Introduction

This chapter addresses the most basic and essential points in the design of hotels and other overnight accommodation buildings, in order to make them accessible for disabled people. Designing with the disabled user in mind gives added value to the hotel as all people can benefit from the space standards and many of the features which disabled people need. Customers arriving tired or stressed after a long journey, carrying heavy suitcases, older people and families with small children will all enjoy a safer and more comfortable stay. It is understandable that hotel owners, who are not familiar with disabled people as customers, may have doubts and worries about whether their buildings and facilities are - or can be - made suitable for them. There are many books, guidelines, standards and checklists of user requirements for accessible buildings, with a large variety of information and a great amount of detail. For those hotel owners and architects who are not aware of the design requirements for accessibility, it can therefore be difficult, at the outset, to identify the main priorities and the critical issues – and to create a good solution.

Here we propose a clear, brief and practical guide, which can lead to an effective and economical design, meeting all basic access requirements. It is not an exhaustive explanation of how to cater for very particular needs of all disabled visitors. For these, further references are included at the end of this chapter (Figure 17.1).

The design of an accessible hotel, requires a ‘smart’ approach, known as Design-for-All or Universal Design , in which the needs of the widest range of users are taken into account. Accessible design cannot be achieved without knowing the basic requirements of disabled users, and how to address these in the design solution.