon , Housekeeping , Representation , Migrants , Sexualization
Source
Hospitality and Society, vol.1(1), pp.47-66
DOI
Rights statement
This is a pre-print version of the article as required by the original publisher.
Copyright © Intellect 2011. (http://www.intellectbooks.co.uk). The first issue of Hospitality & Society is a Free Issue. The full text is free and open access. Articles are published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/uk/. This license ensures that original authorship is properly and fully attributed and the Journal and Intellect are recognised as the original place of publication. (Please see Citataion and Publisher's Version).