Improving Your Holiday Rentals Wheelchair Accessibility

How can I make my rental property more accessible?

Accessibility is very important to the team at Simply Owners, we have staff members, family members and friends who have access needs and we feel that the direct contact we offer is perfect way to make sure that the holiday rental property booked is suitable for everyone to have an enjoyable, relaxing holiday.
Visit England tell us that ‘the spending power of disabled people and their households is called the Purple Pound. The annual tourism Purple Pound in England alone is estimated to be worth £14.6 billion.’ This is a huge market and if your property could tap into even a small section of that we want to help you with that. 

Gillian and Becky recently recorded a podcast to share some key tips for owners to help guests who have physical access needs. You can watch the film and read the transcript below. 

Below that are a few key tips which every host needs to know, regarding making their properties more accessible, we hope they're useful. 

Transcript of Podcast - for those who need it

Becky: So the first episode of our podcast where I'm talking to Gillian is going to be about the major thing that everybody thinks of when they think about accessibility. They think about disabled people who use wheelchairs. So we are going to have a chat about how you can make your property more accessible to wheelchair users. Are there any top tips that you could give people, Gillian?  
 
Gillian: There are top tips, yeah. So a lot of properties are not wheelchair accessible. And the thing is, that's fine. If they're not, they're not, but it's having that information and it's writing about it so that the customer actually knows. And it might be that part of a property is wheelchair accessible and the other part is not wheelchair accessible. So it's, it's making it very, very clear. We once stayed at a property with my disabled son and the bedroom was downstairs and the lounge was upstairs and so for that entire week we had to be downstairs separated from the rest of the family. So it's just important that people are really clear on what they've got and then people make their own mind up as to as to why you know why that property might be suitable for them.  
 
Becky: Absolutely, because not every property is going to be suitable for every guest. We know that, but you have to make it very clear because if you put the property as wheelchair accessible, then the wheelchair user needs to be able to access a bedroom, a bathroom, a living space. They need to be able to access freely all of those areas because otherwise that's going to spoil their holidays, isn't it? I know you've had holidays spoiled.  
 
Gillian: Yeah, and we've built this accessible holiday property and in building the accessible holiday property, this was a major renovation and we've opened up all the kitchen space, we've widened the doors into the lounge, but one thing that we did have was a corridor with a very straight on approach into the accessible bedroom and that corridor had a width of 810 millimeters and that's vitally important when people are coming to a place that they know what that width is because if their chair is bigger we do have door widths that are bigger into the bedroom from the outside patio but you don't want to be going outside a property to go back in through another door and we've got three meter bifold doors on the kitchen so there are ways of getting in but it's just being clear and also  
 
Also, when people have got a corridor and then they have to turn into a bedroom, the width of that corridor is really important so that people know what that turning space is into that bedroom doorway.  
 
Becky: If they're coming with an electrical powered wheelchair. Sometimes they're wider, aren't they? Need a bigger turning circle.  
 
Gillian: Yeah, yeah. There are ways round that. a little tip is that if you've got a manual wheelchair and you've got a mobile hoist, if someone's got a really big wheelchair, but you let them know that you've got a manual wheelchair that they can use while they're here to transfer into that does fit down that corridor, again, that's another way that they can access a bedroom.  
 
Becky: Perfect, but it's all about information isn't it? So telling people that before they visit, making sure that they know what's available to them, they know what's available to their family members and they can make sure it's right for them before they even visit. I would say the floor plan of the property is really important for wheelchair users. Do you always look at that?  
 
Gillian: A lot of people don't put that information. We always say, em get a 360-degree virtual tour, create an accessibility video of the property so that you've got that information, and get that floor plan. Write down your key measurements, so that people know how wide is that front door. We've got a slight threshold on our door entrance and on the bifold door, but we've got a small portable ramp, threshold ramp. And these are, about, it costs 70 pounds, that was brand new. But you can pick all these things up and you can buy these pretty cheap really. My main top tips that look on eBay, look for people who might have only used something for a week if a relative's been ill and then they're selling it. So you can pick things up that look absolutely brand new. But all in all, it is that kit, it's the information. It's writing down what the property is like and if you've got steps into your back garden, steps on the path at the side of the house, steps down to an en suite bathroom or whatever, it's about information and if you write about that then everyone will make their own mind up whether that is suitable for them because you're never going to get a perfect.

Becky: Absolutely and you know if you are refitting your kitchen then yes it's worth considering the height of your work tops and if you could maybe change that slightly I know you changed yours slightly because with you being quite tall you didn't want you not to be able to use it as well.  
 
Gillian: It's no use if the rest of the family are 6ft 5 and it's absolutely awful experience for them. So we've actually created a kitchen that meets the needs of a lot of people If you follow the Visit England accessibility guidance, technical guidance, they give you lots of information on the Visit England website. And that mentions a work surface at 850 millimetres. And that means that you've got a mix of something that can meet the needs of both. 

Watch the accessibility podcast

You can watch the video here: 

Top tips to make your property more accessible for wheelchair users.

Floor Plan - vitally important to provide this to guests freely, along with key measurements, such as door widths and corridor widths. If you can mark steps on these that is doubly helpful. Not all rooms may be accessible and that is absolutely fine, but noting this on a floor plan at an early stage stops disappointments occurring, which leads to happier guests and returning business. 

360-guide or video - lets the guests imagine themselves within the property and they can see how their holiday will work for them as a family. They'll be able to see which rooms are accessible. 

Threshold ramp - a key piece of equipment if you have a slight step up into the property or out of the back door. If it is portable even better as the guests may use it for multiple purposes. These can generally be found on resale sites pretty cheaply. 

Accessible parking - If at all possible, provide a designated parking space close to the entrance., ensure the route from parking to the property is smooth and step-free.

Accessible bathroom - not all bathrooms will be accessible and that's ok, so long as you inform the guest. A few changes which could make an existing bathroom more accessible. 

Grab rails near the toilet and shower will be really helpful and also just a simple measure-up, ensuring that there is enough turning space for a wheelchair. Having a shower seat is really useful, to sit during showering. 

Portable furniture - being able to move furniture to different configurations that may help with undressing or transferring from chair to seat. Making it clear to guests that you're happy for them to move furniture (carefully obviously) if needed can just remove some of the worry they feel when in a new environment. 

Visit England has some fantastic information regarding door widths and kitchen adaptations. We would recommend reading this information carefully if you're wanting to tap into the accessible market, as they have some excellent tips and helpful wording for your listings. 

The most valuable thing hosts can do is provide accurate, detailed accessibility information. Wheelchair users often make travel decisions based on specific measurements and features rather than general descriptions such as "wheelchair friendly" or "accessible."

Thank you to Gillian at AccessibleUK for all this handy information. 
If you have something you'd like us to do a feature on, or tips you feel we could include please feel free to get in touch, we're always happy to learn what helps our guests.