My name is Mike, and ever since I was small, I have loved making celebratory signs. I was always the kid with the 'welcome home' or 'happy birthday' sign at my house, and as soon as my parents bought our first computer, I started making signs using software programming. I followed that path later in life and have helped many friends design their signs. I love special occasion signs in particular. If you own a business, are planning a party, or have a special event coming up, please explore this space. It has everything you ever wanted to know about signs and hopefully more!
Running your own hotel business is a dream for a lot of people, but there is a lot to think about, and making blind or low-vision guests feel welcomed and valued might not be something you've considered. This article explains three simple ways that hotel owners and managers can make blind guests feel comfortable during their stay.
Invest In Braille Tactical Signs
Installing braille tactical signs in your hotel is a great way to help blind and low-vision guests find their way around the hotel, and to make them feel like valued customers. Braille Literacy Canada has produced a guide to using braille signs, explaining they should be located at key points in your hotel, such as in lifts, next to showers, on emergency doors, on hotel room doors, in stairwells and on cautionary signage. You might also like to have a braille sign at the entrance to your hotel, by the restaurant or at the check-in desk. Many companies can make custom braille tactical signs or offer materials to make your own as well as offering advice about the height and positioning of your signs.
Offer Braille Versions Of Information
In addition to placing tactical braille signs around your hotel, it might be a nice idea to have other materials and information available in braille. For example, if you have a restaurant or room service menu, you could make it available to blind and low-vision guests in braille. Braille menus make blind people feel able to fully enjoy the experience, as well as not having to rely on other people's explanations in a loud or crowded area. If you have information in the rooms about how certain aspects work, such as the shower or heating, provide braille instructions for these, as well as any other information about the hotel, facilities, or surrounding area. There are many companies and services that can translate your existing materials into braille to help your blind guests feel welcome.
Train Your Staff Properly
In order to make your hotel a truly welcoming place for low-vision and blind guests, you should ensure that your staff are all trained on how to treat them. Make sure that your reception staff are greeting blind guests at the door, helping them with check-in procedures and offering them a tour of the hotel and their room if necessary. You should also ensure that they know the etiquette of working with disabled customers, such as not touching people without asking, not petting guide dogs and leaving guests alone if they do not want or require help. RNIB offers some great tips for guiding blind guests, such as asking them how they like to be guided, informing them of steps and mentioning potential hazards.
By making your hotel easy to navigate and access via tactical Braille signs, providing informational materials and menus in Braille and training your staff to provide sensitive treatment to blind guests, you can ensure that your low-vision guests have a wonderful experience at your hotel.
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