Providing uniforms for hotel staff is one way of ensuring proper grooming, thereby reflecting the standard of the hotel and creating a good impression on the guest. Having a uniform creates a sense of orderliness and enables the guest to identify staff and their position in the organization. To the employee, it is a status symbol, creating a sense of belonging and thereby boosting employee morale. Apart from the aesthetic appeal, uniforms are frequently designed to suit the task that is carried out.
Uniforms play a very crucial role in establishing and reinforcing the image of a hotel or restaurant. After all, other aspects of housekeeping are inanimate, material things. It is the people who bring warmth and friendliness into these spaces and these people are the employees of the hotel. Ill-conceived and poorly co-ordinated uniforms worn by hotel staff can create a jarring note in the entire image projected by the hotel.
Uses or advantages of providing staff uniforms :-
- Hotel ensure a well- groomed appearance for staff.
- They help to create an atmosphere. For example, a uniform may match the décor or the theme of the property.
- They help identify the hotel staff and their position to the guest.
- They help differentiate between staff and guests.
- If made in the right design for work, they provide comfort for the staff.
- They instill a feeling of belongingness and loyalty to the hotel among the staff.
- They enhance the spirit of teamwork.
- They allow employees to save money on working clothes and costs of laundering.
- It is easier for staff to take up messy jobs when they know that their own clothes are not involved.
- Some uniforms may have a protective role.
- Some uniforms may confer prestige on the wearer.