disability inclusion initiatives in the hospitality industry: an exploratory study of industry...

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Disability Inclusion Initiatives in theHospitality Industry: An ExploratoryStudy of Industry LeadersValentini Kalargyroua & Anthony A. Volisb

a Peter T. Paul College of Business and Economics, HospitalityManagement Department, University of New Hampshire, Durham,New Hampshire, USAb Department of Social Work, University of New Hampshire, Durham,New Hampshire, USAPublished online: 08 Aug 2014.

To cite this article: Valentini Kalargyrou & Anthony A. Volis (2014) Disability Inclusion Initiatives inthe Hospitality Industry: An Exploratory Study of Industry Leaders, Journal of Human Resources inHospitality & Tourism, 13:4, 430-454, DOI: 10.1080/15332845.2014.903152

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Journal of Human Resources in Hospitality & Tourism, 13:430–454, 2014Copyright © Taylor & Francis Group, LLCISSN: 1533-2845 print / 1533-2853 onlineDOI: 10.1080/15332845.2014.903152

Disability Inclusion Initiatives in theHospitality Industry: An Exploratory Study

of Industry Leaders

VALENTINI KALARGYROUPeter T. Paul College of Business and Economics, Hospitality Management Department,

University of New Hampshire, Durham, New Hampshire, USA

ANTHONY A. VOLISDepartment of Social Work, University of New Hampshire, Durham, New Hampshire, USA

The present study seeks to identify hospitality leaders in disabilityinclusion and the related business practices, benefits, and chal-lenges when proactively recruiting people with disabilities. Througha meta-synthesis approach, eight different hospitality companieswere identified, and their experiences with disability inclusion arediscussed. The findings from this study can be used to inform hos-pitality employers and human resource professionals about bestpractices surrounding the initiation of a disability inclusion planand set a foundation for future academic research.

KEYWORDS disability inclusion, employees with disabilities, hir-ing practices, hospitality, employment, diversity management

INTRODUCTION

Persons with disabilities represent a substantial portion of the global pop-ulation. According to the World Health Organization (WHO; 2013a), overone billion people, or 15%, of the global population have a documenteddisability. In the United States of America (U.S.), data from the U.S. Depart-ment of Commerce (2011) revealed that there were 37,188,115 persons witha disability, or 12.1% of the total population. Despite changes in legisla-tion, policy, and philosophy related to enhancing persons with disabilitiesentrance into the labor force, the largest minority group remains overlooked

Address correspondence to Assistant Professor Valentini Kalargyrou, Department of Hos-pitality Management, Peter T. Paul College of Business and Economics, 10, Garrison Avenue,Durham, NH, 03824, USA. E-mail: [email protected]

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Disability Inclusion Initiatives 431

and underutilized in terms of gaining meaningful employment (Lengnick-Hall, Gaunt, & Kulkarni, 2008). Statistics from the U.S. Department of Labor(2012) show that the unemployment rate of persons with disabilities 16 yearsand older is 15.0%, compared to the non-disabled population rate of 8.9%.In other words, persons with disabilities are almost two times more likely tobe unemployed in the U.S. More surprising is the fact that a mere 35.3% ofthe disabled population is meaningfully employed in the U.S. (Institute onDisability, University of New Hampshire, 2011). Consequently, the NationalGovernors Association estimates that the U.S. spends 300 billion dollars an-nually to support unemployed workers with disabilities, although 67% ofthe working-age population with disabilities would rather be meaningfullyemployed (Maynard, 2013).

Research from the WHO (2011) shows similar employment patternsfor the disabled population in other industrialized countries. The followingstatistics highlight the employment rate of working age individuals withdisabilities from 2003 in selected countries: Japan, 22.7%; Poland, 20.8%;United Kingdom, 38.9%; Netherlands, 39.9%; Australia, 41.%; Canada, 56.3%.These rates appear to be similar to that of the U.S. and convey that a smallfraction of the disabled population is participating in the workforce globally.

In the U.S., it has been noted that an ageing in current workers and adecrease in new entrants will result in a labor shortage in the approachingyears (Lengnick-Hall et al., 2008). Given this occurrence, some researchershave pointed out that employers should begin integrating persons with dis-abilities into the workforce as a strategy to fill these gaps in labor (Chi &Qu, 2003; Lengnick-Hall et al., 2008). Specific to this study, the hospitalityindustry, which often records high rates of employee turnover, could benefitfrom the loyalty and longevity of employees with disabilities (Kalargyrou,2012).

Given the low utilization rate of persons with disabilities in the work-force combined with researchers’ impressions that the hospitality industrycould benefit from recruiting and hiring from this labor pool, the presentstudy seeks to add to the limited research on specific hospitality companiesthat have adopted disability inclusion initiatives.

The purpose of the study is two-fold. First, the study seeks to examinedisability inclusion initiatives in the hospitality field and investigate the ratio-nale for proactively recruiting individuals with disabilities for hospitality jobsincluding identifying the benefits versus the costs of disability integration.Second, the study seeks to use the information gathered about disability in-tegration in order to make recommendations and suggestions to hospitalityemployers interested in developing their own disability inclusion plan.

The study focuses on companies that have a strong initiative to integratepeople with disabilities in their workforce, and the objectives are to deter-mine (1) Which hospitality companies are leaders in disability inclusion, (2)which practices these hospitality employers are using in order to proactively

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432 V. Kalargyrou and A. A. Volis

recruit and integrate persons with disabilities into their workforce, (3) thebenefits of proactively integrating persons with disabilities into the hospital-ity workforce, and (4) the challenges of proactively integrating persons withdisabilities into the hospitality labor force.

LITERATURE REVIEW

Defining Disability

In order to discuss disability-related employment practices worldwide, it isimportant to first establish a definition of disability that is suitable and rec-ognizable to all audiences. Therefore, the definition of disability has beenobtained from the WHO, which sets norms and standards on health issueswithin the United Nations system. According to the WHO (2013b), disabil-ity is an umbrella term which covers (1) impairments (a problem with abody function or structure), (2) activity limitations (related to difficulties inexecuting a task or action), and (3) participation restrictions (a problemencountered in involvement with life situations).

