The Impact of Physical Appearance in the Hospitality Industry: A Study

This report delves into the crucial role of physical appearance within the hospitality industry, exploring its multifaceted impact on various aspects of the business. It begins by establishing the importance of employee presentation, grooming, and adherence to dress codes as essential elements in shaping customer perceptions and brand image. The report examines the influence of physical appearance in job interviews, highlighting how initial impressions can affect hiring decisions. Furthermore, it investigates the implications of body modifications on career opportunities and customer interactions. Through literature review, analysis and discussion, the research examines the effects of physical appearance on hospitality industry performance, and provides recommendations for improving the overall customer experience. The report focuses on the restaurant Sketch in London, UK, including an interview with a manager to gather insights.

Impact of physical
appearance in hospitality
industry
1

Table of Contents
ABSTRACT.....................................................................................................................................3
Aim and Objectives..........................................................................................................................4
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................4
RATIONALE...................................................................................................................................6
LITERATURE REVIEW................................................................................................................7
Impact of physical appearance in the hospitality industry.....................................................7
Impact of physical appearance on job interviews.................................................................10
Impact of body modifications in the hospitality industry.....................................................12
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY...................................................................................................14
Findings analysis and discussion...................................................................................................16
What is the impact of physical appearance on job interviews?............................................16
What is the impact of body modifications in the hospitality industry?................................17
What is the impact of physical appearance in the hospitality industry?...............................19
DATA ANALYSIS........................................................................................................................21
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................26
RECOMMENDATIONS...............................................................................................................28
LIMITATIONS OF THE RESEARCH ........................................................................................30
REFERNCES.................................................................................................................................32
2

ABSTRACT
Physical appearance of the people holds a lot of significance in the hospitality industry
because employees are the people who have direct connection with the guests so it is necessary
to have employees have great appearance. So people who are beautiful are seen as more positive
as compared to the people who do not have great appearance. People in the hospitality industry
are always judged by the people because they involve in direct link to tourists and customers.
The particular research focuses on importance of facial attractiveness in the job interview. The
research focuses on highlighting the impact of physical appearance in the hotel and restaurants.
3

Aim and Objectives
Research aim, objectives and questions are the important step in the research. Research aim
shows the intention of the study; aim needs to be particular and should be achievable. Objectives
are the particular steps that researcher does to attain aim of the research. Questions are the issues
that an investigator wants to investigate (Sims, 2021). The objectives of research should be
particular that what researcher is going to perform and do, they should be measurable that what
all evidences are needed to reach goal, they must be achievable that should not be over
ambitious, they should be realistic like funds, skills and time must be available. Aim and
objectives move project of the research and answer questions of the research.
Aim
To study the impact of physical appearance in hospitality industry.
Objectives
 To study the impact of physical appearance in the hospitality industry.
 To study the impact of physical appearance on job interviews.
 To study the impact of body modifications in the hospitality industry.
Questions
 What is the impact of physical appearance in the hospitality industry?
 What is the impact of physical appearance on job interviews?
 What is the impact of body modifications in the hospitality industry?
INTRODUCTION
Hospitality industry is the type of service industry which has services like food and drink
service, planning of events, transportation, lodging and many more. Hospitality industry is
mainly known for restaurants, eco lodges, resorts, hotels and bars. Hospitality can be defined as
making individuals feel welcome with comfort and entertainment. So, hospitality industry is a
big umbrella which has theme parks, restaurants and much more (Ionel, 2016). This industry
gives priority to the experiences of customers with hotels, eco lodges and restaurants and earns
money by serving and providing services globally as compared to goods. For more and clear
understanding of hospitality industry it includes the four big areas: beverage and food, tourism
and travel, recreation and lodging. The category of food and beverage has lounges and bars,
tourism and travel includes sector of aviation and agencies for travels. Lodging is defined as
4

