Comments on: Hotels.com sued over inability to book wheelchair-accessible rooms http://dottourism.com/blog/2007/05/23/hotelscom-sued-over-inability-to-book-wheelchair-accessible-rooms/ Online and destination marketing for travel and tourism Tue, 07 Sep 2010 06:56:26 +0100 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.5 hourly 1 By: john http://dottourism.com/blog/2007/05/23/hotelscom-sued-over-inability-to-book-wheelchair-accessible-rooms/comment-page-1/#comment-15545 john Mon, 08 Dec 2008 14:18:15 +0000 http://dottourism.com/blog/2007/05/23/hotelscom-sued-over-inability-to-book-wheelchair-accessible-rooms/#comment-15545 Hi, Hopefully www.accessibleaccommodation.com will help alleviate this problem by knowing that all accommodation on the site is accessible! Hi, Hopefully http://www.accessibleaccommodation.com will help alleviate this problem by knowing that all accommodation on the site is accessible!

]]> By: Ivor Ambrose http://dottourism.com/blog/2007/05/23/hotelscom-sued-over-inability-to-book-wheelchair-accessible-rooms/comment-page-1/#comment-918 Ivor Ambrose Sun, 10 Jun 2007 09:01:21 +0000 http://dottourism.com/blog/2007/05/23/hotelscom-sued-over-inability-to-book-wheelchair-accessible-rooms/#comment-918 This is a real and long-standing problem for many customers who need reliable accessibility information BEFORE THEY TRAVEL! In Europe there have been several efforts to improve the quality of on-line information to travellers, so they can know what levels of accessibility to expect at hotels and tourist attractions. Cities, regions and national tourist boards have been working on these issues, but noticeably few hotel chains publish this kind of information. One of the problems for the customer is that one definition of what is "accessible" does not match another - in most cases. In fact many hotel chains want to improve their information and services but they don't have the resources or know-how to do it. Addressing this issue, we created the "OSSATE" concept: a "One-Stop-Shop for Accessible Tourism in Europe". Have a look at our site: www.ossate.org This initiative is setting up an e-Service for accessibility information, based on standardised OBJECTIVE statements, simple measurements (like the free-passage width of door-openings) and some helpful photos of crucial places, like bathrooms. Information covers a wide range of disabilities, allergies, availability of special diets, policies on service animals, etc. Hoteliers can submit this information themselves via an on-line tool, or request an expert auditor to check their premises. The new service is now beng piloted at www.europeforall.com - The Destination Search tool on the site currently covers accommodations in Greece, Belgium, Austria, parts of the UK.... other countries coming soon. (IVOR AMBROSE, OSSATE CO-ORDINATOR) This is a real and long-standing problem for many customers who need reliable accessibility information BEFORE THEY TRAVEL! In Europe there have been several efforts to improve the quality of on-line information to travellers, so they can know what levels of accessibility to expect at hotels and tourist attractions. Cities, regions and national tourist boards have been working on these issues, but noticeably few hotel chains publish this kind of information. One of the problems for the customer is that one definition of what is “accessible” does not match another – in most cases. In fact many hotel chains want to improve their information and services but they don’t have the resources or know-how to do it.
Addressing this issue, we created the “OSSATE” concept: a “One-Stop-Shop for Accessible Tourism in Europe”. Have a look at our site: http://www.ossate.org
This initiative is setting up an e-Service for accessibility information, based on standardised OBJECTIVE statements, simple measurements (like the free-passage width of door-openings) and some helpful photos of crucial places, like bathrooms. Information covers a wide range of disabilities, allergies, availability of special diets, policies on service animals, etc. Hoteliers can submit this information themselves via an on-line tool, or request an expert auditor to check their premises.
The new service is now beng piloted at http://www.europeforall.com
- The Destination Search tool on the site currently covers accommodations in Greece, Belgium, Austria, parts of the UK…. other countries coming soon.

(IVOR AMBROSE, OSSATE CO-ORDINATOR)

]]> By: Dominic Sawyer http://dottourism.com/blog/2007/05/23/hotelscom-sued-over-inability-to-book-wheelchair-accessible-rooms/comment-page-1/#comment-860 Dominic Sawyer Wed, 30 May 2007 13:13:41 +0000 http://dottourism.com/blog/2007/05/23/hotelscom-sued-over-inability-to-book-wheelchair-accessible-rooms/#comment-860 Thanks Kim & Sophie for your message. Hopefully this will help set a precedent on how accommodation providers have to ensure accessible rooms during the booking process. Cheers, Dominic Thanks Kim & Sophie for your message. Hopefully this will help set a precedent on how accommodation providers have to ensure accessible rooms during the booking process.

Cheers,
Dominic

]]> By: Kim & Sophie http://dottourism.com/blog/2007/05/23/hotelscom-sued-over-inability-to-book-wheelchair-accessible-rooms/comment-page-1/#comment-828 Kim & Sophie Thu, 24 May 2007 00:40:19 +0000 http://dottourism.com/blog/2007/05/23/hotelscom-sued-over-inability-to-book-wheelchair-accessible-rooms/#comment-828 I've had the same problem with another online company when booking a hotel. We were told we had an accessible room, only to find out that it wasn't availible when we got to the hotel! We had a huge fuss trying to get our money back when we tried because we had to try another two hotels before finding one with an accessible room. I’ve had the same problem with another online company when booking a hotel. We were told we had an accessible room, only to find out that it wasn’t availible when we got to the hotel! We had a huge fuss trying to get our money back when we tried because we had to try another two hotels before finding one with an accessible room.

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