Overlooked liminal labor in the sustainable hospitality workforce: The case of J-1 workers

Abstract

This study examines how the temporary, transitional status of J-1 visa workers in the U.S. hotel industry affects their experiences, using the theoretical lens of liminality to understand them as socialized individuals. Employing a mixed-methods approach, this study conducts in-depth interviews with J-1 hotel workers and analyzes Reddit posts using Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers (BERT) models and Large Language Models (LLMs), integrating personal narratives with broader stakeholder perspectives. The study identifies four key themes that reveal the structural and relational challenges arising from J-1 hotel workers’ liminal status. The 12-month visa limit creates uncertainty and hinders the formation of lasting connections. Often treated as cheap labor rather than learners, they lack managerial support and sufficient assistance from sponsoring agencies. These structural issues not only make the J-1s vulnerable but also place additional strain on permanent staff. The study highlights the substantial effects of liminality on their professional development, social integration, and emotional well-being. This study fills a research gap by examining J-1 hotel workers as social beings, not merely temporary labor. It offers new insights into the challenges posed by their liminal status and underscores the need to integrate them into sustainable employment practices. Methodologically, this study advances text analysis in tourism and hospitality by incorporating deep learning tools like BERT and LLMs for qualitative data analysis.