an individual basis to discuss the local
It lists
facilities. In the spirit of inclusiveness, we
do not offer special programmes for
people with restricted mobility, but en-
courage all guests to participate in activi-
ties. At A&O, it’s not only the facilities
themselves that are important, but the
sensitivity of our staff to the needs of our
guests.
NH Hoteles
Almost all of our 60 or so NH hotels in
Germany have barrier-free rooms. The NH
Hotel on Alexanderplatz in Berlin, for
Maarten Markus, Managing Director of the
Central Europe Business Unit and USA NH Hotels
example, is specially equipped for blind
and partially sighted guests. All the infor-
mation panels – from signs and infor­
mation on the landings to room numbers –
are translated into Braille and prism
lettering. The lifts have voice announcers,
and the stairs, entrances and exits have
floor-level markings. In addition, all staff at
the hotel are trained in assisting blind and
partially sighted guests.
Ringhotels
We have published our ‘Ringhotels travel
planner’ brochure to provide our guests
Susanne Weiss, Managing Director and
Member of the Board at Ringhotels
with an overview of hotel amenities.
every one of our hotels and provides
details on whether there are wheelchair-
accessible rooms and, if so, how many.
We also have fully accessible hotels such
as the Teutoburger Wald Ringhotel in
Tecklenburg, which only in May was certi-
fied a barrier-free hotel by the VdK Sozial-
verband. The individual Ringhotels will get
in touch with guests with restricted mobil-
ity to discuss their needs. Depending on
the type of disability involved, it is then
possible for the hotel to decide which
room is suitable and whether all areas of
the hotel can be used by the guest.
Maritim Hotelgesellschaft mbH
Of the 38 Maritim Hotels in Germany,
23 have at least one disabled-friendly room,
whereby the suitability of the rooms can
René Halla, Director of Global Sales
at Maritim Hotelgesellschaft mbH
vary depending on the type of disability
involved. For this reason, our service staff
clarify the guest’s requirements at the
time of booking and recommend the hotel
that is most suitable.
Accor Hospitality Germany GmbH
At Accor, the term ‘diversity’ has a pro-
found ethical and social meaning that
extends far beyond the constant coming
and going of people from a huge range of
cultures and countries at our hotels. To
foster this diversity, we also focus on the
needs of people with restricted mobility
and disabilities, and have drawn up build-
ing design policies for all our brands, which
Michael Mücke, Head of Accor Germany and
Vice President of ibis and ibis Styles in Germany,
Austria and Switzerland
provide information and guidelines to
investors and franchisees. We are always
striving towards accessibility throughout
the hotel. This includes putting disabled-
friendly rooms on the ground floor and
near lifts, and ensuring all public areas are
accessible for wheelchair users.
Grand City Hotels GmbH
At Grand City Hotels, we want guests with
restricted mobility to feel at home and en-
joy their stay with us. Which is why many
of our hotels are specially tailored to the
needs of disabled people. At the Wyndham
Stralsund HanseDom Hotel, guests can
stay in barrier-free rooms and even enter
the wave pool at the Hansedom water
park in one of our wheelchairs.
In July 2013, three rooms at the Radisson
Blu Park Hotel & Conference Centre in the
Radebeul district of Dresden were refur-
bished to become disabled-friendly. In
addition to the barrier-free facilities at
many Grand City hotels, guests with
restricted mobility will receive the best
possible assistance from our attentive
staff.
Bart Beerkens, Commercial Vice President at
Grand City Hotels
19