Final Synopsis

Dealing with Sexual Advances from Guests in the Hospitality Industry


1. Introduction

1.1 Workplace Context

Since the sexual harassment allegations against movie producer Harvey Weinstein surfaced at the end of 2017, more high-profile cases of sexual harassment and assault at work have come to light. However, much less attention has been paid to the rampant harassment taking place in the front line of the hotel industry.   
In the business of hospitality, as much as each guest interaction serves as a chance to wow the guest, it must be recognized that it is also an opening for guests to make unwanted sexual advances on hotel staff. In fact, it is not only staff in departments that experience high customer-contact such as the front office or F&B outlets that have to deal with unwanted advances, but also housekeeping. A survey conducted by showed that 58 percent of hotel workers who work as housekeepers and servers had been sexually harassed by a guest (Unite Here, 2017).

1.2 Thematic Focus

With Singapore becoming more culturally diverse, there is a wider range of international guests staying in local hotels, and with it comes different expectations. The main audience of this project will cover hotel workers from various hotel departments that have daily guest encounters, specifically front office, F&B, and housekeeping.
Firstly, hotel workers will be educated to identify sexual advancements from guests. This includes not just inappropriate requests, but also inappropriate language and reading sexual innuendos. A lot of people are unable to recognise sexual advances in the first place, especially younger new entrants to the industry, therefore they do not know the appropriate response, and that is where conflict happens.
Upon recognizing sexual advances, the next step is teaching workers to deal with them. The complexity comes in when there is a need to both protect the workers, whilst at the same time avoid undue embarrassment for guests so that they will be able to maintain a certain level of integrity.

2. Literature Review

Declining a guest’s request is inevitable in the business of hospitality, where the golden rule is to never say “no” to guests and accommodate their requests to achieve service excellence. As such, hotel staff are always caught in a difficult position when they have to refuse a guest, especially when it comes to legal or policy-related issues. While such requests may be deemed as irrational and impossible, guests see them as completely legitimate and warranted (eHotelier, 2017). This is especially the case in well-established and upscale hotels, where guests have a tendency to hold higher expectations.
Each individual has a subjective opinion of what construes sexual harassment, which thus makes definition difficult (Gilbert, Guerrier, & Guy, 1998). According to the Association of Women for Action and Research (AWARE), sexual harassment is defined as the “threatening, abusive or insulting words, behaviours or communications of a sexual nature” (AWARE, 2017). This includes unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favours, and any other inappropriate verbal or physical conduct of sexual nature (Gilbert, Guerrier, & Guy, 1998)
Although social interaction is a large element in the hospitality industry, almost half of managers surveyed (46.9%) believed that sexual harassment is rarely an issue in the workplace. Hence, it is no surprise that only 36.7% of managers in the hospitality are fairly confident of their staff handling sexual harassment (Gilbert, Guerrier, & Guy, 1998). However, this issue should not be overlooked as it could potentially hamstring hotel operations. Manpower shortage has always been a struggle in the hospitality industry. With the additional matter of sexual harassment, it would potentially lead to decreased productivity, increased absenteeism, and eventually high staff turnover (Gilbert, Guerrier, & Guy, 1998).

3. Research Objectives, Methods & Importance

3.1 Research Objective

The objective of this research is to educate service personnel, and in extension, training managers, on the potential sexual advances encountered in the hospitality industry. The study will focus on two main pointers: how to recognise and identify sexual advances, and the appropriate response to such situations should they occur.

3.2 Research Importance

The nature of the hospitality industry requires interaction with international guests of different cultures, and this is no different in Singapore. Despite the multicultural environment Singaporeans are brought up in, many may still be unfamiliar with how to handle such situations. Case in point, an incident took place in Singapore, where a Saudi Arabian diplomat molested a hotel staff while she was showing him to his room. This demonstrates that even one of the safest countries in the world is not exempt from such undesirable behaviours from guests. Hence, it is vital that hotel staff are protected, but at the same time uphold professionalism in their job.