hotels whereas recreation generally means tasks like tennis, fishing and many more. All these
industries are made and came into existence to give experiences of enjoyment to all those people
who have participated (Ruel and Njoku, 2020). The atmosphere of these industries is very calm,
welcoming, warm and exotic due to their high quality services and offering services like valet
parking. The revenue and profitability of hospitality industry depend on the level of people
enjoying their services. The objective and aim of this industry is providing guests with an exotic
experience. The enjoyment can be delicious meal, relaxing spa, good accommodation and so on.
In recent times hospitality industry has emerged as of the best services industry because their
main motive is to make their guests, tourist and customers comfortable with their services.
To make hospitality industry more attractive among people to attract maximum number
of customers, employees play an important role. Employees are the people who are engaged in
providing services to tourists and guests (Lv and et. al., 2021). So, presentation becomes
significant to get success in hospitality industry. The design and appearance of hotels are
evaluated by people with the uploaded reviews and photographs during booking of rooms. If
these rooms of hotels look unattractive, dirty or cramped then guests would make bad impression
about them. The property of hotel should look presentable, attractive and professional because
they are very important. But as much as appearance of these hotels is necessary, the appearance
of workforce is also important. When it comes to hospitality industry, the appearance of staff,
grooming habits, uniforms are strictly followed because they are the face of hotels and lodges.
These appearances can make the good impression as well as break.
It is said that books should not be judged by cover but hospitality industry is an
exception for this because here presentation matters the most. Events organised by hospitality
industry are examined on the basis of appearance of working staff. From teams of security to
catering, hostesses, bartenders, if these people are not well dressed or are untidy then guests
would make bad judgement about hotels instantly and affect negatively on the good health of
hospitality industry (Kalargyrou, Barber and Kuo, 2018). For hotels appearance of staff is as
significant as selecting the right location for events or providing facility to guests. Hospitality
industry follows strict rules and protocols where employees have to dress up in a neat and clean
uniform and look presentable. As employees’ are the face in front of clients, customers and
investors. Employees are guided at initial stages about uniforms and other requirements so that
they can be aware about the importance of appearance.
5

Guidelines are given to employees in the starting only related to the dress code,
accessories, hairstyles, footwear and many more (Roeffen and Scholl-Grissemann, 2016). The
physical appearance of workforce assists to maintain appearance of whole hotel industry but how
employees do activities also contribute in improving reputation.
Grooming and etiquettes are one of the important methods through which employees are
developed by their employers in this industry. Grooming varies in between female and male
employees but for both of them it is necessary to stay clean and presentable during they are
working. Employees are made to know about the importance of dress codes and give them
framework what all is expected (Macpherson, 2021). Females are given framework about their
hairstyles and make up and men and women both are advised to wear perfumes or deodorant.
The physical appearance of hotel workforce assists in maintaining overall reputation of hotels
but the style they perform also make contribution in the reputation of hotel. Workforce are
motivated to report before their shift timings and taught to treat guests with proper respect. A
proper rule book is made that is followed by employees. Hotelier constantly encourages their
employees to perform effectively and efficiently. Employees who receive maximum praises from
customers or meet expectations are rewarded with recognition and rewards. For the current
research paper the chosen restaurant is Sketch which comes under the hospitality industry. It is
the restaurant which is located in London UK. For achieving the objectives of research one of the
managers of Sketch has been interviewed to gather views and opinions regarding physical
appearance.
RATIONALE
The motive behind carrying this research project is to understand the concept of
hospitality industry and the impact of physical appearance in hospitality industry because
physical appearance helps in attracting large number of customers for hotels and restaurants.
This research would help in understanding the importance of physical appearance in gaining
attention of guests and investors and in maintaining reputation. Another vital reason for choosing
this research topic is attaining two types of perspectives that are: personal and professional
perspective (Small, 2021). In terms of the personal, this assists in determining the significance of
physical appearance in an individual. This also helps me in applying techniques which would
help me in adopting ways through which I bring change in my physical personality. The next
cause is it will help in understanding the impact of physical appearance in increasing the
6

performance of hospitality industry. The physical appearance would help in attaining both kind
of interest that is professional and personal interest. In terms of professional perspective, the
advantage from research is selecting individual who have great physical personality which will
help in making good impression on guests and customers. This would also help me in my
professional career as I would work in personality before joining the industry. It would help me
in building great professional career.
LITERATURE REVIEW
Impact of physical appearance in the hospitality industry
According to Kalargyrou, Barber and Kuo (2018), hospitality industry is about serving
services. Employees of this industry provide service and guests experience this service. The
employees have the responsibility to represent hotels and restaurants and improve image of the
brand. With skills and knowledge of these employees, their personality and physical appearance
also matter. The opinions and views of guests are dependent on the service provided by the
employees with their personality. Companies working under hospitality industry develop
employees through various standards of grooming. The industry focuses on developing and
creating aesthetic skills and appearance of workforce.
According to the Czepiel and Koopman (2021), Hospitality industry uses the method of
grooming and etiquette where employees are trained and developed to provide good service.
Employees and guests of hotels have regular and constant interaction in day to day activities.
Physical appearance has positive as well as negative impact in the hospitality industry because if
the appearance of employees are good then it helps in building good image of hotels, more
number of tourists and guests are attracted easily, employees are developed in their professional
and personal lives but if physical appearance of employees are not attractive then it makes bad
impression among tourists, less people would get attracted, lower investors would invest as it
leads to downfall of industry and think that hotels are not providing good quality service. There
is constant research in factors like behaviour, personality, relationship between humans and
many more because they all have a great focus on physical appearance of a person. Attractive
representations of a are greatly influenced by the person's appearance and facial appearance and
create opinion in other person's mind. Attractive physical appearance in hospitality industry
attracts the customer towards hotel.
7