Benefits of Proactively Hiring Employees With Disabilities

The benefits of proactively recruiting, hiring, and retaining persons with dis-abilities in the hospitality field have been documented in a small numberof cases. In a study by Hernandez and McDonald (2010), which surveyedsome hospitality employers, findings revealed that when compared to work-ers without disabilities, employees with disabilities obtained nearly identicalaverage ratings on job performance, had longer tenure in their job positions,and required similar levels of supervision time. Supporting this evidence,Ingamells, Rouse, and Worsfold’s (1991) study on hotel and catering busi-nesses showed that employees with disabilities were rated by managers asequal to or better than workers without disabilities in terms of performance.Furthermore, Chi and Qu (2003) found that foodservice employers expressedfavorable attitudes towards employees with disabilities on work-relatedskills of dependability, cooperation, adaptability, absenteeism, turnover, andinteraction with coworkers.

The inclusion of individuals with disabilities in the workforce has alsobeen associated with increased revenue because it attracts consumers withdiverse backgrounds and those attentive to corporate social responsibility. Ina study of consumer attitudes in the U.S., Siperstein, Romano, Mohler, andParker (2006) found that 92% of subjects reported feeling more favorableor much more favorable toward companies that hire persons with disabil-ities, and 87% of participants stated that they would rather give their busi-ness to such companies. Burge, Oullette-Kuntz, and Lysaght (2007) found

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similar results in a study of consumers in Ontario, Canada. Results showedthat consumers held positive attitudes towards employment of persons withintellectual disabilities, and the majority of these respondents did not reportproblems with integrated employment in terms of safety, productivity, orcompany image. Specific to the hospitality industry, Kuo and Kalargyrou(2014) found that consumers in the U.S. demonstrated a moderate positivepurchase intention for a restaurant that employs service staff with disabilities,and Groschl (2013) revealed that hotel guests preferred an integrated hotelbecause of a barrier-free and non-judgmental environment and accommo-dating facilities.

Concerns About Proactively Hiring Employees With Disabilities

Research surrounding perceptions and attitudes related to the hiring of em-ployees with disabilities in the hospitality field has revealed that employershave certain concerns that impede proactive recruitment. For example, ina case study of five hotels in Toronto, Canada, Groschl (2004) found thata reactive approach to hiring persons with disabilities was a result of con-cerns about accommodation costs, ability to modify the workplace, nature ofthe work schedule, and quality of service, a fear of limited communicationand interaction between workers with and without disabilities, and lack ofeducation and familiarity with disabilities. A subsequent study by Groschl(2007) on 42 Canadian hotels identified concerns to include employees withdisabilities being more expensive and inflexible, needing excessive training,constant monitoring, and lacking multi-tasking skills, mobility, and physicalattractiveness. Further challenges described in the hospitality literature in-clude supervisors’ uncertainty about disciplining, evaluating, and managingemployees with disabilities, concerns about costs of workers compensationpremiums and health care coverage, limited human resource staffing, andtransportation issues (Donnelly & Joseph, 2012; Houtenville & Kalargyrou,2012).

METHODOLOGY

The present study looks in-depth at eight different hospitality employersthat are proactively hiring and integrating persons with disabilities into theirworkforce. Companies in this study were identified using the 2012 Diversi-tyInc. Magazine’s ranking for the top 10 employers for persons with disabil-ities. In addition, the researchers used information from the United StatesBusiness Leadership Network (USBLN) which partners with lead employerswho exemplify disability inclusion initiatives and completed an extensiveliterature review on companies that are actively employing individuals withdisabilities inside and outside of North America. A meta-synthesis approach

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was adopted in which the researchers combined the results from differentpeer-reviewed studies, online news and magazine articles, and informationavailable from company websites in an attempt to discover similar patternsamongst the employers. To develop the company profiles, the researchersused EBSCOhost Online Research Databases (EBSCO Industries, Inc., 2014)to include Academic Search Premier, Business Source Corporate, BusinessSource Premier, and PsycINFO, Google, Google Scholar, and materials fromthe 2011 and 2012 USBLN conferences.

The study focuses on companies that have a strong initiative to in-tegrate people with disabilities in their workforce. Based on the researchquestions, common themes are identified amongst the hospitality companiessurrounding “best practices” for integrating persons with disabilities into theworkforce and the “benefits” and “challenges” of the inclusion initiatives.The study also compares profiles and attempts to identify common patternsthat can be used as a guide to employers that are interested in implementinga disability inclusion initiative. Practical suggestions for hospitality employersare discussed based on the findings.

RESULTS

Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc.

Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide, Inc. is an American-based hoteland leisure company that operates 1,089 properties globally and employsapproximately 154,000 people (Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc.,2012a). According to Starwood Hotels and Resorts, “Creating an environmentof inclusion for our associates, guests, and suppliers isn’t just the right thingto do, it is the very core of our business” (Starwood Hotels & Resorts World-wide, Inc., 2012b). The company established an Office of Diversity Inclusionand in 2002 launched a Diversity Council that helps to drive the support ofa diverse workforce at their company by recruiting employees with minoritybackgrounds and ensuring that diversity goals are clearly stated and metby each department. Additionally, the company has instituted metrics initia-tives such as monetary compensation to departments meeting diversity goals(Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc., 2012b). Starwood Hotels andResorts asserts that retaining a diverse workforce including the “differently-abled” is critical to creating innovative services, increasing problem solvingability, and benefiting business performance (Starwood Hotels & ResortsWorldwide, Inc., 2012c). Furthermore, the company argues that a diverseworkplace environment is at the core of its success and helps enter untappedmarkets, increase speed to markets, and portray its loyalty to diverse commu-nities. Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide was admired in DiversityInc’s2012 “Top 50 Companies for Diversity,” positioning itself at the number sixranking for inclusion of people with disabilities (DiversityInc, 2012).

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Marriot International, Inc.

