Addressing the third research question of this study, hotel organisations might
want to reassess recruitment strategies and in particular selection and image criteria to
overcome employment challenges and barriers for persons with disabilities. Criteria
focusing on physical attractiveness and aesthetic skills need to be reviewed and
realigned with ethical and non-discriminatory principles and guidelines. Financial
benefits through a company image partly based on employees’ personal aesthetics and
embodied capacities and attributes need to be compared and evaluated against
the potential financial gains made through employees with disabilities acting as
consultants in attracting travellers with disabilities. In the USA, for example, travellers
with disabilities would double their spending if airlines and hotels improved certain needs
(Travel Industry Association of America and the Society for Accessible Travel and
Hospitality, 2003).