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CLH News
April/May 2022
Why Catering For Customers With Accessibility Needs Is Key In The Hospitality Sector
By Jonathan Hassell, founder and CEO at Hassell Inclusion (www.hassellinclusion.com)
Like many sectors, the hospitality industry has seen a huge increase in the use of digital technologies over the past two years. They touch every part of a customer’s journey, from searching for a potential venue, to activating special offers via social media, perusing an online menu, booking a table via a website or ordering via an app or QR code. This move to digital shows no sign of slowing down. In its latest 2022 trends report, OpenTable found that 43% of the consumers it surveyed said they would even welcome more advanced technologies such as voice ordering, virtual reality and sophisticated chatbots. However, there is a danger that many businesses could be missing out on a huge number of customers if they haven’t made their digital platforms accessible. More than one in five potential UK consumers have a disability, and, according to research from The Purple Pound, restaurants, pubs and clubs could be losing up to £163 million a month if they are not addressing accessibility. Providing a warm welcome to customers is paramount in the hospitality industry, and yet so many of their potential patrons with accessibility requirements are being left out in the cold. So, how can businesses in the sector turn this ‘invisible’ 20% into a loyal 20%? Quite simply, by making sure their digital communications and services are accessible to everyone.
AN END-TO-END ACCESSIBILITY APPROACH Being great at digital accessibility isn’t just about having a good website, it’s about the whole user journey, from your marketing to your digital platforms to your in-venue experience. This requires a strategic approach to ensure that accessibility is ‘baked in’ to your processes rather than having to retro-fix elements of your services that simply don’t cater for those with specific needs. To be truly accessible, you will need to go beyond Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) compliance. You need to think about accessibility across all your digital channels.
1. Good design is accessible design – Your choice of colours, fonts and imagery could be key to winning or losing customers. For example, people with a range of visual impairments struggle with low contrast text, and those on the autistic spectrum may be put off with too many images, so it’s best to use white space to let things breathe. Similarly, be careful in your choice of fonts - handwriting fonts may look fantastic but can be difficult for many people to read, so use them for branding not essential information. Another benefit of accessible design is that it can improve your SEO if you use closed captions on videos, and clear and simple headings. 2. Be socially accessible – Social media is a key channel for many in the industry to promote their business and there are several things you can do to make sure your social activity is accessible. For example, hashtags are a great way to get noticed, but make sure you use CamelCase capitalisation in them i.e #HashTags, so screen readers don’t try and read them out as one word. And make sure you include alt-text with your images. 3. Check your third-party providers meet accessibility standards – Many businesses in the sector use thirdparty suppliers to manage online bookings or payments. Even though you don’t control them, you should be aware of whether the suppliers’ services are accessible. For example, if an ‘iframe’ is used to present a date-picker or payment confirmation dialogue without the right coding, a blind person using a screen-reader might not be able to book or pay. So, it’s worth doing an inventory of what can and can’t be controlled, to build a picture of what you can and can’t influence and change supplier to a more accessible one if you can. 4. Don’t overlook PDFs – PDFs are often used for things such as menus, booking confirmations, terms and conditions, coupons and vouchers. To make sure they are accessible, start with using the authoring tool’s accessibility functions (in Word, Google Docs, PowerPoint or InDesign), and then test documents with Adobe Acrobat when they are converted to PDF.
EFFECTING LASTING CHANGE In 2019, we turned our attentions to creating the international standard for digital accessibility – ISO 300711. We did this because we wanted to effect real change and provide a clear framework to help companies ensure their accessibility approach is robust, sustainable and effective. Since then, we have developed the Digital Accessibility Maturity Scorecard. This free tool provides a review of your organisation around nine key areas of digital accessibility linked to the Standard, helping you identify gaps and providing guidance on where and how to best make improvements. For those businesses looking to stay ahead of the competition, benchmarking your current performance in digital accessibility is certainly the best place to start to build a loyal following among customers who right now are being overlooked.
CAMRA Campaigns to Boost Pub Trade This Summer
In our experience, there are several potential weak spots in customer-facing industries such as hospitality:
The Campaign for Real Ale is gearing up to launch its “Summer of Pub” Campaign (2 May – 29 August) which encourages people to head down to their local and support the trade after an incredibly difficult two years.
