I’ve learnt that with some clients you need to anticpate their needs and offer assistance services, says Ponders Travel’s Clare Dudley
There is a danger that when we hear the term accessible travel, we simply think it applies to people with visible disabilities, such as wheelchair users.
But there are so many people with disabilities that aren’t immediately apparent, and many forms of help we can offer to such clients to ensure they have the best experience possible.
We can easily see a wheelchair user will need assistance on their travels, be it at an airport, train station, port or a hotel. We can work with the airlines, cruise line or whoever it may be and write to hotels to put requests forward to ensure clients have the right rooms.
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But this all starts to get trickier when a request is not explicitly made or a disability is not immediately obvious. This could simply be a case of the client not being aware that there is any help at hand.
Did you know that one in five people are disabled, and it is estimated that 70%-80% of disabilities are invisible? All those people deserve to experience the joys and opportunities of travel just as much as everybody else. A lot of assistance programmes and accessible facilities cater for wheelchair users and other physically disabled people but don’t consider the needs of those who aren’t as ‘obviously’ disabled.
I have learnt over the years that we need to assess the situation ourselves and, if we feel assistance could help, gently offer this service.
Less-obvious needs
In recent weeks I have served two customers with invisible needs. First, a couple who came in wanting a very special holiday. During the brief it was mentioned that the gentleman had dementia. I made a note of this and brought up the subject when I spoke to the woman on the phone a few days later.
I mentioned that I’d been thinking about the travelling experience and wondered if any element may prove daunting. I said we’d be able to offer assistance at the airport, which could help with long queues, and told them what to do there if it all got too much. They ended up booking the perfect holiday and the gratitude I was met with was so reassuring. I tried to ensure I handled the situation with full respect for the gentleman and his wife, who was nervous but didn’t know such a service existed.
Next, returning clients came in to book a very last-minute holiday. They were a family of four with two 16-year-old twins, both with autism. Their list of needs had not changed since the previous booking.
We listened, understood and researched until we found a few holidays to suit their needs. We spent time and were patient understanding what seemingly little things could trigger the boys’ autism.
Once a hotel had been chosen, we worked behind the scenes to put in assistance at the airport so that queues were avoided and the airport staff would take the family through passport control and security in a caring manner. We booked private transfers, contacted the hotel and asked them to ensure the family had a quiet room. We explained the triggers that could affect the twins and asked for the hotel to be aware and to add some extra care.
The family were delighted and again were so grateful, which made the extra work entirely worth it. A little can go a long way.
Extra care gives us peace of mind
If you’re unsure, I’d suggest not to be afraid about asking clients whether assistance will be required. For our older clients, I often say there is a service we can put in place that will help them with what could be a long walk from check-in to the actual gate if needed, reassuring them that we can ask for assistance very easily.
I let them know it’s a complimentary service, and that if on the day they feel they don’t need any assistance after all, they can simply state this at check-in. It’s better to have it in place, just in case. Extra care like this means so much to the client and it gives us peace of mind.