Marriott International, Inc. is a lodging company with more than 3,700 prop-erties in 73 countries and territories worldwide (Marriott International, Inc.,2012a). The organization is dedicated to creating an inclusive workforce en-vironment. David Rodriguez, Senior Diversity Executive, states, “We striveto create an inclusive environment where the talents and unique ideas of300,000 associates at our managed and franchised properties worldwide canflourish” (Marriott International, Inc., 2012b, p. 1). The corporation has a his-tory of actively targeting and recruiting the disabled population for jobs, andthese efforts are a part of their Diversity and Inclusion Councils (Marriott In-ternational, Inc., 2012c). Marriott asserts that hiring people with disabilities isgood for workforce diversity. In 1989, the company established the MarriottFoundation, which aims to enhance employment opportunities for youngpeople with disabilities (Marriott International, Inc., 2012d). The foundationinitiated the Marriott Foundation’s Bridges From School to Work Program inthat year, which serves as a vocational transition program for youth in theU.S. (Bridges From School to Work, 2012). Bridges has locations in Mont-gomery County, Maryland, Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, Oakland,Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Washington D.C. The mission of the pro-gram is to provide paid work experience for youth in special education thatare transitioning from high school to the workforce. Through partnering withschool systems and vocational rehabilitation/workforce agencies, the orga-nization identifies persons 17 to 22 year-olds with a documented disabilitythat show interest in gaining paid employment. Over a 15- to 24-month pe-riod, Bridges’ staff help the client with skills assessment, career planning, jobdevelopment, placement, evaluation, action planning and follow-up. Sincethe program’s establishment, it has assisted more than 16,000 young adultswith disabilities in the area of vocation. Fabian (2007) analyzed data on 4,571urban youth with disabilities that were enrolled in the Bridges program from2000 to 2005. The analysis revealed that 68% of these persons with disabilitiessecured paid employment.

A more specific example of the Marriott’s commitment to hiring personswith disabilities is found at the Chicago Marriot. They have been partnerswith the International Association of Machinists Center for Administering Re-habilitation and Employment Services (IAM CARES) since 1987 to train indi-viduals with disabilities. This partnership trains approximately 30 people peryear and provides compensation during the training period. The employeescomplete eight weeks of training and then spend another four to six monthstraining on the job with help from managers and coworkers. The ChicagoMarriott states that they benefit from this program because their “Managersgain better management skills, and trainees inspire their coworkers, buildinga better team” (Laabs, 1994).

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Referencing Richard Marriott, Marriott International, Inc. is involved withproactively recruiting and hiring persons with disabilities because they makethe company’s workforce stronger, more valuable, and more productive(Williams, 1999). Richard Marriott asserts that Marriott’s experience with hir-ing employees with a disability has been positive and results in gaining acompetitive advantage in terms of offering a successful customer servicegroup. In 2009, DiversityInc ranked Marriott International, Inc. as numberfour on the Top 10 Companies for People with Disabilities (Marriott Interna-tional, Inc., 2012e).

Hyatt Hotels Corporation

Hyatt Hotels Corporation is a global hospitality company that owns and de-velops hotels, resorts, residential estates, and vacation properties worldwide.As of June 2012, Hyatt operates 492 properties around the world (Hyatt Ho-tels Corporation, 2012a). The corporation asserts that diversity and inclusionin the workforce, workplace, and marketplace are important to business suc-cess (Hyatt Hotels Corporation, 2011). Hyatt Hotels Corporation is committedto recruiting and retaining employees with diverse backgrounds and creatinga workplace culture that is inclusive and embracing of all types of individuals.It is evident that recruiting and retaining individuals with disabilities to jointhe workforce is an initiative that the Hyatt Hotels Corporation is involved in.Since 1998, the company has partnered with Hands on Education, a programthat provides employability skills training, job coaching, on-the-job training,and placement assistance to individuals with disabilities (Hands on Educa-tional Services, Inc., 2012; Hyatt Hotels Corporation, 2012b). More than 20Hyatt properties utilize the Hands On program, and more than 1,300 personswith disabilities have received training and been integrated into the work-force through the program (Hyatt Hotels Corporation, 2012b). Additionally,Hyatt Hotels has partnered with Abilities Expo, an organization dedicatedto enhancing the lives of individuals with disabilities by raising awarenessand educating the community on disability issues through free workshops,hosting world-class events and activities, and providing information regard-ing assistive technology and accessibility ideas (Abilities Expo, 2012; HyattHotels Corporation, 2012c). The Hyatt Hotels Corporation views diversity, in-cluding integration of persons with disabilities, as a business strategy linkedto performance (Mendoza, 2009). The corporation cites innovation, maximi-zing talent, an ability to compete more effectively in all markets and respondto business climate changes, and increased customer satisfaction as reasonsfor proactively recruiting diverse employees. For their proactive hiring andintegration of employees with disabilities, Hyatt was awarded the 2011 Read-ers’ Choice Top 50 Employers at a ranking of number 21 by the CAREERS& the disabled Magazine (Hyatt Hotels Corporation, 2012d) and in 2009 was

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recognized by the Council of State Administrators of Vocational Rehabilita-tion (CSAVR) for the training and employment of people with disabilities(Mendoza, 2009).

Embrace Hotels Association

Embrace Hotels Association is a group of approximately 30 establishments inGermany with different types of lodging to include business and conference,spa and wellness, and family hotels (Groschl, 2012). Since 2005, the companyhas been proactively integrating persons with disabilities into their workforce(Pasquini, 2010), and as of 2006–2007, the association had established 11integrative hotels (Groschl, 2012). Employees with disabilities make up 60%of the workforce and an estimated 25% of staff members have a severedisability.

The integrative hotels typically start with financial support from the so-cial sector or associations of parents of children with disabilities and move to-wards independent operation. Employees with disabilities are recruited fromsocial sector institutions, such as vocational rehabilitation agencies or the as-sociation that founded the hotel. These recruited persons are provided withstructured training from workers without disabilities, flexible work sched-ules, job-specific accommodations, and learn through a teamwork approachwith other workers with disabilities (Groschl, 2012).

