Ms. Shackelford

ADA Compliance

Hotel Guest Service: Six Best Practices for People with Disabilities

By Ellen L. Shackelford, President, Connections Access Consulting Services, LLC (CACS)

Every person who patronizes a hotel is looking for exceptional customer service and deserves accommodations when needed. Often there may be some questions in guest services on how to appropriately offer dignified services to patrons, who may have unique needs. Those needs are individualized and should be taken into account when preparing your services accordingly. Let me start by telling you a story which will shed some light on how to approach the issue in a practical way.

In my recent articles, I've written about how I enjoy staying in 5 star hotels. Just recently my travels brought me to another one which I'd hoped would give me all the amenities as outlined in their brochures and on the hotels web page. However, it was just the opposite. In making reservations, I requested a suite. Since the reservationists completed my request by sending me a confirmation for my stay, I assumed everything was set. Instead, it was one big inconvenience as the hotel did not have wheelchair accommodations for suites at this particular location. The check-in was longer than expected and it was one which made me want to cancel all together.

First of all, the receptionist was not willing to work with me in searching the availability for me to stay in a comparable room. Since the room was not available when I arrived, I thought the hotel would make concessions for their oversight. All the accommodations offered to me were rooms with a patio view, which I was not able to access for the door way was to narrow for my wheelchair to go through.

Even though the room I requested was on a floor which did not offer accommodations for persons who used adaptive equipment (i.e., wheelchairs/scooters), they could have provided reasonable accommodations by offering some sort of incentive for my stay. I even suggested they read the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) handbook on reasonable accommodations, but the receptionist looked at me like she had not even heard of it. Here we are nearly twenty years later and hotels are still oblivious to the language and intent of the ADA!

It was my choice to stay in this hotel. And even more so after this experience as it offered me another opportunity to educate and raise awareness of the many issues people with disabilities face daily. I like to serve as an advocate in spreading useful information which will assist the hotel in assuring each employee is educated in serving patrons with disabilities. People with disabilities want the same products, services, privileges, advantages and accommodations as all guests. Everyone should be able to enjoy equal access to the goods and services hotels offer.

In order to provide guest services to people with disabilities, here are 6 best practices to follow as a guide when preparing accommodations for equal access to all guest amenities.

1. The Reservation Process

The experience of staying at a hotel begins at the telephone or online reservation. It is good practice to make sure the voice on the other line is friendly and willing to offer exceptional assistance. Your reservation agents are the most important people in your company as they are the ones that get to talk directly to your potential guests. A potential guest to your property wants to feel welcomed and assured their visit will be one they will enjoy. I have called in to the reservation line and have had the reservationists rush me off the phone before I could give a full description of the type of room I needed to accommodate my unique needs.

Reservation agents should learn to listen to the needs of potential guests and not try to sell them quickly on a room. Extra time should be taken so the accommodations are made correctly and noted in your system.

2. Check In

At times this service can become frustrating, especially if you have not received the adequate assistance from the reservation process as securing the right accommodations began with the initial reservations call. In this particular hotel my experience turned out the way it did because the reservation person rushed my call and did not allow me to inform her of my unique needs. In the initial reservation, I requested a suite, and although it was confirmed at reservation, it was not available once I arrived at the hotel. So here I am, tired and wanting my room after a long day of travel, and I'm standing waiting at the front desk with an agent telling me she has nothing available! In this case your hotel better have a good back-up plan or else I'm out of there!

Make sure your Front Desk Agents have the flexibility to accommodate blotched reservations by keeping your guest happy.

3. Accommodations

The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), is one which mandates all public places to be accessible to persons with disabilities. This includes hotels/motel accommodations, to be accessible by physically removing barriers. For example: In my travels and stay at hotels there are often barriers encountered, such as: isles to the bedroom quarters are not wide enough; heights of counters to high for reaching from a sitting position; sinks are not raised enough to allow knee space; hand held showers are on the opposite end of the shower installed seats; these among others barriers make it difficult for a guest to fully enjoy the amenities offered in an assigned room. The availability of three types of rooms: (1)- one room fully accessible meeting all ADA requirements, including accessible bath with all the amenities of living quarters designed so there are major 36' isles to access all environmental controls, windows, dressers, and entertainment centers. If the room is equipped with a television it should have a remote control some place in the room at a height not to exceed 36' (2) ADA adaptable room: the entrance door is 36'' wide with a bathroom opening - 32 -36'' with sink and commode within the parameters required by the ADA, this room may or may not have a hand held shower, but in the event one is needed, it can be installed by hotel maintenance along with a shower seat. The living area may be required to change out the standard bed(s) and turn it to allow for extra space. (3)- Standard guest room (this room is to be offered, only when the first two categories are filled), with the explanation this room does not meet ADA standards and the only modifications which can be made is to remove the bathroom door to make the opening 32'' wide, if needed to raise the height of the commode, and possible make adjustments to furniture location in the room. Exercise rooms should have adaptable equipment, i.e. free weights on a rack, which are no higher than 24'' above the floor level; hand power cycle; accessible swimming pool and the sauna/steam rooms should be wheelchair accessible. ** **

