Frontline hotel employees’ perceptions of colleagues with disabilities: An ableism perspective

This research note examines how non-disabled frontline hotel employees perceive colleagues with disabilities through an ableism lens. Drawing on 32 semi-structured interviews with employees of a multinational hospitality company across Southern and Eastern Europe, the findings reveal two broad evaluative framings: success narratives and challenge narratives. Within each, perceptions differed in the locus of ableist evaluation, with disability becoming relevant indirectly through evaluations of work performance or work redistribution associated with disability-related arrangements, or directly as the basis for evaluating employees or their achievements. Combining these dimensions, the study develops a four-part typology comprising Normative Success, Exceptionalism, Perceived Burden and Disability Attribution. The findings show that both success and challenge narratives can encompass distinct forms of ableism, extending hospitality disability-employment research beyond broad benefits/challenges framings of disability employment. Practical implications arising from these findings are offered.