Accessibility

At Kew Green Hotels we are committed to ensuring our hotels are accessible. Our accessibility procedures help us ensure our hotels are safe, enjoyable and legally compliant environments for all our guests.

Download your own hotel-specific access guide here .

AccessAble, originally called DisabledGo, was set up in 2000 by Dr. Gregory Burke, as a result of his own experiences as a wheelchair user and disabled walker.

Gregory was frustrated to find that the best-case scenario when he looked for accessibility information was a few unhelpful words that only resulted in more uncertainty. Not having the information he needed meant everything had to be planned and that too often going out became a stressful and anxious experience. This led to him founding DisabledGo, a website who work with venues to assess the facilities and provide detailed access guides to give guests all the information they need to plan their journey and ensure their requirements will be met.

AccessABLE visited all of our hotels to put together these access guides which we can send to guests in advance to ensure they have all the details they need to make an informed and empowered decision about whether our hotel is right for them .

Guests Booking Accessible Rooms In Advance

A process should be in place in the hotel to ensure all guests booking accessible rooms are contacted in advance to discuss their requirements, thoughtfully allocate a room which best suits their needs (for example some guests booking an accessible room may not need the accessible bathroom but actually require the closest possible room to reception), and prepare the PEEP plan for their arrival so they do not have to have that discussion at check in with other guests around.

A contact email should be taken during this call in order to send the Access Guide and the guest informed this contains comprehensive details about the building which will allow them to plan their trip with confidence. If the guest does not have an email address, the guide should be printed and posted. A note should then be made on the reservation to confirm the conversation has taken place and the guide sent.

This process absolutely must be carried out as it not only leads to a better experience for the guest, but also protects us from liability should the facilities not meet the guest's requirements.

Locating Reservations for Accessible Rooms

To view all future reservations for accessible rooms, follow the steps below:

Reservations > Query > Advanced > Room Type OWCN > Okay > Search

To view reservations made recently to locate OWCN reservations:

Reports > Reservations > Reservations Created On > Enter date range (previous week/day or whatever your hotel's process is) > Check through new reservations for OWCN rooms

Guests Arriving To Check In

When a guest arrives to check in, the registration card asks them to indicate whether they require assistance in the event of an emergency. ALL guests should be directed to this section and asked to complete it. A good practice could be to highlight it on all registration cards. This ensures:

• Guests with hidden disabilities are given the option of indicating that they will require assistance

• The hotel is protected from accusations of discrimination if, for example, a wheelchair user is asked directly to complete that section but other guests are not

• Team members are reminded to check this section, discuss requirements and put a PEEP in place if required.

When training your teams in each aspect of their role, ensure you also discuss how to make adaptations to that area of service.

Examples could include:

• Bringing the registration card to a wheelchair user on a clipboard and completing check in away from the desk

• Providing table service to guests with reduced mobility

• Ensuring your mouth is not obscured when talking to guests with a hearing impairment

• Communicating in a different form, such as writing

• Offer an elbow to visually impaired guests (never assume and never touch them without consent - offer an elbow but do not grab them)

Team members are often ready and willing to assist guests when we can see they need additional assistance, for example, wheelchair users. However, you must also ensure your team are aware of invisible disabilities.

The Invisible Disabilities Association (IDA, 2018) defines it as any condition that limits a person’s activities that is also invisible to the onlooker.

More information can be found on invisible disabilities here.

Disability Matters Resources

Disability Matters Travel E Learning

Webinar: Understanding Dyslexia and Literacy Difficulties

E-Learning: Understanding Dyslexia

E-Learning: Understanding Autism