When a guest and the receptionist first meet, the first thing they both perceive is each other’s physical appearance (Leung and Law, 2010, 439). From the guests’ point of view, the physical appearance of the hotel staff is one of the factors that undoubtedly affects their satisfaction with the accommodation. Furthermore, as Briggs et al. (2007) state, hotel customers expect helpful, friendly and caring service. Such expectations include not only the knowledge of tourism workers, but also the very personal relationships the workers develop with tourists. The quality of these relationships can be seen in the efforts of professionals to adapt their appearance to the expectations of their guests. In order to encourage these relationships, many companies in the field of tourism instil very clear standards of physical appearance that they expect their employees
adhere to.