Some social and historical perspectives on unionization in the U.K. hotel industry

Abstract

The subject here is the relationship between hotel workers and trade unionism in Great Britain. The essay uses a historical and sociological perspective to explore three principal themes; these are, that historically hotel workers have been isolated from the mainstream of the labour movement; that the hotel work situation deters unionism by engendering close proximity with guests and management and finally that established unionism itself has a production orientation which is not easily compatible with the hotel worker's ethos or self-identity. The background to these arguments is the development of the British hotel industry with particular emphasis on evolution of hotel work from domestic service during the period 1890–1911. The conclusion drawn is that these themes are an explanation in part for the low union density in the U.K. hotel industry.