On the other hand Jiotsa and et. al., (2021), Physical appearance is the most important
factor in organisations as it is necessary for attracting guests and tourists towards the hospitality
industry. Physical appearance in hospitality industry includes the property of hotels and
restaurants with the appearance of employees. It is necessary for restaurants and hotels to
maintain their property very well like proper cleaning, great interior designing and new updated
technology devices like swiping card to open locks and many more. This is the thing which is
applicable to appearance of the staffs of hospitality industry. Employees need to be look
presentable and professional because they are the most significant part of the hospitality industry.
They are the people who face directly tourists and guests, through employee’s guests make
opinions about the particular hotel and restaurant. Some restaurant and hotels become busy in
managing and upgrading the building and property and they do not get time to invest in
grooming and training workforce, restaurants and hotels must know that appearance of
workforce in their sector is as important as selecting the apt management software for property
and creating budget. Whenever it is about appearance of staff, habits of personal grooming and
uniform, workforce should follow the rule of dress code set by the restaurant. These are
considered as making and breaking impression of restaurant.
According to the Mitro and et. al., (2021), there are some ways which are used by
restaurants to enhance the personality and appearance of their workforce like etiquette and
grooming. Grooming refers to the process where employees are taught how to dress for their
assigned job and responsibilities. The needs of grooming are different for man as well as woman
but it is very obvious that they both have to look clean while servicing guests of restaurants.
Restaurants make sure that they provide dress code to employees so that they can wear them
while performing their duty. With the dress code, restaurants and hotels also give clear outline
and framework so that employees can follow all the rules and regulations regarding appearance.
According to Kalargyrou, Barber and Kuo, (2018), hotel gives guidelines to women and
men that clearly define the right hairstyles to be made, shoes and accessories that can be worn in
the duty. For women extra details and information are also given like colours of nail polish, apt
amount of make up to be applied and asking men and women both to wear perfumes. Physical
appearance is the important, assists in maintaining appearance of the workforce in front of
guests. It creates a positive impact on guests, as they spread good information about the
particular hotel and restaurant. With the appearance of employees, the way these staffs behave
8

and act while servicing customers is also significant. Their act and behaviour while providing
service to employees build the reputation of restaurants. The employees are directly linked to
guests coming from different places or countries.
According to Božič and Knežević (2016), grooming is exceptionally significant for
hospitality industry because it is necessary for looking, dressing and presenting themselves
shows lots about the approach for guests. Employees are the faces of organisation, it does not
matter what is the role of job, grooming develops the personality and helps an organisation to
become more presentable. There are some important things which should be always in mind of
the employees of the hospitality industry:
 Understanding code of behaviour and customs: Employees in the hospitality
industry have to deal with personal and professional individuals so it becomes
necessary for all the employees to follow code of conduct of the hospitality industry
and form experience for the customers.(Steinsbekk and et. al., 2021).
 Enhancing skills for interaction: Grooming includes overall attitude towards
customers with the physical appearance and dress sense because it assists in carrying
and conducting themselves in front of public as personality and great communication
always help (Muhamad and et. al., 2021).
 Etiquette is compulsory: Individuals always appreciate right etiquettes because
employees could learn international etiquette by attending precise sessions of
training. After completion of training, employee could refine their skills by
continuously practising.
 Outlook and approach: Hospitality industry always require positive, composed and
calm attitude, in the physical appearance they always have to wear great smile but
always keeping such smile is tough task but it has very positive impact in the long
run.
 Communication skills: Communication skill is one of the most important quality
which requires to be work as a part of hospitality industry. Being polite is one thing
but it is also necessary to be articulated. Using variety of languages according to the
need of guests in their local languages. But it is also necessary to prefer language that
guests could understand.
9

Impact of physical appearance on job interviews
According to Schmitz (2018), everyone gets one chance to make first impression good.
The first impression plays an important role in attracting the attention of people. Because it is
being believed that when someone has great impression regarding a person, it becomes difficult
to change. Physical appearance is a great factor that people concentrate while creating an
impression about the person. When a person goes for an interview, that person gets very little
time to showcase them who really the person is. The easy manner of making great impact in a
very less period of time is by making sure that person is having great appearance that is
appealing and professional. But it is very clearly said that physical appearance is not the right
manner to judge character of a person, but it the basic nature of human to create opinions based
on the things they see in front of them.
According to the Sims (2021), there are many things which go apart from just appearance
in professional career. Among people it is being thought that while going for an interview it is
necessary for candidate to look attractive because interviewer wants people who have great
personality and looks. While person is being interviewed that there are many things which
cannot be controlled by candidate but appearance is one of the things which is directly at the
hand of candidates. So it is advisable to candidates that they should do proper planning before
going for an interview because when planning is not right then it can be easily being identified
by interviewer. Physical appearance can create positive impact on job interviews because it helps
in creating first impression on interviewer and it is impacted at the starting minutes of job
interview in hospitality sector as well as other sectors of businesses. It is said that there are more
chances to get selected if candidates give great first impression, then the person would have high
percentage of being selected. On the other hand if person shows not effective first impression
then the chances of being selected reduce, the percentage of not selecting increases.
According to Suen, Chen and Lu 2019, the percentage of being selected and not selected
may vary because it depends upon the nature of interviewer. A person never gets a second
chance to appear nicely in front of interviewer so it is recommended to candidates to fully utilise
the first chance with great appearance and personality. The first impression in job interview is
always about the physical appearance, the second is communication skills with great practices of
interview. Employers believe that individuals are more productive when they are being dressed
greatly and well. It is said that candidate must dress for the one or two high position than the post
10

