Expanding Your Market: Accessible Customer Service Practices for Hotel and Lodging Guests with Disabilities

Trends that Enhance or Hinder Accessibility

Trends in hotel decor and service can limit access: popular large furniture, such as armoires, may take up valuable maneuvering space in accessible rooms, and plush, pillow-top mattresses may make beds too high to transfer to from a wheelchair. A platform bed precludes the use of a personal lift in an accessible room. A hotel restaurant that creates ambience with low lighting can make travel to a table difficult for an older customer; while a restaurant menu with a crisp, high contrast contemporary design will make it easier to read for that same guest. It is essential to understand the positive and negative effects of trends on service to all customers, including customers with disabilities.