Excerpts from Lodging, February, 1998
"When the Biggest Barrier Falls" by Richard Bruns
Microtel Opens Its Doors
In creating Microtel, the economy unit of Atlanta-based U.S. Franchise Systems, in 1995, chairman/CEO Mike Leven decided to make accessibility integral to the product. "We want to be the preferred chain for travelers with disabilities," Leven says. "I've been in the business for 37 years, and I think the industry has always been slow to react to changes in society, whether it's race or creed, or female business travelers. I think the ADA is an opportunity, and there is a potentially significant market."
However, true accessibility is a philosophy that involves every part of the business: architecture, hardware, software, staff training, and marketing. Microtel has also used a survey it conducted on its website (www.microtelinn.com).
Responses came from a population of people with disabilities of all kinds--and most with incomes from $35,000 and up--who travel regularly. Top requests: accessible showers, large bathrooms, accurate reservation information, and a sensitive staff.
To
train all staff (including managers, whose week-long program includes marketing
to people with disabilities) the company hired Duke
Associates of Woodford, Virginia, to provide its "Opening
Doors"
staff sensitivity program. Getting its certification becomes a selling point.
Right: Margo Gathright-Dietrich and her service dog, Tuthill II, give a demonstration to the Microtel managers, showing the skills of assistance animals. The managers learn why these dogs should be welcomed guests along with their person.
Teri Fox, director of training and quality assurance, explains that the training helps staff "lose their fear and know exactly what to do." Staff get in wheelchairs, are blindfolded, wear earplugs, and have their hands wrapped, to help them understand what different disabilities are like, and most important, "to see the person, not just the disability."
Is it paying off? Leven says he hasn't tried to measure how much business is coming from guests with disabilities. However, hoteliers who have reached out to this market find that they are extremely loyal and recommend a genuinely accessible hotel to others. One survey respondent, Mark Snow, whose son uses a wheelchair, said: "We will drive to a less convenient location to stay in a place that truly provides accommodations and shows an interest in our business at least to the same degree as they want others' business."
Leven is counting on people like them. "Most travelers with disabilities have chosen a preferred chain," he says, "but when they do, we hope to get a good portion of their business."