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Paralympics – Hoteliers set to capitalise on tourist segment for disabled people
As the London hotel market gears up for the Olympic and Paralympic Games, the question isn’t whether hoteliers will be able to provide the minimum required accommodations for guests with disabilities, but will they be able to capitalize on the more than £2-billion (US$3.2-billion) tourist segment for disabled people that could visit the market as a result.
“The Paralympics gives you the opportunity to showcase that you have these fantastic provisions for people with special needs,” said Ufi Ibrahim, chief executive of the British Hospitality Association.
That spotlight is likely to attract more guests with disabilities to London, at which point area hoteliers will have to go beyond provisions required by British Standards (BS8300:2009) and guidance documents (PAS88:2008) to take their share of the market, said Ufi Ibrahim, Chief executive of the British Hospitality Association.
The provisions, which were compiled by the Equality and Human Rights Commission, require one accessible room for every 20 within a given hotel.
There are more than 1,540 hotels and bed and breakfasts listed on the Inclusive London website, which was launched in March 2011 to promote accessible rooms to all tourists visiting the city. There are a further 122 accessible hostels.
Athletes competing in the Paralympic Games will be housed in separate athletic compounds just as athletes competing in the Olympics are housed.
Making strides Hoteliers throughout the United Kingdom and greater London region have made strides to boost the number of accessible rooms in recent months.
“A lot of work has gone into this area. We’ve been working with (tourism organization) Tourism for All to raise awareness,” Ibrahim said.”… Many hoteliers in London have been doing sort of small quick fixes in order to enable some rooms to be usable for people who have accessibility problems—ramps, for example. That’s a quick fix.”
Economy chain Premier Inn, for example, has an ongoing refurbishment program in place to bolster existing accessible offerings while expanding its number of accessible rooms.
“As part of this refurbishment program we have and will continue to convert half of our universally accessible bathrooms to wet rooms, if the size, layout and suitability of the hotel allows,” said Jon Brind, head of safety and security for the brand, which has approximately 130 properties in greater London. “The London County Hall Premier Inn is a prime example of this forward planning, where we have been able to convert some existing bathrooms to wet rooms/shower rooms.”
Other amenities included in Premier Inn’s 2,200 existing accessible rooms include vibrating pillow pads with flashing beacons for guests with hearing impairments.
InterContinental Hotels Group, which has 294 accessible rooms in London, seven years ago invested more than £12 million (US$19.3 million) into its portfolio to ensure compliance with the Disability Discrimination Act. The resulting efforts saw the inclusion of tactile signage and ceiling track hoists in select locations, said Christopher Rawstron, VP of operations for the U.K. and Ireland.
IHG also requires all employees undergo training programs on how to accommodate guests with disabilities, both during orientation and then once every six months for review.
Meeting demand By summer 2012, there will be 2,667 accessible rooms in London, 1,392 of which will be wheelchair friendly, according to data from London & Partners, the official promotion agency for London.
But with a potential market of 78 million American and 75 million European disabled visitors, friends and families, according to VisitEngland, it is uncertain whether supply will meet demand, Ibrahim said.
Hoteliers are ramping up development efforts in an attempt to do just that.
Premier Inn plans to open four additional properties before the Olympic and Paralympic Games. The group also recently opened the London Stratford Premier Inn, the first among the company portfolio to offer fixed tracker hoisting mechanisms.
“Due to the great location of this site, we increased our provision of universally accessible rooms from the mandatory 5% to 7.5%,” Brind said.
Hilton Worldwide encourages development of accessible rooms through a flexible room layout, said Alex Humphrey, senior manager of safety and security for the U.K. and Western Europe.
“Each hotel has the ability to customize rooms with accessibility equipment to increase the number of accessible rooms, in addition to providing dedicated equipment for those guests with hearing impairments,” he said.
Ibrahim just hopes recent momentum won’t fade after the Paralympic and Olympics flames are doused.
“That also draws into question the longer term, whether this is an area where investment is going to be made and be seen to be an opportunity,” she said. “There is s a huge number of people with special needs who would like to be able to travel.”
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