The perceptions of frontline employees towards hotel overbooking practices: exploring ethical challenges

This paper explores the ethical perceptions of frontline hotel employees towards hotel overbooking policies. Thus far, the majority of literature has focused on the ethics of overbooking from the guests' perspective. This research finds that frontline employees form an ethical ideology based on their perceived need to deliver hospitableness to the guest. Overbooking is viewed as a threat to the host-guest relationship. However, if frontline employees can offer relevant compensation to guests and give advanced warning of an outbooking scenario they perceive that an ethical balance between hospitableness and commercially-driven overbooking practices can be achieved.