The employees with disabilities work in positions that are both in theback of the house and in contact with guests in the front of the house(Pasquini, 2010). Referencing Martin Bunk, Vice President of the EmbraceHotels Association, the rationale behind their integrative organizations relatesto their commitment to provide persons with disabilities with employmentopportunities because of social sustainability benefits, economic profitabil-ity, and business performance benefits (Pasquini, 2010). He states that anintegrative workforce improves marketing, and employees with disabilitieshave positive effects on the workforce and guest satisfaction. Groschl (2013)conducted a case study on five different Embrace hotels, which involvedinterviews with managers, employees, and guests, as well as observations inorder to assess the employability of persons with disabilities in hotel oper-ations. Findings suggest that employees with disabilities are loyal, reliable,motivated, and require moderate accommodations. Additionally, employ-ing persons with disabilities creates a barrier-free environment that attractsboth guests with and without disabilities; making an integrated system astrong business practice. This study also revealed some challenges to theintegration of persons with disabilities that Embrace has resolved throughgood human resource management practices. For example, workplace de-sign and employee stress were factors that the interviewees discussed aspotential challenges. Managers described how they are proactive in making

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low-cost and creative structural changes to assist employees with disabil-ities in their daily work routines. Additionally, interviewees detailed theirproviding short-term objectives, maintaining routines, setting up repetitiveworkplace arrangements, and providing immediate factual feedback on per-formance as practices to ensure the success of employees with disabilities.Finally, participants discussed the stamina and energy level of some workerswith disabilities as being a challenge that they remedy through schedulingshorter shifts and additional staff.

Accor Hotels

The Accor Group is a European-based hotel operator which has more than3,500 hotels in 92 countries and employs more than 150,000 persons (Accor,2012a). Since 1992, Accor has been proactively recruiting, hiring, and inte-grating persons with disabilities into their workforce (International LabourOrganization, 2010). In 2011, 0.9% of the company’s workforce outside ofthe U.S. had a disability (Accor, 2012b).

In order to hire more employees with disabilities, Accor has instituted re-cruitment and training initiatives (International Labour Organization, 2010).Accor has established the Disabled Project Team, which is dedicated toincreasing the number of employees with disabilities and retaining thesepersons in the workforce. At Accor France, employment managers in con-junction with the Disabled Project Team have launched a program calledHandicapte. This program educates and connects students with disabilitieswith hotel professionals and offers apprenticeships in hotels or restaurants.Selected students with disabilities may be offered permanent positions atone of their suitable properties. In Shanghai, Novotel Atlantis provides on-the-job training for people with disabilities that have been recruited by theShanghai Disabled Persons’ Federation, an entity that recruits, supports, andfunds training salaries for interested candidates. Many of the trainees uponcompletion of the training program are hired by managers or provided withassistance in obtaining jobs at other prestigious hotels. In 2010, 203 personswith disabilities were trained in a variety of departments. Additionally, Accorhas initiated training programs for managers and employees to erode com-munication barriers that may exist. For example, one hotel in Latin Americahas instituted a sign language course to help communication with employeesthat have hearing impairments. In 2008, the corporation also developed theAccor Foundation, a fund that allocates money to support local communityprojects, employee-based initiatives such as training, or culture and human-itarian projects. In the U.S., the Accor Foundation contributed money to thePerkins School for the Blind in order to assist in building a science work-shop for students with visual impairments, and in Algeria donated money

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to renovate a center for people with mental health difficulties (InternationalLabour Organization, 2010).

Accor identifies customers’ diversity as a reason for recruiting and re-taining diverse employees to include persons with disabilities. Therefore,the integration of people with disabilities has been defined as a key priorityleading up to 2015. The corporation asserts that diversity is a performancedriver and important to innovation. Additionally, Accor recognizes thathaving a diverse workforce is a beneficial business strategy in terms ofattracting guests and improving guest satisfaction (Accor, 2012b).

Mohegan Sun

Established in 1996, Mohegan Sun is a U.S. based casino operation with pro-perties located in Uncasville, Connecticut and Plains, Pennsylvania (MoheganSun, 2012). The Resorts Casino Hotel in Connecticut offers dining, hotel, re-tail shopping, entertainment, and sporting events. It includes 300,000 squarefeet of gaming within three casinos, a 1,200 room hotel, and 40 restaurants,bars, and lounges. At this central location, approximately 7,000 persons areemployed. In 2011, Mohegan Sun instituted a disability inclusion initiativeby drawing from the procedures and practices that proved to be success-ful at Walgreens Co. (Kalargyrou, 2014). In order to integrate persons withdisabilities into the workforce, Mohegan Sun has partnered with social ser-vice agencies and the state of Connecticut which provides monetary supportthrough grants. Mohegan Sun proactively recruits employees with disabil-ities by identifying candidates through relationships with local vocationalrehabilitation organizations. Candidates receive four weeks of classroomtraining to include topics such as job and social skills, customer service,and corporate policies, and six weeks of paid on-the-job training with jobcoach support, personalized feedback, and formal evaluations. Upon suc-cessful completion of the 10-week program, these persons can then be hiredfor a position in a department suitable to their abilities. As hired employ-ees, individuals with disabilities are held to the same standards that apply toall other employees and are consistently evaluated through observation andperformance appraisals regarding areas such as attendance, uniform and per-sonal appearance, teamwork, communication skills, attitude, guest service,and job knowledge.

Kalargyrou (2014) conducted a qualitative study that involved interview-ing executives and managers at Mohegan Sun for purposes of understandingwhy the company proactively hires persons with disabilities. Findings suggestthat employees with disabilities are loyal, reliable and prompt in attendance,have higher employee engagement, are equal to employees without dis-abilities in productivity measurements, do not pose a risk to the workplaceor create hazards, and increase the psychological safety of staff by improv-ing the workplace culture. Furthermore, interviewees described having a

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competitive advantage by employing persons with disabilities because itcreates a positive image for guests. Mohegan Sun executives and managersstated that they were going to continue integrating persons with disabilitiesinto the workforce because the practice is beneficial to the overall successof the corporation.

