Excerpts from Hotel & Motel Management, October 20, 1997
"Microtel Surveys Accessibility" by Julie Miller
Several comments gleaned from the Microtel on-line survey indicated an expectation for hotels to have a helpful staff, sensitive to the needs of travelers with disabilities. ADA doesn't have provisions for etiquette, so sensitivity becomes an issue of voluntary training.
"While we had the ADA-compliant room, we didn't have the training," said Terri Fox, Microtel's director of training.
The challenge was to train employees to be courteous and sensitive while allowing the travelers with disabilities to maintain their independence and dignity.
A
new training program will begin at the general-manager level next month, designed
by W.C.
Duke Associates
of Woodford, Va., Fox said. "Opening
Doors"
is based on experiences of the Duke
family. President Cheryl Duke created this program for the benefit of people
like her husband, who is hearing-impaired, and her son, who has muscular dystrophy
and uses a wheelchair.
Left to right: Marcia Donner, owner of several Microtels in California, practices the escorting skills she learned in the Opening Doors® training session on Lynda Kimmel, the general manager of a New Mexico Microtel. Lynda is understanding how her guests having visual impairments appreciate being oriented to her facility.
Duke's suggestions include:
Ask the person who has a disability if he or she needs your help. Don't just grab an arm or push a wheelchair.
Let the person give you instructions. He or she is the expert in his/her needs.
Be prepared to take "No" for an answer, and take no offense.
When talking to a person with a disability, speak directly to that person, not a companion.
Fox said the Dukes' program uses videotapes and printed training materials specific to the hospitality industry. By training the general managers, she said, a trickle-down effect will be produced whereby the employees, particularly those who have guest contact, will learn from their managers.