Missing voices: Australian children's insights and perceptions of family holidays. Issue 2 (1st June 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Hay, Brian
• Is Part Of: Hospitality & society. Volume 7:Issue 2(2017)
• Page Start: 133
• Page End: 155
• Publication Date: 2017-06-01
• Subjects: Hospitality industry -- Social aspects -- Periodicals; Hospitality -- Social aspects -- Periodicals; 338.4791
• DOI: 10.1386/hosp.7.2.133_1
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2042-7913

Abstract

Through 26 face-to-face parental supervised discussions with children (9–14 years of age) at various 4/5 star hotels in Australia from 2009–14, four themes were explored: food and family dining; privacy and personal space; fun and enjoyment; socialization. The results suggest that children expect the same quality of services/facilities in hotels as they have at home, and while they recognized that some services/facilities are designed for and are more suitable for adults, they nevertheless expect equal access to services/facilities. In addition, the children also recognized that family holidays provided an opportunity to connect through shared social experiences, with their siblings and parents, but also with children from outside the family group. The key insights were: first, we may have underestimated the importance of family holidays in providing a safe space for children to raise challenging family issues not normally discussed at home. Second, we may have undervalued the role that hotel staff and children from outside the family can play in strengthening the socialization aspects of the family holiday. Third, we may have failed to recognize there are not two separate worlds in the provision of hotel services: a children's world and an adult world. As children grow older they expect fluidity in the provision of hotel services, as they increasingly move between their child world and the adult world.