Acceptance of Tattoos in the Hospitality Industry

Abstract

Introduction. Despite growing social acceptance, tattoos may still be subject to evaluation in the workplace, especially in the service sector. In the hotel industry, staff appearance is linked to the image of the property, guest experience and service standards. The aim of the study was to assess the acceptance of tattoos among hotel employees in two dimensions: organisational, referring to the rules and practices in the hotels studied, and consumer-related, covering the opinions of people using hotel services.

Material and methods. The study was conducted in the Lubelskie Voivodeship using the diagnostic survey method, based on two original survey questionnaires. The research covered 45 hotels and 154 people declaring experience of using hotel services. Tattoo acceptance was analysed in relation to hotel category and size, type of position, hotel department, degree of employee contact with guests and tattoo location on the body. Descriptive statistics, Pearson’s chi-square test and Fisher’s exact test were applied.

Results. The level of acceptance of tattoos among hotel employees was generally high in both analytical dimensions. However, tattoo admissibility differed depending on hotel category, with higher acceptance recorded in 3- and 4-star hotels than in 1- and 2-star properties. No significant relationship was found between tattoo acceptance and hotel size. Acceptance also varied according to the type of position, degree of guest contact and tattoo location. The highest acceptance was observed for back-of-house positions and departments with limited or indirect guest contact, whereas tattoos on the face and neck were assessed most restrictively.

Conclusions. Attitudes towards tattoos among hotel employees are characterised by conditional acceptance. Tattoos are no longer a clearly disqualifying employee attribute; however, their acceptance depends on the organisational context, position and visibility. The findings indicate the need to develop clear rules concerning visible tattoos among hotel staff.