Hotel rooms for disabled travellers could be on the verge of a design renaissance thanks to a competition created by Bespoke Hotels.
The Bespoke Access Awards are looking for creative ideas to improve rooms that are often considered over-medicalised and purely functional in style.
Chairman of Bespoke Hotels, Robin Sheppard, who has had personal experience of disability, ha partnered with the Royal Institute of British Architects to inject some joy and style into the hotel experience for disabled and able bodied guests alike.
Robin urges people to look down the other end of the telescope at disability and questions why a disabled room shouldn’t be an upgrade rather than a last straw.
He said: “We are pleased to be leading the charge in making the hotel world a better place, not only for hotel guests with disabilities, but also for all patrons. The challenge we have set ourselves is a simple one: how to address the issues that affect the delivery of outstanding service for all guests.
We aim to challenge the status quo and inspire the hotel industry worldwide to provide better experiences for all visitors.”
The competition contains three strands: architecture, design and service – prizes will be awarded for the most imaginative, innovative and potentially realisable ideas in any or all of these strands. Judges will include gold medal winning Paralympian Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson and architect Alan Stanton, winner of the 2012 Stirling Prize for Architecture.
The first prize of £20,000 will be the Celia Thomas Prize and there are also awards worth a further £10,000.
The competition will be open for entries until September 1 and winners will be announced on December 1, ahead of the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, on December 3.