The class lens: How social class shapes hotel employees’ beliefs about how customers see them

This study investigates how social class, as an intangible yet ubiquitous force, shapes hotel employees’ negative meta-stereotypes; i.e., employees’ beliefs regarding customer-held stereotypes about their occupational group. Across five experiments involving 823 qualified online panel members, we found that hotel employees in lower social classes experienced greater negative meta-stereotypes compared to their counterparts in higher social classes. This social class effect was, in part, driven by their concerns about being discriminated against by others, which in turn undermined their service and organizational performance. Furthermore, the social class effect was enhanced in hotel employees with an entity mindset but disappeared in those with an incremental mindset. Our findings not only enrich the repertoire of antecedents of negative meta-stereotypes but also advance the understanding of socio-psychological consequences of social hierarchies in hospitality, offering hotel organizations practical insights for addressing class-based discrimination and stigmatization.