Discovering the Disabled

by Robert Cole

 

The travel industry, too, has begun to make changes. ....for example, Embassy Suites Hotels, Inc., focused on accessibility. Management also worried about the responsiveness of hotel staff.

 

So the company sought outside assistance from Opening Doors®, a Woodford, Virginia-based consulting firm that helps employees become comfortable with--and thus better at-dealing with customers and co-workers who have hearing, vision or mobility impairments.

 

As a result of the changes it made, Embassy Suites has seen an average annual increase of 23,000 room bookings for people with mobility impairments and $13 million in gross revenues from guests who are disabled.