Context is an important but largely ignored dimension of quality service encounters. This paper contributes to the hospitality service industries literature by examining how the front-of-house and back-of-house boundary work (Nippert-Eng 1996, 2003) engaged by Room Attendants working within the hotel guest room space impact on the hospitality impression management performed. Qualitative data from fieldwork engaging with hotel employees located within the tourist resort of Queenstown New Zealand are used to explore the multiple fronts on which the front-of-house and back-of-house boundaries are simultaneously negotiated. The results suggest that Room Attendants negotiate the front-of-house and back-of-house boundary through objects – such as the guest room and articles belonging to the guest – and aspects of self– such as impression management, safety, socialising and self-responsibility for room checking. The results support the importance of considering context when seeking to understand the complexities associated with the (re)production of a reliably positive service encounter.

This study identified and analysed current corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices and benefits gained from implementing these activities in the United States (US) lodging industry. A survey of the US-based hotel executives showed that the most important and highest performing initiatives tended to be popular environmental practices focused on energy, waste and water management. Hotel executives reported that cost savings and branding-related outcomes were the greatest benefits from CSR implementation. It is argued that increased consumer and managerial learning of CSR activities from a holistic perspective is critical to moving the CSR program forward in the lodging industry.

One of the main reasons older people give for their reluctance to consider residential care as a way of meeting their support needs is the fear of losing their independence. Research has confirmed that such anxiety is well-founded. This paper explores how far two different approaches to residential care enable older people who become residents to maintain their autonomy and independence. It traces the historical development of residential care and of hotels, using a case study of a private residential home run by former hoteliers to compare its approach to ‘the residential task’ with that adopted in local authority homes. Attention is focused on the translation of the core values of independence, privacy, dignity, choice and rights into a daily reality for residents. It is suggested that there are both structural and individual factors which account for the differences observed.

The paper draws tentative conclusions as to why a ‘service’ rather than a ‘social care’ approach may be more successful in enabling older people to preserve their autonomy and privacy after moving into a care home.