Accessibility is not one-size-fits-all
, by Annemarie Postma, 2 min reading time
“Accessible room.” Two words that are incredibly important for many travelers with disabilities. You see them on a website and think: great, sorted.
But then you arrive.
The door is wide enough, but the space next to the bed is too small.
The bathroom has a walk-in shower, but the showerhead is too high.
There's a grab bar, but it's in precisely the wrong place.
The sink is adapted, but you can't get your wheelchair under it.
Technically, the room might be accessible.
In practice? A completely different story.
Accessibility is not one-size-fits-all
What works perfectly for one traveler may not work at all for another.
Not all wheelchairs are the same. One person can make transfers independently, another cannot. One person primarily needs space, while another needs specific aids.
That's why the question:
“Is this room accessible?”
is actually far too simple.
The better question is:
“For whom is this room accessible and what can that person actually do with it?”
That requires much more than a checkmark.
Details make the difference
Sometimes the difference is in centimeters.
A bed that is just a little too high.
A door that can't quite open far enough.
A toilet you can't properly get next to.
A table you can't get your wheelchair under.
For someone without a disability, these are details.
For someone with a disability, they can be holiday breakers.
And the remarkable thing is: many of these problems are not at all complicated or expensive to solve.
But you have to see them first.
That’s where we come in
At Accessibly Yours, we look beyond the information on the website.
We measure. We photograph. We test. We experience.
And we ask the questions a traveler wants answered before booking.
Not to criticize hotels for what isn't perfect.
But precisely to discover together:
What's going well?
What could be better?
And what can we change today?
Because honesty builds trust
A hotel doesn't need to hear from us that everything is perfect.
A traveler doesn't want that either, by the way.
They primarily want to know what to expect.
“This room is suitable for wheelchair users, but please note there is limited space on the right side of the bed.”
That is valuable information.
Because then the traveler can decide for themselves if it works for them.
And that is what accessible travel should be about.
Not perfection.
But reliable information, good preparation, and no unpleasant surprises upon arrival.
Accessibly Yours
Accessible Travel. Inclusive Hospitality.
blog posts
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, by Annemarie Postma Interview with founder Annemarie Postma
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, by Annemarie Postma Accessibility isn't a checkbox. From 'we have to' to 'we want to'.
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, by Annemarie Postma Accessibility becomes the standard
