Professional Cultural Identity as Boundary Work: Front Desk Practices in Eco-Accommodation Systems in Northwest Vietnam

Abstract

This paper examines the professional cultural identity of front desk staff at eco-accommodation establishments in Northwest Vietnam. Drawing on eight weeks of ethnographic fieldwork, including participant observation, semi-structured interviews with 18 front desk staff, and interviews with six contextual informants, the study explores how frontline workers understand, perform, and negotiate their roles in culturally sensitive accommodation settings. The findings show that staff construct their identity not merely as operational employees, but as service professionals, cultural interpreters, emotional mediators, and representatives of place. Their work is shaped by tensions between hotel-like tourist expectations, local community values, cultural authenticity, and the material conditions of eco-accommodation. To manage these tensions, staff use soft explanation, selective cultural translation, emotional mediation, and boundary protection. The study contributes to tourism and hospitality scholarship by showing how this identity is produced through everyday boundary work in sustainable tourism settings