Sodexo, Inc.

Sodexo, Inc. provides integrated food and facilities management servicesworldwide (Sodexo, Inc., 2012a). The corporation employs an estimated413,000 people in 80 different countries and has 33,400 sites globally.Sodexo works in environments to include hospitals, senior living, collegesand universities, school districts, independent schools, corporate environ-ments, federal government, military bases, remote sites, conference centers,and leisure/entertainment (Sodexo Inc., 2012b). In 2006, Sodexo developeda Global Diversity and Inclusion Task Force to help implement diversity ini-tiatives, and a number of countries have established Diversity Councils toaid in tracking the progress of policy implementation (Sodexo, Inc., 2012d).Additionally, the company measures their progress qualitatively and quan-titatively to ensure that they are actively recruiting and retaining a diverseworkforce (Sodexo, Inc., 2012e). The corporation attends to the disabledpopulation and has developed the Sodexo Organization for disAbilities Re-sources (SOAR), which participates in raising awareness, providing educationand resources, and engaging in outreach efforts to retain persons with dis-abilities in the workforce (Sodexo, Inc., 2012f). Sodexo’s disability initiativeextends worldwide throughout their site locations. For example, India isproactively recruiting persons with disabilities for their workforce throughtraining and development programs designed for the hearing and speechimpaired. Created in 2006 in France, Mission Handicap assisted Sodexo insupporting the employment, integration and retention of employees withdisabilities. This initiative resulted in hiring 850 new persons with disabilities(Sodexo, Inc., 2012g).

According to Sodexo, a diverse workforce provides the company with acompetitive advantage in terms of effectively reacting to the diverse expec-tations of clients and consumers (Sodexo Inc., 2012c). According to Anandand Winters (2008), Sodexo’s inclusion of diverse employees has fosterednew business opportunities, aided in the retention of new consumers, andis linked to profitable business growth. The company asserts that diversityinclusion is a long-term growth strategy and is therefore embedded in theirbusiness practices (Sodexo Inc., 2012c). Sodexo was admired in Diversi-tyInc’s 2012 “Top 50 Companies for Diversity,” receiving the number fiveranking for inclusion of people with disabilities (DiversityInc, 2012).

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McDonald’s

McDonald’s is a global foodservice retailer with 33,500 restaurants in 119 dif-ferent countries that employs an estimated 1.7 million persons (McDonald’s,2012a). According to the company, diversity and inclusion are part of theworkplace culture (McDonald’s, 2012b). McDonald’s restaurants have beenproactively hiring persons with disabilities for many years now. Employeesare provided with video training on how to treat persons with disabilities,and managers receive training classes and printed materials. Additionally,the corporate website includes information about employees with disabili-ties (McGowan, 2008). McDonald’s has partnered with The Wounded WarriorProject and U.S. Business Leadership Network, which are critical to access-ing a diverse workforce and better understanding employees with disabilities(McDonald’s, 2012c). In terms of marketing, McDonald’s portrays their sup-port of inclusion through a partnership with the Paralympics and by usingthe faces of Paralympians on bags and cups to reflect the fact that personswith disabilities are part of the corporate culture and McDonald’s worldview(Vogel, 2009). The rationale for this initiative revolves around the notionthat customers are diverse and therefore should see workers of McDonald’slike themselves (McGowan, 2008). In other words, disability inclusion andproactive hiring of this population is a strong marketing strategy that aimsto attract consumers with disabilities (Vogel, 2009). Kevin Bradley, Direc-tor of Inclusion and Diversity at McDonald’s and a board member of theU.S. Business Leadership Network, states that “how we work with and treatemployees and customers with disabilities has certainly gained business forus. . .. Hiring people with disabilities is not an act of charity; it’s a smartmove for their business” (McGowan, 2008, p.16). For recognition of theirdisability initiatives, McDonald’s ranked in the top ten of CAREERS & thedisabled Magazine’s list of Top 50 Employers of 2002 (The Corporate SocialResponsibility Newswire, 2003).

Aggregate Results

IDENTIFIED HOSPITALITY COMPANIES

Through the investigation of available literature, eight different hospitalitycompanies were identified as leaders in disability inclusion (See Table 1).The companies include Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc., MarriottInternational, Inc., Hyatt Hotels Corporation, Embrace Hotels Association,Accor Hotels, Mohegan Sun, Sodexo, Inc., and McDonald’s.

BUSINESS PRACTICES

The following is a description of the important findings related to specificbusiness practices that the identified hospitality companies are using in order

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TABLE 1 Business Practices and Benefits of Employing Workers With Disabilities (N = 8)

Name Practices Benefits

Starwood Hotels &Resorts Worldwide,Inc.(Lodging)

• Established Diversity Council toproactively recruit, retain, andsupport workers with disabilities

• Creates innovative servicesand improvesproblem-solving ability

• Developed diversity goals to bemet by each department

• Improves businessperformance

• Performance appraisals metricsand incentives to departmentsmeeting diversity goals

• Helps enter untappedmarkets, increases speed toentering new markets

• Portrays loyalty to diversecommunities

Marriott International,Inc. (Lodging)

• Established Diversity andInclusion Councils to activelytarget and recruit workers withdisabilities

• Improves unique ideas

• Established Marriott Foundationto enhance employmentopportunities for young peoplewith disabilities

• Improves success offranchised operations

• Partnered with InternationalAssociation of Machinists Centerfor Administering Rehabilitationand Employment Services (IAMCARES)

• Improves management skillsand teamwork

• Makes workforce moretalented, valuable andproductive

• Improves customer servicecapabilities

Hyatt HotelsCorporation(Lodging)

• Created a workplace cultureembracing of diversity and acommitment to recruiting andretaining workers with disabilities


• Partnered with Hands onEducation to provideemployability skills training, jobcoaching, on-the-job training,and placement assistance toindividuals with disabilities

• Improves innovation

• Partnered with Abilities Expo, anorganization dedicated to raisingawareness and educating thecommunity on disabilities

