FRANCE: More than 380 Accor branded hotels are undergoing the French government’s ‘Tourisme & Handicap’ certification as the Group aims to make travel more accessible during the Paris 2024 summer Olympics and beyond.
As part of the Paris 2024 Games more than half of the Group’s hotels in host locations have begun a certification process which is managed by Atout France.
The “Tourisme & Handicap” certified hotels are registered on the “Accès Libre” online platform set up by the French government, which will list the accessibility of all venues open to the public in France.
Earlier this month out of 380 Accor brand hotels, 80 had already received certification, while the rest were about to receive certification. In June Accor received Atout France’s Gold Award for accessible tourism.
The certification criteria meets four types of disability – auditory, cognitive, physical and visual and Accor intends to extend this initiative to all its hotels in France and across other regions of the world.
Sébastien Bazin, chairman & CEO of Accor said: “Over the past few months, the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games have been a catalyst to improve the way in which we cater for disabled travellers.
“Employees and hotels have been working hard to make Paris 2024 a wonderful experience for everyone. This achievement will be one of the legacies of this historic event for Accor and we are determined, once the Games are over, to continue rolling out the best innovations worldwide to welcome every single guest.”
The Group has also upgraded its digital solutions including adding new filters to Accor’s reservation platform ALL.com to highlight available accessible rooms and at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, it will be distributing 1,000 remote controls to visually impaired athletes and travellers staying at the Paris 2024 athletes village or at Accor hotels.
These remote controls aim to facilitate safe travel for blind and visually-impaired people by working all standardised systems including at voice-activated terminals in hotels, in the Paris 2024 village, and at pedestrian crossings.
The Group is providing hotels and their owners with a selection of other solutions, including:
- Audio induction loops at reception;
- A GPS solution within the hotel that guides visually impaired guests autonomously to their chosen destination (guestroom, lobby, restaurant, etc.), already rolled out at Pullman Paris Bercy and Sofitel Lyon Bellecour;
- A support solution that enables travellers to identify, find and locate items and text in their surroundings, using the camera on their smartphone and artificial intelligence algorithms. This solution has already been rolled out in ibis Styles Paris Meteor and ibis Marseille Saint-Charles;
- A public interest service that uses a website and app to identify the specific needs of guests and offer the most suitable room, with equipment added if necessary. This solution, instigated by the French Ministry for Disability, is notably being trialled at Pullman Paris Bercy and being rolled out at MGallery Molitor.
Accor’s Smart Room which launched in 2017 and is having an accelerated roll out in all new openings and in hotel refurbishments to elevate accessibility standards in the hotel industry.
The Smart Room offers “an experience that ends the demarcation between PRM (Persons with Reduced Mobility) rooms and other room types.”
Rooms have been designed to meet PRM standards, without any compromise to aesthetics or the sensory experience and all Group hotels have access to a catalogue of features to improve the accessibility of its guestrooms.
“Smart rooms include an adaptable wardrobe (low or high position), adjustable bed, curtains and washbasins, as well as a sliding door to the bathroom. An example is the Pullman Paris Bercy hotel, which has just completed the refurbishment of its guest rooms – they now include open cupboards with a retractable wardrobe, and automatic door opening via a push button for guests in wheelchairs,” explained Bazin.
Accor’s teams are using new training modules developed with Accor employees, along with Hakim Arezki and Michaël Jeremiasz, athletes and members of the “ALL Champions Family”, a team of athletes that the Group is supporting during Paris 2024.
These training courses will be extended to other countries after the Paris Games.
Check out our FOCUS ON piece on accessibility in the hotel sector here.
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