3.3 Research Method
Primary research was obtained from employees in the hospitality industry, where interviews were conducted with present and former hotel employees. The focus of these interviews was on their personal experiences on the sexual advances they have encountered while working, and how they dealt with it.
Secondary research was conducted to identify the different types of sexual advances that may occur and established ways to appropriately deal with sexual advances in the industry.


4. Potential Solution & Benefit

4.1 Educational Workshops - Dealing with Sexual Advances

A potential solution to this problem would be to recognise the existence of sexual advances and how often it can happen in the workplace instead of shunning from the problem (Reader, 2017). With this awareness, educational workshops can be provided on how to deal with such situations.

The focus of these workshops should be on building consciousness for hotel staff who are more oblivious to the existence of such sexual advances and innuendos and provide ways to deal with the situation. Furthermore, the contents of the workshop should include practical examples of the different type of gestures and physical contacts often made to pre-empt hotel staff for future incidents.

Certain actions from various cultures of guests possess different meanings and it is important to provide education on such connotations. For example, the phrase “let’s take a break” could mean taking a break in a love hotel for the Japanese culture, while the phrase “let’s go have some lemon juice together” would imply for a night of sensual activities in the Vietnamese culture (Rasimaviciute, 2015)
Workshop topics can also include defensive communication. These methods include how to dominate in a situation and how to appear superior and avoid or mitigate such situations from escalating (Gibb, 1965). This is essential in ensuring that staff are properly equipped with the right skill sets in subtle manners, and build their confidence in handling sexual advances appropriately

4.2 Benefits of solution

The implementations of such solutions would result in improved staff satisfaction and serve as a morale booster for any front line staff. This is especially so as their nature of work requires direct interaction with guests, resulting in a higher probability in encountering sexual advances. Through displaying care and concern for their staff in understanding the troubles encountered and providing tangible solutions, it would lead to a lower employee turnover rate, one of key concerns in the hospitality industry. Additionally, guest satisfaction would not be sacrificed, as employees have been trained with proper handling techniques to deal with these advances whilst maintain the professionalism required at the same time.

5. Conclusion

The hotel industry is one that demands interaction with guests of diverse cultures, and it is this very nature that allows for undesirable sexual advances from guests in the course of work. Furthermore, in luxury hotels where service excellence is expected, the process of declining guests is often a difficult situation. More often than not, the main victims of such advances are front line staff, which could potentially lead to low productivity and high staff turnover.

It is therefore important to equip and educate the employees in techniques to effectively diffuse such situations. This can be communicated through workshops which focus on identifying sexual advances and innuendos, and the appropriate defensive communication techniques to effectively handle such situations. This care and concern shown for staff will overall benefit both employees and guests, as staff will be trained to deal with the advances whilst simultaneously maintaining the required professionalism.

6. References
Association of Women for Action and Research . (2017). What is sexual
Chelvan, V. P. (2017, July 21). Saudi diplomat who sexually assaulted hotel employee has
appeal dismissed. Retrieved March 14, 2018, from
eHotelier. (2017, October 7). How to say ‘No’ to your guests (without saying ‘No’).
GIBB, J. (1965). DEFENSIVE COMMUNICATION. ETC: A Review of General Semantics, 22(2), 221-229. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/42574118


Gilbert, D., Guerrier, Y., & Guy, J. (1998). Sexual Harassment Issues in the
Hospitality Industry. Emeraldinsight.
Rasimaviciute, D. (2015). Instead Of Saying 'Netflix And Chill,' Here's How People
In Asia Drop Hints To The Opposite Sex. Retrieved from A Plus: http://aplus.com/a/hint-netflix-asia?no_monetization=true
Reader, R. (2017). The Real Reasons Women Don’t Report Sexual Harassment.
Retrieved from Fast Company March 13, 2018, from
https://www.fastcompany.com/3068610/the-real-reasons-women-dont-report-sexual-harassment

UNITE HERE. (2017, Oct 6). Home: Press Release . Retrieved from Unite Here : http://www.unitehere1.org/2017/10/ordinance-to-protect-chicago-hotel-workers-from-sexual-harassment-and-assault-passes-the-committee-on-workforce-development-advances-to-full-city-council/

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