• Maximizes workforce talent

• Improves ability to competein all markets and respond tochanges in business climate

• Increases customer satisfactionEmbrace Hotels

Association(Lodging)

• Structured training from workerswith no disabilities

• Social sustainability

• Flexible work schedulesincluding shorter shifts

• Improves businessperformance and economicprofitability

• Job-specific accommodations • Improves marketing initiatives• Teamwork approach • Positive effects on workforce,

creates barrier-freeenvironment

(Continued on next page)

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TABLE 1 Business Practices and Benefits of Employing Workers With Disabilities (N = 8)(continued)


• Strong human resourcemanagement practices

• Increases guest satisfactionlevels

• Low-cost accommodations andcreative workplace structuralchanges

• Persons with disabilities areloyal, reliable, and motivated

• Providing short-term objectives,maintaining routines, repetitiveworkplace arrangements,immediate factual feedback onperformance

Accor Hotels(Lodging)

• Established Integrating theDisabled Project Team toproactively hire and retainworkers with disabilities

• Improves customer diversity

• Develops programs to educateand connect students withdisabilities with hotels and offerapprenticeships


• Established Accor Foundation toallocate monetary resources tofund local community projects,employee-based initiatives,humanitarian projects

• Improves innovation

• On-the-job training • Improves guest satisfactionlevels

• Training programs for managersand non-disabled employees toerode communication barriers

Mohegan Sun(Resort Casino)

• Partnered with social serviceagencies and state of Connecticutto acquire monetary supportthrough grants

• Persons with disabilities areloyal, reliable, prompt inattendance, have higheremployee engagement, haveequal productivity to workerswith no disabilities

• Created relationships with localvocational rehabilitation agenciesto identify and recruit candidates

• Creates positive image forguests

• Provides classroom training aboutjob and social skills, customerservice, and corporate policies

• Increases psychological safetyof all staff, improvesworkplace culture

• Offers on-the-job training withjob coach support, personalizedfeedback, and formal evaluations

• Improves overall success ofcorporation

• Holds employees with disabilitiesto same standards of all workers

• Consistent evaluation throughobservations

• Performance appraisals related toattendance, uniform and personalappearance, teamwork,communication skills, attitude,guest service, and job knowledge

(Continued on next page)

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TABLE 1 Business Practices and Benefits of Employing Workers With Disabilities (N = 8)(continued)


Sodexo Inc. (Foodservices & facilitiesmanagement)

• Developed Global Diversity andInclusion Task Force to helpimplement diversity initiatives

• Improves ability to react todiverse expectations of clientsand consumers

• Developed Diversity Councils totrack progress of policyimplementation related todiversity in the workforce

• Creates new businessopportunities, aids inretention of customers,improves profitability andbusiness growth

• Developed Sodexo Organizationfor disAbilities Resources (SOAR)to raise awareness, provideeducation and resources, andengage in outreach efforts toretain workers with disabilities

• Training and developmentprograms offered to employeesbased on disability

• Measures progress related torecruiting and retainingemployees with disabilitiesqualitatively and quantitatively

• Performance appraisal metricsMcDonald’s (Fast food

services)• Made diversity and inclusion part

of the workplace culture• Improves business by

marketing to consumers withdisabilities

• Proactive hiring of persons withdisabilities

• Attends to diversity anddifferences of customers

• Non-disabled employees providedwith video training and printedmaterials on how to treat personswith disabilities

• Improves overall success ofbusiness

• Provides managers with trainingclasses on working withemployees with disabilities

• Partnered with The WoundedWarrior Project and U.S. BusinessLeadership Network

to integrate persons with disabilities into the workforce (See Table 1). First,the majority of the hospitality companies report that establishing diversityinclusion councils, teams, foundations, or task forces is important to theproactive recruiting, hiring, and supporting of employees with disabilities.Second, it is evident that the companies have also created alliances or part-nerships with social service and vocational rehabilitation agencies and otherorganizations involved in raising awareness about persons with disabilitiesas a way to identify and recruit candidates for employment. Furthermore,some companies report that they are retaining the services of social work or

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rehabilitation specialists in order to provide on-the-job training, job coachsupport, and placement assistance for employees with disabilities. Third,most companies provide education and training to non-disabled employeesto include working and interacting with employees with disabilities. Fourth,Mohegan Sun, Embrace Hotels Association, and Sodexo Inc. agree that it isan important practice to appraise employees with disabilities’ performancethrough formal and informal performance appraisals. Lastly, Embrace HotelsAssociation and Mohegan Sun cite various accommodation practices tosupport employees with disabilities in the workplace.

BENEFITS

The results of this study communicate that hospitality businesses have foundvalue in proactively integrating persons with disabilities into the workforce.The following is an aggregate summary of the benefits that are reportedby hospitality businesses (See Table 1). First, adding persons with disabil-ities to the workforce improves innovation, problem-solving abilities, andunique ideas, and increases the ability to compete in all markets and reactto the expectations of diverse consumers. Second, employing persons withdisabilities improves customer satisfaction and customer-service capabilities.Third, the majority of hospitality companies cite that integrating persons withdisabilities into the workforce helps to drive performance by establishing apositive company image, improving marketing initiatives, and attending tosocial sustainability. Fourth, it is stated that persons with disabilities havepositive effects on the workforce and workplace. In terms of the workforce,it is noted that recruiting persons with disabilities helps to maximize work-force talent and retaining workers with disabilities improves managementskills and the psychological safety of staff collectively. Lastly, it is reportedthat employees with disabilities help to positively alter the workplace bycreating a barrier-free environment.

CHALLENGES

The results of this study show that the majority of the hospitality compa-nies did not report challenges associated with the employment of personswith disabilities. More specifically, six out of eight of the hospitality busi-nesses had no data available. These companies include Starwood Hotels& Resorts Worldwide, Inc., Marriott International, Inc., Hyatt Hotels Cor-poration, Accor Hotels, Sodexo Inc., and McDonald’s. Two out of eightof the companies reported some challenges. Embrace Hotels Associationidentifies changes in workplace design, decreased stamina and energy levelof employees with disabilities, and an increase in non-disabled coworkers’stress level as challenges. Mohegan Sun reports no challenges to employing

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persons with disabilities as long as sufficient training is provided prior to jobplacement.