they have come for interview. Earlier these theories have been argued and ignored because
earlier recruitment was only based upon educational qualification, experience of work and many
more. But there are many candidates who feel that looks are not important as appearance is not
as important for getting positions in job.
Interviewer of hospitality industry believes on the theory of “ What is beautiful is good”.
This is the theory which is very famous in hospitality industry. It is the theory which shows
about the perception of interviewer and managers by looking at candidate for the very first time
and forming particular stereotype in the personality and nature of the person. This is the theory
which judges the candidate by their physical appearance. In this people who are taking interview
make judgement by looking at candidates. In this particular theory what is beautiful is good
forms judgement in the mind of interviewer that positive characteristics in the person is good
whereas negative characteristics in the person is bad for the particular job. The interviewer
targets those candidates who look good and have the power to attract people in the first
impression. It is basic opinion among people involved in hospitality industry that those people
who look good and attractive are treated in a better way in social interaction. So basically in this
theory book is judged by its cover as it is believed that person who looks good generally have
great personality traits.
As per the view presented by Zimmer-Gembeck and et. al., (2021), Physical appearance
should also be maintained as conservative package of interview like confidence, smile and eye-
contact. There is also negative impact of physical appearance on the confidence of candidate
because sometimes interviewer that is conservative judge’s applicant on the basis of their trendy
clothes which is basically not right for the job of candidate. So candidates feel that they should
be allowed to wear whatever they like and have confidence because whenever candidates feel
great about their experience they perform exceptionally well in their interview because they are
able to carry themselves with great confidence and improve their whole performance.
According to Kaufmann, Krings and Sczesny (2016), but there is some guidance related
to the physical appearance that may be followed by employees like choosing styles and colours
that showcase about the personality and never wear clothes that are flashy. Women may wear
avoiding low cut clothes and men should also avoid short pants, ties that are outlandish and
clothes that do not fit right. Employers are great in making links and connections so bad
impression means losing job. It is basically common sense of a person that it is necessary to go
11

neat and clean for an interview because it helps in impressing interviewer. Great impression
helps in enriching the experience of customers with the services of organisations.
Impact of body modifications in the hospitality industry
According to Karl, Peluchette and Hall (2016), the interaction among guests, employees
and employers are the most important because they are the people who are making direct contact
with the guests for providing services. It is identified that guests like those people who are sober
in their appearance for giving great services. Body modification is a term which has three main
concepts like body adornment, body modification and body painting. Body painting is known as
temporary procedure of colouring the parts of body whereas body adornment is referred as
making appearance very attractive like jewellery and many more. But body modifications are
broader term and are long lasting as it creates great change in the physical appearance of the
person. Piercing and tattoos are the two things which are considered in body modifications.
Tattoos are referred as opportunity to be made on the any part of the body with different sizes.
Piercings are defined as modifications in the body which are not permanent because they are
removable. But nowadays modifications on body is increasing the youth as well as adult
generations so it is being said these modifications should be accepted by the organisations and
businesses. But modifications done on body which are visible influence the chances of
employment negatively especially when employees have to face customers regularly and
continuously. In hospitality industry tattoos visible on the body are not allowed because it is
indicates non-professionalism in this specific industry. Companies of hospitality industry make
recruitment decision on candidates who do not have visible modifications on body. These
recruitment decisions are not known as illegal but there are also some very particular exceptions
where people have tattoos on religion as these are considered by hospitality industry during their
recruiting decisions. So it is basically identified that body modifications are not considered by
hospitality industry and create negative impact on recruitment process by restaurants on
candidates as it puts negative impression on recruiter about that particular candidate. There are
many studies which have identified that there are differences while selecting female and male
with the tattoos that are visible on body. The females in hospitality industry with tattoos inked on
visible body parts have lost their benefits in jobs in their desired jobs in comparison to the
females who do not have tattoos on their body. In one of the comparisons the data through
various publications it is determined that tattoos on men’s body are considered more negatively
12