Within the tourism industry, as a whole, the hotel sector has contributed its share to the economy. Therefore, the need for hotel employees to provide hotel guests with an excellent experience is essential. Numerous studies, including and Papageorgiou (2008) have emphasized the importance of human resources in the hotel industry and in tourism in general. 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 appear- ance 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.