4. Education/Awareness

Educate your staff to be knowledgeable on how to make people with disabilities comfortable! It's not rocket science. Your staff work in hospitality, so they should employ some skills in sensitivity and just be a compassionate type of person all-round. In the experience I mentioned above, the process would have gone far more smoothly if the reservationist knew the properties well. If she had, she could have told me that each location is different and some may not have accessible suites. If she didn't know, I would not have minded to be put on hold for a few minutes to have her go and find out. Write out a complete list of all the possible questions that could be directed to your staff from someone with disabilities and get your staff to read them and learn them. Make sure they know how to respond!

Keeping your staff educated on issues relating to people with disabilities will encourage guest loyalty and repeat business.

5. Customer Service

If you cannot follow in the footsteps of the Four Seasons Hotels by ensuring all your guests needs are fulfilled at any cost, then at least try to make sure that guests requests are fulfilled as much as possible. This is the pledge you agreed to by labeling yourself as a hotel. A place of hospitality. One of the most impressive incidents in customer service I experienced at a hotel was when they actually removed the threshold plate at the main door so I could get my wheelchair through it. Usually you will find that every problem has a solution and it's just a matter of taking that extra time to sit down and have a good think about it. Think outside of the box a little and you'll be amazed at all the little ways you can make someone's stay so much more special. And special adds to your bottom line.

Adopt a 'nothing is impossible' attitude with your hotel staff so that your customer service skills outshine.

6. Safety & Security

All rooms should be equipped with or have the availability of being equipped with audible and visual fire alarms and sprinkler systems. This information should be readily available at check in along with evacuation procedures in various formats. Can you imagine being stuck on the third floor of a hotel building when a fire alarm goes off in the middle of the night, and no-one took the time to explain to you what you should do in this circumstance?? The hotel that gets my vote is the one that sends someone up to my room immediately after I have check-in to run through those procedures so I'm familiar with them. What's five minutes of your time which would give me a better night's sleep just knowing this?!!

Your hotel staff should be familiar with your safety and security procedures and be readily available to convey them to any concerned guests.

These best practices have been called from interviews with disgruntled travelers, who felt their individual requests based on their disabilities have not been met. I have gently touched the surface in broad strokes in order to get a more complete picture. It would be deemed good practice for hotels to review ADA requirements. Consult with your local Centers for Independent Living organizations, or private consultants to find out what specific requirements are needed from your hotel clientele. It may be impossible to make every hotel guest completely satisfied, but every attempt should be made to accommodate or make reasonable accommodations for paying patrons.

By taking the extra steps to assure courteous, and exceptional customer service to all guests, you will do wonders to your hotel's credibility, business ethics, and bottom line.

The following are some resources for your review:

-U. S. Department of Justice - www.ada.gov

-Federal Communications Commission - www.fcc.gov

-U.S. Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board - www.access-board,gov

-Disability and Business Technical Assistance Centers - www.adata.org

Ellen Shackelford is well aware of the many challenges people with disabilities face daily. She is founder/president of Connections Access Consulting Services, LLC, and is dedicated to a service which will enhance the awareness of the unconscious injustice done to the aging population and Citizens with disabilities. She works so all will be included in social situations. Ellen’s goal is to serve as an advocate by providing education through training and disability awareness programs necessary to address the importance of inclusion in an aging society. Ms. Shackelford can be contacted at 757-827-0783 or ln@cacsllc.info Extended Bio...

HotelExecutive.com retains the copyright to the articles published in the Hotel Business Review. Articles cannot be republished without prior written consent by HotelExecutive.com.