Pubs and breweries across the UK have been asked to organise a range of events to celebrate the first summer without restrictions – whether it be an open mic night, pub quiz or tap takeover. These events will be captured by CAMRA on an interactive map, allowing beer lovers to seek out pubs, clubs and taprooms that are running events nearby. Pubs, breweries and local branches can help spread the word with a wide range of marketing materials freely available through CAMRA. In addition, CAMRA will be working closely with external partners to put together a real calendar of celebrations around pivotal events in the summer season. The long bank holiday weekend (2-5 June) will be a key moment in the Campaign, with CAMRA collaborating with the organisers of HM The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Celebrations (2-5 June) to promote and celebrate The Big Jubilee Lunch and Thank You Day. As part of the celebrations, CAMRA will be supporting the Good Beer Co’s initiative to get “Thank Brew” into independent pubs and breweries around the country. Thank Brew is a 3.5% ABV easy drinking
Pale Ale created by Fergus Fitzgerald from Adnams, and it is the official beer for the Jubilee Weekend. All profits from ‘Thank Brew’ sales will support three different causes – the Eden projects communities which runs The Big Lunch, Together Coalition which runs Thank You Day and Reset Communities and Refugees, a charity supporting Ukrainian refugees arriving in the UK to live with families in communities across Britain under the government’s Homes for Ukraine scheme.
CAMRA will be urging pubs and breweries to stock Thank Brew and run celebratory events over the Jubilee Weekend as part of a Summer of Pub. Beer-lovers will be able to find out who’s stocking Thank Brew on tap and where to celebrate via an interactive map on the website. James Grugeon, The Good Beer Co-Founder, organisers of the ‘Thank Brew’ campaign for Thank You Day, The Big Jubilee Lunch and Reset Refugees and Communities said: “We’re proud to be kicking off a big summer of pub with a Thank Brew beer to help celebrate pubs and people across the nation coming together to raise a toast to their local communities and say thank you to HM The Queen for her years of service on the long Jubilee Holiday Weekend. “With 100 percent of profits going to three fantastic causes supporting people doing good in their neighbourhoods, we hope to sign up thousands of pubs across Britain to serve this limited-edition celebratory brew.” Another key partnership over the summer will be with Ask Clive to promote “Pub Pride” on 27 May. Pub Pride is a night for venues to celebrate their local LGBTQ+ community and welcome Pride month in their hometown. All Pub Pride events will be available to view on CAMRA’s Summer of Pub map, with a special highlight on Good Beer Guide entries getting involved in the celebrations. Danny Clare, co-founder and trustee of Ask for Clive said: “We’re delighted to be running Pub Pride once again this year, which is an opportunity for pubs to open their doors to the LGBTQ+ community and let them know they are welcome. It is fantastic to see
CAMRA’s support for the event this year and their Summer of Pub map now features all participating Pub Pride venues, so make sure to check back to the page to find some fantastic Pub Pride events taking place on 27 May!” The full calendar of events include: • 2 May – first bank holiday weekend • 27 May – Pub Pride • 3 June – Queen’s Platinum Jubilee bank holiday weekend • 1-7 June – Volunteers’ Week • 15 June – Beer Day Britain • 19 June – Father’s Day • 4 July – Independence Day (America) • 6-31 July – Women’s Euros • 2-5 August – Great British Beer Festival • 5 August – International Beer Day • 15 August – Pub Games Day
• 29 August – last bank holiday Both Pub Pride and the Platinum Jubilee Celebration organisers will be invited down to the Great British Beer Festival’s trade day on 2 August to raise a glass to the key initiative and celebrate the outcomes of the projects.
Nik Antona, CAMRA’s National Chairman said: “The concept behind a Summer of Pub is really quite simple – it’s that the easiest way to support pubs is to use them. That is why we will be working with partners throughout the summer to highlight fantastic events taking place and continually rally people down to their local. “Pubs have been through a horrendous two years of lockdowns and restrictions and need help to get back on their feet. At the end of the day, you don’t need to be a campaigner to make a difference – let’s just celebrate a return to normal this summer by raising a glass to the trade!”
