Making travel easy for all customers, including those with visible or non-visible disabilities, continues to be a key focus for TUI this year. We know 75% of TUI customers with access needs search for detailed information on the accessibility of a hotel before booking their holiday. It’s TUI’s ambition to be better at providing this information so customers can book the holiday that’s right for them.
Customers travelling with access needs account for 25% of all travellers and is a growing customer segment across the market. We know through our research that TUI’s customers with access needs book longer hotel stays and spend more on their holiday, so taking steps to improve their booking and holiday experience is an investment worth making.
In partnership with AccessAble
In 2023 we became industry leaders by partnering with AccessAble, a specialist provider of Accessibility Guides. Their trained surveyors conducted a mixture of in-person and remotely-guided accessibility surveys in 200 hotels from TUI’s portfolio.
The results of these assessments have so far produced 200 Detailed Access Guides, which are shared with TUI Partners, colleagues, and customers. We have already seen a huge increase in new users to the AccessAble’ s website to view these guides. Here are some examples:
We want to continue these hotel surveys by visiting another 200 hotels in 2024. Accessibility surveys will start at the end of April and continue throughout the coming months, avoiding high peak weeks. TUI will contact your team if your hotel has been selected for an accessibility survey this year.
Adapted rooms- Confirmation is key
Everyone plays a key part in making sure that guests with access needs have a great holiday. Confirming or rejecting adapted room requests as soon as possible is one way we can welcome guests of all abilities. Since a new process was introduced in 2022, we have seen a great response to requests with a confirmation or rejection occurring, on average, within 5 days. Requests that are not confirmed within 14 days will be cancelled, and the customer given an alternative hotel to choose from.
If you would like to know more about this project, please reach out to Marina Snellenberg, Accessibility Manager for TUI Uk&I (marina.snellenberg@tui.co.uk)