Persons with Disabilities

Abstract

An exploratory study of fourteen Toronto hotels found that these hotels employ relatively few persons with disabilities. While responding human resources managers agree that hiring those with disabilities is a good practice, they noted numerous barriers to increased employment. Among the barriers is the fact that many people do not know how effective persons with disabilities can be in the hotel setting. Other barriers to be overcome are the lack of communication among employee groups and a failure of local employment agencies to work with hotels in placing persons with disabilities, as well as the physical layout of the hotels themselves. While the study is specific to Toronto, it seems reasonable to believe that the underlying causes of failure to employ persons with disabilities extend to other Canadian markets and, indeed, to other markets in North America.