Accessibility is just another burden on the backs of struggling start ups and restaurants fighting the rat race. So why even bother?

Businesses that are fully accessible are businesses that can reach the widest possible market. By improving their level of accessibility, businesses will be increasing the number of people who are potential customers. Since 20% of the population have a disability, accessibility leads to 25% more potential customers. In addition, many of these customers will be accompanied by friends and family. For example, a man in a wheelchair will choose to celebrate his birthday with his family in a restaurant that is physically accessible over a restaurant where he cannot get inside.

The impact of accessibility reaches beyond those who identify as having a disability. A restaurant that is physically accessible for someone in a wheelchair will also be accessible for parents with prams. A menu that is easy to read for someone with a visual impairment will be easier for older patrons to see without a phone powered flashlight. A restaurant with good sound absorption will make it easier for hearing impaired diners to hear the conversation, and it will simultaneously prevent staff from damaging their hearing in the workplace.

It was found that 86% of disabled people, their families and friends will make a return visit to a venue that has good accessibility, and 83% will tell others about it. 

Euan’s Guide Access Survey

Accessibility and inclusion are positive brands in a marketing strategy. Because people with disabilities have difficulty finding restaurants that are suited to their needs, they tend to become extremely loyal customers when they find an accessible business. They also have strong word of mouth links with other people who have similar needs. A 2016 Nielsen study indicated that disabled people tend towards more brand loyalty than non-disabled people.

The Purple Pound project found that restaurants, pubs and clubs lose £163 million pounds in the UK alone by being inaccessible. That’s USD$205.5 million in a country with a population that is one fifth of the USA and a GDP that is one tenth of USA’s GDP. That is millions of dollars of profit growth that the hospitality industry can share in.

Most countries around the world have legislation to ensure that public spaces are accessible for the whole population. In Australia, this is the Disability Discrimination Act. In the United States of America, this is the Americans with Disabilities Act. These acts make it against the law for providers of goods, services and facilities to discriminate against people with disabilities. It also means that customers with disabilities have the right to enter a venue if customers without a disability are able to do so.

People with disabilities are unable to enjoy the same standards of rights, equality and dignity as everyone else because of the discrimination and barriers that restrict them from participating in society. The United Nations has set standards for the protection for the cultural, economic and social rights of people with disabilities and makes clear that people with disabilities are entitled to live independently in their communities, to make their own choices and to play an active role in society.

Do you have close family or friends who have a disability? How do you feel knowing that your family member or friend is unable to dine at your venue and enjoy the experience in the same way that an able bodied stranger can? Making your venue fully accessible is doing the right thing by those that are close to you, and by the broader community you operate within and feed.