Status and hotel and catering work: theoretical dimensions and practical implications

The concept of status has been neglected in mainstream sociology but figures prominently, if implicitly, in many analyses of hotel and catering work. In those contexts, status is employed as an explanatory variable, but its meaning and usage are unclear. This paper identifies ways in which status is used in explaining work place behavior. The concept of status markers is introduced and described. It is argued that a wider appreciation of the distribution of social honor in society is necessary for a proper understanding of the role of status in hospitality organiza-tions. From this, a preliminary model of status in organizations is developed, and the model’s implications for human resource management in the hospitality industry i