The Disability Act & accommodation
Disabled friendly accommodation in Britain
The UK has implemented legislation that enforces the provision of facilities that may be of benefit to people with diasabilities. The purpose of the legislation is
to ensure that wherever possible, people with disabilities enjoy the same access to services and facilites that every other member of the community may enjoy and
to prevent any discimination that may exist based on a person’s disabilty. Since the 2nd of December 1996 it has been against the law for service providers to treat
anuone less favourably because of their disability. Since the 1st of October 1999 service providers have had to make "reasonable adjustments" for you, such as giving
extra help or changing the way they provide their services. Also from the 1st of October 2004 service providers may have to make other "reasonable adjustments" to
their premises so that there are no physical barriers stopping or making it unreasonably difficult for you to gain access to services.
The Disabilty Act applies to any sized service provider and ensures the disabled customer receives the same level of service as the able guest. Disablity as a term
covers a range of problems from access for wheelchairs to facilities for the blind and all of these need to be considered. A grading scheme (see below) has been
introduced to give some indication of the degree to which a bed and breakfast, Hotel or self catering property can meet the requirement of guests. Properties do NOT
have to cater for ALL need as it would be impractical and unreasonable for some of them to do so but they should make all REASONABLE efforts to do so and state what
they can provide if asked and, more importantly, to state what they CAN’T provide for. Many properties now have an “Access Statement” as part of their website and
most properties are now providing these.
For the tourism industry, and accommodation providers in particular, the act requires that, WHEREVER POSSIBLE, facilities must be provided to meet the needs of
diabled visitors. These laws and regulations surrounding all the various forms of discrimination and their affect on the B&B owner need not be too great. They are
all common sense issues that most B&B owners will be able to comply with, without a great deal of difficulty, and the phrase “reasonable” should be bourne in mind.
Before booking it's good to know your Disability Rights, and if the accommodation does not fulfill current legislative requirements, then they need to be advised of
the fact. When booking, be honest and give detailed information about your disability, highlighting the services and facilities that you need.
National Accessibility Standards
There are National Accessibility Standards - designated with wheelchair symbols which are nationally recognised and
at a glance provide information on accessibility standards. The familiar wheelchair symbols are in three categories and represent the following, with category one
being the highest level of disability access achieved.
Disability Access/Category One
Accommodation is likely to meet the needs of all wheelchair users, including those travelling independently.
Disability Access/Category Two
Accommodation is likely to meet the needs of wheelchair users accompanied by a capable helper.
Disability Access/Category Three
Accommodation is likely to meet the needs of those who can walk short distances and climb at least three steps.
Most accommodation types are inspected including guest houses, hotels, caravan parks and self-catering options. Also, tourist attractions and venues are inspected.
One issue commonly missed is disabled issues concerning getting TO your accommodation. Check out your transport route as well.
Stayinbritain has provided a search facility to specifically list self catering, bed & breakfast and other properties that do indicate that they have disabled
facilities. To use these search parameters, first select the property type you wish to find, then, on the search page, select the area or town you wish to stay in
and click on the GO button. Then on the results page you will see a set of filters at the top of the results under the heading “Only show me results which have the
following:”. One of these is “Disabled Facilities”. Tick that option (and any others that apply) and click the “GO” button. The results will then be filtered to show
those that meet your criteria. Please note that we don't always show the Disabilty Grading of the property concerned.
It is worth noting that some property owners may not have indicated to Stayinbritain that they have diabilty access levels and may therefore not appear in the
results. If you specifically wish to book a property, it may be worth also checking their website to make sure they do meet your requirements. All paid customers
on Stayinbritan have links to their websites as a standard part of their advertisment.
Stayinbritain provides a selection of many thousands of accommodation properties in all parts of the British Isles, from Self Catering cottages and serviced
apartments, bed and breakfast, hotels, guest house, camping, caravan sites and narrow boats in all parts of the UK and Ireland. We take no commision or booking fees
from our visitors or our property owners and encourage you to deal directly with the owners. We have provided facilities for this by showing their address and
telephone number, links to email and websites and where applicable, we provide direct links to their booking and tariff pages.
We cannot guarantee the visual images or textual description of the quality of the properties displayed on our Internet or printed pages and therefore cannot assume any responsibility for the accuracy or validity of claims or descriptions given by any property owner on this web site or in any other locations on the internet. We strongly suggest that information is sought directly from the owners. Any views or opinions stated within our web sites or other locations on the internet are soley those of the property owner and do not necessarily reflect the opinions or views of Reserve It Ltd. We always reserve the right to remove, without compensation, any establishment that fails to provide the quality of service claimed in their StayinBritain advertisment.