The Accessible Link #2 - Brillant hotel staff and an accessible lunch

Welcome to the second issue of "The Accessible Link"!

Hello everyone,

This week I attended a railway conference in London. Conferences are sometimes a bit hit-and-miss when it comes to accessibility, but I was positively surprised.

Hilton Tower Bridge, London

Not only was the staff extremely friendly. This happened:

Christiane Link @Christiane

Within minutes after arriving at a conference, the hotel manager came to me and asked what I need if there’s an evacuation and informed me that there’s a fire safe lift. Impressive.

Very reassuring. I didn’t think there could be a fire, but it was a very strong sign that the staff was trained and that someone actually worked on an accessibility and inclusion concept for this hotel.

And there was something else that I really liked. The lunch buffet. Not only was the food really nice, but I could also actually see what was there and therefore use it without any help. So I took this photo from my perspective. As you can see, it is totally accessible for me and not too low for anyone else. I mention this because most of the buffets are far too high, but it shows it doesn’t have to be this way.

So with all the talk about how important it is that people feel they "belong,” these are the things that make a difference and influence whether I consider going there again next year.

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Some interesting links

• An officer broke a Deaf Woman’s arm after a misunderstanding at the airport

• Procurement can play such an important role when it comes to accessibility. Here are 10 tips for accessible procurement

• Why some Autistic people will not tell you that they are autistic (and why that’s totally fine)

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Something to watch

Maayan Ziv is an entrepreneur and disability activist. And she is spot on when it comes to disabled customers.

@maayanziv_Here to buy accessible things. #wheelchairtravel #fyp #disabilitytiktok #marketing #accessibility

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Something #DisabilityTwitter is talking about

There are some misguided people in the aviation industry (not many, but some are even CEOs!) who are moaning about the fact that more older and disabled people have been travelling since COVID and even before.

An article by an “aviation expert” called passengers who need assistance “a four-wheeled problem” and gave the impression that people are faking being disabled to get better service at the airport. His brilliant idea: Stop letting disabled people pre-board; let them go last because that would stop people from asking for assistance.

Frequent flyer and wheelchair user John Morris is proving right now how ridiculous this is. Not only did he write a brilliant response. He is boarding last for the next ten flights he is taking, and he tweets about it. The outcome as expected - delayed flights.

John Morris | Wheelchair Travel @WCTravelOrg

In response to this asinine viewpoint, I said I would board last 10 times. The third time is unfortunately going to impact an already-delayed flight, operated by a Boeing 787-9. On this aircraft, my wheelchair must be loaded into a cargo container, which wheelchairtravel.org/airline-indust…… https://t.co/mrHJSKmanJ

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Something to read

This month, Adweek magazine in the US covers the topic of brands and accessibility. There is an interesting portrait of KR Liu, who is helping Google (and others) with its inclusive marketing. Liu is Deaf and a force for change in the tech industry. There are other really interesting inclusion-related articles, e.g., about marketing and the Paralympics (they mention London 2012 and even accessible transport).

There is an overview of the articles and additional content, but to be able to read them all, you need to buy the issue. I was able to do that in the UK via Zinio and paid £7 for the digital version.

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Some final words

"The people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do." Steve Jobs

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Who is writing this newsletter?

I’m Christiane Link, and I improve the customer experience in aviation, transport, and travel. I worked as a journalist for over two decades and travelled extensively for business and leisure. If you want to read more from me, follow me on LinkedIn or Twitter. You can also reply to this email if you want to contact me.