The Business Case 1

This training session looks at the size of the market for attracting disabled guests and their carers, partners and/or family members.  The market is huge and must be one worth attracting to your business.

Equipment required – PC, tablet, or phone, flip chart and pen to write up answers
Number of people involved – Up to 12 people
Suitable for – All members of staff
Time required – 10 minutes
Time required online – 2 minutes
 

Instruction – Show video clip and repeat the question – How many of these people will have a disability in the UK? 
Write up all answers to the questions below, put on flip chart and discuss.

Answer – 11 million

Question – How many carers are there in the UK?

Answer – 6 million

Question – How many people are there in the UK?

Answer – About 68 million.  This represents 25% of the country’s population so it is a very important market to this hotel.

Question – What type of disabilities are there?

Put answers into the four groups.

Answer – They are categorised in four groups:

1. People with a mobility impairment such as arthritis, loss of a limb, in a wheelchair.
2. Deaf or deafened people.
3. Vision impaired people.
4. The fourth group is often called other.  This includes those with a mental illness, dyslexia, cancer, HIV, cystic fibrosis, multiple sclerosis.

Question – How many disabled people are there in Europe and America?

Answer – Over 150 million

Question – How much do you think this business is worth in England alone?

Answer - VisitEngland has estimated it at over £2 billion.

Question – What can we do to improve customer service for people with disabilities?

Answer – The answers include:

1. Greater awareness of people with disabilities.
2. Knowing how to recognise them.
3. Having the confidence to talk to them as you would any other guest.
4. Knowing how to help them in the event of fire.
5. Having accessible champions in each department.  These are people that identify any issues that can be improved for disabled guests.
6. Training all staff to know about all of the above.

Explain – This is the first training module in a new online package that will help you look after our disabled guests and ensure they have a great time and want to come back again and tell their family and friends.