The hospitality industry is striving to keep its market share and to keep its rooms occupied. Competition is stiff. Customer service and satisfaction are key elements in strategies to keep and expand market share. Does this strategy extend to guests who are blind?
The experiences of frequent travellers Marie and Chris Stark in Canadian hotels suggest that the needs of the potential market of travellers who are blind are not understood or met by this country’s hotels. This is surprising given that meeting the needs of people who are blind costs very little in comparison to the costs of installing physical accessibility features such as ramps and automatic door openers.
Simple “low cost/no cost” measures would substantially improve the comfort and independence of guests who, like Marie and Chris Stark, are blind. The repeat business that would be generated by the growing number of travellers like the Starks would more than pay for the cost of the measures suggested here:
– Is there a sidewalk from the entrance of the hotel to the street?
– Are there tactile markings and colour-coding on the curbs, stairs and entrance doors?
– Have all sandwich signs, protruding objects or other obstructions been removed from the entrance area?
– Are doors, particularly glass doors, easy to perceive and open?
– Is there a designated patch of earth with a garbage can close by on the hotel property and near the hotel entrance for the use of guide dogs?
– Is the check-in desk near the door?
– Are there way-finding cues for persons who are blind to find the right wicket or to line up?
A negative answer to any of these questions can mean an obstacle to persons who are blind.
Perhaps planners and designers never conceived of the possibility that Marie and Chris Stark would want to travel independently. The drive for independence, together with the availability of mobility aids such as guide dogs, have liberated persons who are blind from being dependent on others for everyday activities. The Starks are independently mobile, on the move and they expect equal service. Lack of accommodation is a source of frustration and humiliation for them. More and more professional and business travellers who are blind find that the lack of accessibility measures constitutes a career impediment. Persons who are blind can be forced into a dependent relationship with work colleagues, business partners or competitors. Such a relationship can make a person who is blind appear less capable than a sighted person. For example, sighted persons can read things like direction signs and room numbers for themselves. Persons who are blind must be able to do these things, too.
Chris Stark imagines receiving a hotel orientation and familiarization package in braille, large print or audio-recorded form. It would tell him about the hotel’s amenities, its location and hours of operation, just like the small ink-print books that most guests find in their rooms and take for granted. In addition, this alternative media orientation kit would explain how the air-conditioning and heating thermostats in the room are operated, the layout of the remote control for the television, the workings of the in-room clock radio and whether one must dial “8” or “9” to get an outside line to make a local phone call. It would even indicate how to determine the contents of those little bottles in the bathroom.
If there is an electronic locking system on the room doors, a tactile marking on the card to indicate the correct side up and the right end in to open the door would be helpful. It can be as cheap and simple as a piece of scotch tape on the door card that would otherwise be a smooth surface with no message that is discernible to Chris Stark. It would also help if the locking mechanism made a “click” sound when the connection is made, in addition to the open door light.
Another essential feature of accessibility at hotels for people who are blind are raised, brightly coloured numbers on the room doors. Tactile markings and voice announcement systems on elevators would also help persons who are blind feel more relaxed and comfortable at a hotel.
Not surprisingly, however, a well-trained professional staff who understand the varied needs of people with disabilities can be the key to a successful visit. Such staff understand that people who are blind require information in verbal form. Neither Chris or Marie Stark will see at a glance what is available in the way of services and amenities. Responses to their questions and requests for directions must be in direct and explicit language. When giving directions, people can also use sound and sensory cues like “The elevators are past the water fountain, next to the flower stand”.
One real difficulty Marie and Chris Stark have encountered as hotel guests is being assigned a room designed for the accessibility needs of people who use wheelchairs. Chris has had to kneel down to hang up his coat and then bumped his head on the shelf when standing back up, while Marie has struggled with toilet levers and flush chains in unfamiliar locations. Few things are more frustrating than feeling along a wall or floor behind a toilet, looking for the flush.
Some hoteliers really care and try to accommodate all people with disabilities. Many, however, do not understand the accommodation needs of people who are blind. In turn, there are no accurate rating systems to help Marie and Chris Stark make good accommodation selections. Most tourism departments publish directories of accommodations, but when Marie asks about the needs of people who are blind, the ensuing silence is telling. Little or no attention has been given to these needs.
When Marie and Chris Stark travel, they look for hotels with service-oriented staff and user-friendly physical layouts and locations. They look for a hotel with doorpersons to provide orientation and directions. It is time for an accessibility rating and a directory of hotels that really accommodate people who are blind.
If the “payback” period for a relatively small investment is short, why have most hotels not already made accommodations for their guests who are blind? The answer lies in the general lack of understanding by Canadian society of blindness, its nature and effects. This lack of awareness results in facilities being certified and promoted as accessible that are not designed to meet the needs of all persons with disabilities.
Both the hospitality industry and government need to recognize that the approach to accessibility to date is seriously flawed. Action needs to be taken to make accessibility a universal concept.