Week 4 EOC: Physical Attractiveness Based Hiring

Physical attractiveness is a huge factor when it comes to landing a hospitality job especially living here in Las Vegas we see a lot of hospitality positions that tend to be almost solely based off of physical attractiveness.  This can be very risky in my opinion for the Human Resource department. It all comes down to wording and advertising the wrong way for a position can get them in a lot of trouble.  Here in Las Vegas hospitality positions on the strip often aren’t called what you would normally find in a small town.  Here we have a thing called “model waitress” and “model bartenders”.  This is how the casinos and hotel’s get around having to hire not so attractive people.  Also instead of job interviews they are referred to here as a “casting call” and treated as such. 

Employing based on physical attractiveness has its pros and cons according to the textbook, “In the hospitality industry, successful managers focus on two very different, but related tasks. These are:

• 1.Securing and keeping an adequate customer base

• 2.Securing and keeping an adequate number of qualified employees to serve the customer base”(P.103)

• If having attractive employees helps them accomplish such goals then of course that’ll be what is sought after in an employee.  Again using such tactics when hiring employees is risky and all comes down to how said position is advertised.  The textbook stated, “Experienced managers directly address industry-related constraints when publicizing their jobs by clearly stating the attractive features of the jobs they are offering. The goal is not to promise falsely, but rather to better educate those who do not fully understand the advantages of a career in the hospitality and tourism industries.” (p.104) Physical attractiveness however should not be the only quality one is looking for upon hiring.  Hiring solely based on appearance can lead to inadequate workers who are not properly trained to perform such tasks as the job demands.  The textbook gives a great list of things to consider upon recruiting the perfect candidate which includes, 

“▪Stability of employment

▪Variety of work

▪Ability to utilize personal creativity

▪Team environment

▪Rewards of serving others

▪Pleasant work atmosphere” (p.105)