Behind the Smile: Exploring the Verbal Harassment of Front Office Employees by Guests

Abstract

Guest verbal harassment is an increasingly recognised challenge in frontline hospitality work, yet its impact on hotel front office employees remains underexplored. Existing research on customer misbehaviour in hospitality has predominantly focused on the food and beverage, kitchen, or housekeeping departments, overlooking the front office despite its high visibility, emotional demands, and constant guest interaction. This qualitative interpretivist study examines how front office hotel staff in New Zealand perceive and respond to verbal harassment from guests, with a particular focus on gendered perceptions, emotional reactions, and motivational outcomes. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with front office personnel working in New Zealand hotels, and the data analysed using a reflexive thematic analysis approach. The findings indicate that verbal harassment is often embedded in routine guest interactions and frequently normalised as part of service work. However, employees' interpretations and coping strategies were significantly influenced by gender. Women participants reported cumulative emotional strain more frequently than did male participants, which was linked to sustained emotional labour and feelings of professional devaluation. The male participants revealed challenges related to authority, role legitimacy, and confidence during guest interactions. Overall, the study demonstrates that guest verbal harassment has profound emotional and motivational effects on front office staff and underscores the need for greater organisational recognition and support of affected staff. By emphasising the front office perspective in a New Zealand hotel context, this research extends knowledge of hospitality scholarship on customer misbehaviour and offers practical insights for hotel management and staff wellbeing.