In the hospitality business, the customer-oriented approach is inclined to be the most successful way you can operate. If you’re aiming to make your hotel, BnB, or other accommodation as guest-oriented as possible, you need to consider those who might be differently-abled as well. Here, we’re going to look at a few of the ways you can make sure you’re not leaving some of your guests out in the cold.
Making the hotel more accessible
Take a look at every part of the hotel and how it could potentially be made more accommodating of differently-abled people. For instance, do you have a wheelchair ramp for the entrance? Do shared bathrooms have options such as grab rails for those with a disability? Other services in the hotel such as the gym, pool, and any eateries or bars should be made accessible as well.
Offering better options
Aside from making the business more accessible as a whole, you might also want to consider the ways in which you can create rooms and facilities that better suit differently-abled people. For instance, a hospital bed rental could help you prepare rooms specifically for those who might need such sleeping equipment. You may choose to have rooms specifically suited to meet additional accessibility measures for those who need them. These rooms should be on the first floor.
Train staff to help differently-abled guests
You shouldn’t simply make changes to the hotel and leave it at that until a guest with a disability comes to stay. Your staff might not be practiced in helping them and it could show, making the process difficult for the guest. For that reason, it’s important to train your staff in precisely how they should accommodate guests with different abilities, as well as the different options you might have for that purpose.
Don’t forget the website
You should be aiming to make the whole experience of staying at your hotel more inclusive, not just the hotel itself. To that end, take a closer look at the process of finding information and booking online. Accessible website design can involve formatting images and text to ensure they are more legible, using alt-tags that allow users to hear accurate descriptions of images when they mouse over them, and more.
Ask your guests for feedback
If you want to make sure that you’re making your business as accommodating to differently-abled guests as is reasonable, then there’s no reason to not ask them what they might like. This shouldn’t be done directly with individual guests, but you could, for instance, publish a post on social media and through your email newsletters asking guests to anonymously provide feedback on what improvements could be made to every part of the process, from the site to the hotel to the rooms to the staff.
As a business owner, you have some obligations to not exclude people with a disability, but it’s partly down to your discretion how much you are willing to spend to accommodate them. The tips above can help you find the level that works for you.