DISCUSSION, IMPLICATIONS, AND CONCLUSIONS

To date, it does not appear that there is any study that has analyzed andsynthesized information related to disability inclusion initiatives in varioushospitality companies worldwide. The present study sought to fill that gapand set the foundation for future empirical research. The findings suggest thatsome leading hospitality companies are proactively participating in variousdisability inclusion practices because there are significant company benefitsand limited challenges that can result from including persons with disabilitiesin the workforce. Therefore, the results of this study are important in helpingto support previous postulations that the hospitality field is an employmentsector that could benefit from proactively recruiting the population withdisabilities (Kalargyrou, 2014). The following is an explanation of the findingswith integrated practical suggestions for the hospitality field.

The present study contributes to the limited research surroundingthe business practices that hospitality companies are using in order toproactively recruit and hire employees with disabilities. It is evident thathospitality companies are establishing disability-inclusion task forces andfoundations, which can be used to raise awareness on disabilities inthe workplace, develop employment strategies, establish clear goals forinclusion, and implement metrics initiatives. The formation of a team ordepartment that specifically focuses on disability integration and trainingseems to be a strong business practice that can help human resourceprofessionals and key strategic planners move from consideration of an in-clusion plan to action. Interestingly, Starwood Hotels cites that they provideincentives to departments that meet inclusion goals—an innovative practicethat would seemingly produce faster disability integration results. Hospitalitycompanies are also creating alliances or partnerships with social serviceand vocational rehabilitation agencies and other organizations involved inraising awareness about persons with disabilities as a way to identify andrecruit candidates for employment. Some companies report that they areretaining the services of social work or rehabilitation specialists in order toprovide on-the-job training, job coach support, and placement assistance foremployees with disabilities. Intriguingly, Mohegan Sun management statesthat their organization formed an alliance with the state of Connecticut inorder to obtain grant money for services associated with the integrationof employees with disabilities into their workforce. This strategy may be atactic to consider for hospitality companies seeking funds to help supportan action plan to initiate or enhance disability inclusion programs.

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Most companies cite that they provide education and training to non-disabled employees to include working and interacting with employees withdisabilities. This practice is critical when taking into consideration the stereo-typical and prejudicial views that some non-disabled individuals hold regard-ing employees with disabilities’ skills and competencies in the workforce. Anadditional way to produce awareness and acceptance of disabilities in theworkplace and improve the socialization process for employees with disabil-ities is to promote disability-related events in the workplace or communitythat unites workers with and without disabilities. By increasing socializationprocesses and educating employees without disabilities about workers withdisabilities, it may help to erode the formal and informal barriers in theworkplace and aid in creating and perpetuating an embracive workplaceenvironment.

Mohegan Sun, Embrace Hotels Association, and Sodexo Inc. report thatit is an important practice to appraise employees with disabilities’ perfor-mance through formal and informal performance appraisals. This practiceis likely beneficial in terms of providing feedback to employees with dis-abilities regarding areas for improvement, helping to hold these workersto similar standards of workers without disabilities, and assisting in full in-clusion into the workplace. Lastly, Embrace Hotels Association offers someunique accommodation suggestions to support employees with disabilities inthe workplace. For example, employees with disabilities are provided withflexible work schedules, short-term objectives, and job-specific accommo-dations. Given the small amount of information available surrounding spe-cific accommodation practices and mechanisms to appraise workers’ withdisabilities job performance, these two areas warrant further research andevaluation.

Overall, it is noted that integrating persons with disabilities into theworkforce improves business performance and business success. This is anoutcome likely produced by the numerous beneficial factors that can resultfrom hiring employees with disabilities. Although Embrace Hotels Associ-ation and Mohegan Sun were the only companies to describe the workcharacteristics of persons with disabilities (most likely due to the availabilityof empirical data), the findings are important to mention. Both companiesagree that workers with disabilities are loyal, reliable, and motivated. Addi-tionally, Mohegan Sun management cites that persons with disabilities areprompt in attendance and are equal to workers without disabilities in termsof productivity. These findings confirm the results of prior hospitality re-search related to persons with disabilities’ positive employee characteristics(Chi & Qu, 2003; Hernandez & McDonald, 2010; Ingamells et al., 1991).Given the high employee turnover ratios frequently experienced by hospi-tality companies, findings that workers with disabilities are loyal, reliable,motivated, productive, and prompt in attendance should influence employ-ers to consider disability inclusion as a way to save money, improve worker

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consistency, reduce turnover, and ultimately improve the success of the cor-poration, as found by many of the companies in this study.

Findings also convey that employing persons with disabilities helps tomaximize workforce talent and improve management skills and the psycho-logical safety of staff (Kalargyrou, 2014). It is likely that having persons withdisabilities in the workforce communicates that the company has empathyand cares about more sensitive groups, thereby increasing the trust of allworkers and improving productivity (Kalargyrou, 2014). Furthermore, it iscited that employees with disabilities help to positively alter the workplaceby creating a barrier-free environment. This finding is important when con-sidering the previous literature showing that hospitality guests prefer to givetheir business to integrated hotels because of the non-judgmental environ-ment and accommodating facilities (Groschl, 2012).

Findings show that adding persons with disabilities to the workforce canimprove innovation and increase the ability to compete in all markets andreact to the expectations of diverse consumers. Given that a large portionof consumers have some form of disability, employees with disabilities havethe advantage of recognizing and responding to the needs of persons similarto themselves and can better understand, relate to, and empathize with theneeds of consumers with disabilities. Retaining the perspectives and skills ofpersons with disabilities can make it easier to provide the services that di-verse consumers are seeking and may result in attracting more consumers tothe company’s products and services. This translates into increased revenueand success. Similarly, findings suggest that integrating persons with disabil-ities into the hospitality workforce helps to drive success by establishinga positive company image, improving marketing initiatives, and attendingto social sustainability. In a globally diverse world, attending to social sus-tainability appears to have evolved into a critical business strategy, becausediverse consumers may be increasingly attracted to the products and servicesof businesses that portray care and empathy for vulnerable populations. Thisidea is in line with previous attitudinal research showing that consumers re-port favoring companies that employ individuals with disabilities and wouldrather give their business to such corporations (Burge et al., 2007; Sipersteinet al., 2006). Specific to the hospitality industry, the present study helps tosupport Kuo and Kalargyrou’s (2014) finding that consumers demonstrate apositive purchase intention and prefer to give their business to hospitalitycompanies that employ workers with disabilities.

