This paper examines the debates surrounding attempts to restrict the career of barmaids in Victorian hotels. It argues that the early attempts to prohibit barmaids were largely concerned with labour issues. Male hotel workers feared the incursions of female labour in the bar more than in other hotel occupations due to the pivotal role of the bar in developing careers in hotel management. It is by understanding Victorian attitudes to wealth creation that we can gain insights into the development of rigid hierarchical structure of labour in the modern hotel.