Methods

Study data were collected using qualitative research methods over the course of three separate study visits: July 2013, March 2014, and January 2016. In each of these visits, researchers used participant observation techniques and conducted in-depth, open-ended interviews. Participant observation included observations of staff meetings, interaction with the guesthouse’s staff and volunteers, as well as interactions with guests. These participant observations focused on observing how the guesthouse’s senior management team framed and delivered their interpretive message, with a particular emphasis on how they handled their cross-cultural dynamics.

Researchers also conducted several in-depth interviews with the hostel’s senior management staff, which represents a form of purposeful and key informant sampling strategies. These interviews focused on understanding the guesthouse’s special Arab-Jewish ownership and management partnership and how the guesthouse’s owners/operators view their work in the context of tourism development and the cross-cultural dynamics in the Israeli-Palestinian context.