Two companies in this study identify challenges associated withemploying persons with disabilities in the hospitality workforce. EmbraceHotels Association identifies changes in workplace design, decreasedstamina and energy level of employees with disabilities, and an increasein non-disabled coworkers’ stress level as challenges. These findingssupport Groschl’s (2004, 2007) suggestions that hospitality employershave concerns about hiring persons with disabilities because of required

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modifications to the workplace, employees’ ability to handle the nature ofthe work, and having to provide excessive training and constant monitoring.Interestingly, Mohegan Sun reports no challenges to employing personswith disabilities as long as sufficient training is provided prior to jobplacement.

Implications

The present findings have important implications for hospitality companiesseeking to integrate persons with disabilities into the workforce. Discussionof these implications may help to clarify how employers and human resourceprofessionals can successfully implement a disability inclusion initiative. First,the formation of a team, department, council, or group that is responsiblefor awareness and integration practices appears to be a valuable businessresource that can aid in the identification, hiring, and retaining of personswith disabilities in the workplace. These teams can help to produce increasedacceptance of employees with disabilities in the workforce by holding educa-tional workshops and promoting events that improve socialization betweenpersons with and without disabilities, thereby reducing employment barriersthat may present for persons with disabilities. Members of the diversity teamshould have experience with interacting with persons with disabilities andknowledge regarding adept accommodation practices. The development ofthis type of department or group can assure that a disability inclusion planruns smoothly and goals and objectives are met. Second, the formation ofpartnerships or special relationships with vocational rehabilitation agenciesor social service agencies is an important practice for hospitality companiesto participate in because it can aid in the identification of strong candidateswith disabilities for employment. Additionally, professionals employed atthese social welfare agencies typically have the skills necessary to help withsupporting, coaching, and assuring that the necessary accommodations arein place for the employee with a disability. Third, in line with partnerships,reaching out to state health and human services departments to inquire aboutgrant money or funding to help support a disability inclusion plan is a bene-ficial practice, which was noted by Mohegan Sun, who formed a relationshipwith the state of Connecticut. Although unreported in this study, companiesthat proactively hire persons with disabilities can also be eligible for stateand federal employer tax credits and incentives. This is an important point tohighlight because most businesses are interested in increasing revenue andreducing costs (“the bottom line”). Lastly, from a macro-economic stand-point, U.S. citizens would benefit from more companies proactively hiringpersons with disabilities, because the 300 billion dollars spent annually tosupport unemployed persons with disabilities could be allocated towardsother national priorities (Maynard, 2013).

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In sum, as long as employers provide persons with disabilities withsufficient training prior to job placement, limited challenges will present.Hence, human resource professionals play an important role in terms of thedevelopment of quality training programs for persons with disabilities. Sug-gestions to reduce the likelihood of encountering such challenges includeproviding comprehensive training for workers with and without disabilities,obtaining adequate funding through employer tax credits and incentives andstate grant money, and offering workplace and job-specific accommoda-tions. Hospitality leaders and human resource professionals should considerimplementing disability inclusion initiatives to benefit from the improved in-novation and loyalty of people with disabilities, their positive effects on theworkforce, and the enhanced corporate reputation and customer satisfaction.A successful initiative requires strong commitment from top leadership, aninclusive corporate culture, the creation of alliances with states and voca-tional rehabilitation agencies, proper accommodation and training of peoplewith disabilities, holding all workers to the same standards, and establish-ing performance appraisal metrics and incentives to meet disability inclusiongoals.

Limitations and Future Research

Several limitations to this study will be discussed in the following sectionto help inform future research. First, the majority of information acquiredregarding the integration of persons with disabilities into the workforce wasobtained from company websites and documents. The lack of empirical re-search and rich qualitative information on the identified companies’ disabilityinclusion practices is a limitation to the study. Second, the hospitality com-panies included in this study were identified based on information gatheredfrom the 2012 DiversityInc. Magazine’s ranking for the top-10 employers forpersons with disabilities, the USBLN, and a literature review surrounding thistopic. It may be that there are more hospitality companies that are pioneersin disability inclusion but have yet to publicize their inclusion efforts or aretoo small to be widely known.

Overall, the finding that a small proportion of the hospitality compa-nies identify challenges when employing persons with disabilities could beinterpreted in different ways. First, because the companies identified in thisstudy are leaders in disability inclusion in the hospitality field, they may notperceive any challenges or have developed human resource practices thatimpede the likelihood of challenges presenting in the workplace. Second,hospitality companies may fear highlighting information regarding the chal-lenges associated with integrating persons with disabilities into the workforcebecause it could be perceived negatively or discriminatory by consumers andsociety in general. Lastly, provided that a substantial portion of the results

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were acquired from company websites and non-empirical research, it couldbe that the companies do not include perceived or encountered challengeswithin these forums. Therefore, future research should aim to assess thechallenges of employing persons with disabilities in the hospitality work-force through both qualitative and quantitative methodology.

The present study’s findings confirm and extend the literature surround-ing benefits of disability inclusion in the hospitality field and set a foundationfor future research in this specific sector. First, future research should focuson studying hospitality consumer’s attitudes and purchasing intention forcompanies that hire employees with disabilities because there is limited in-formation available. Second, given that only two hospitality companies reportemployees with disabilities’ work characteristics (e.g., attendance, perfor-mance, productivity) in this study, and given the lack of hospitality specificliterature on this subject, further investigation is warranted.

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