By Denis Sheehan, Managing Director, Accessible Hospitality Alliance
As 2025 draws towards its close, I reflect on what Accessible Hospitality Alliance (aha) has brought into discussion, and to what effect. At its heart, aha exists to convene discourse led by the experience of people living with disability, placing those experiences directly in front of the operators who deliver hospitality. What follows are my reflections on what this approach has revealed, and how listening, curiosity, and leadership combine to shape positive action inside operator businesses.
From the outset, lived experience has shaped how aha brings people together. Our Forums are designed so that operators listen, not to be instructed, but to understand. When people living with disability lead the conversation, something shifts. Operators are invited to be openly curious.
What I have observed in the Forums is that tone matters. Assumptions are tested and questions replace conclusions. Good intent meets lived reality, and curiosity leads to investigation. That moment matters, because it opens the door to responsibility being taken willingly.
One of the clearest indicators of change in 2025 was what followed these conversations. Within weeks of the first aha Forum, BM Caterers announced the appointment of its first Access Champion, Ben Schobs. That decision reflected a conscious choice to bring accessibility inside the organisation, giving it a clear point of ownership and continuity. The Access Champion role was created to listen, learn, and ensure that lived experience informs decisions as the business continues to evolve.
Soon after, BB Merchant Services made a similar appointment. This demonstrated that the approach resonated not only with venue operators, but also with organisations that enable and influence hospitality across the wider supply chain.
Alongside these appointments, membership of aha grew steadily through 2025. In September, Holistic Thinking Holidays joined, followed later that month by Kimpton Fitzroy London. In October, The Balmoral, a Rocco Forte Hotel became a member, and in November The Grand, York followed. More memberships will be announced in early 2026.
These decisions are significant because of who is making them. Highly respected organisations that already lead by example are choosing to engage, to listen, and to act.
Taken together, these moments point to a shift in how change is taking place. Progress is not beginning with perfect plans or finished answers. It is beginning with curiosity, recognition, and a willingness to explore what responsibility looks like in practice.
Leadership, as it has emerged this year, is often less about certainty and more about engagement. These businesses do not claim to have solved accessibility. Instead, they demonstrate confidence in starting their journey, staying open to learning, and embedding responsibility rather than deferring it.
Accessibility is increasingly understood as part of what good leadership looks like, because it aligns with long-term sustainability. A hospitality world that welcomes everyone is not a separate ambition. It is integral to how hospitality remains true to both its origins and its future.
One theme that has surfaced repeatedly in 2025 is how cautiously many businesses communicate about accessibility, a phenomenon often referred to as “purple hushing”. Frequently this comes from reticence rather than avoidance, but the result is the same: meaningful progress remains unseen.
Clear communication builds confidence, and confidence shapes choice. When businesses explain what they do well, they help people decide where they feel comfortable spending time, money, and energy. In hospitality, that directly influences demand and commercial performance.
Equally, honesty about limitations is an important part of being welcoming. Being clear about what is not yet possible allows guests to make informed decisions and avoids unnecessary confusion. In many cases, transparency matters more than completeness.
This matters because the audience is substantial. Around one in five people live with a disability, a figure moving closer to one in four. Many people reduce how often they go out or travel because experiences feel unpredictable or exhausting. When hospitality businesses communicate with clarity and confidence, they reduce that burden and create opportunity on both sides.
This is also where culture shows its value. Wanting to help, and being seen to make every effort, is noticed and appreciated, often returning as trust, loyalty, and custom.
Progress brings clarity, but it does not remove challenge. Time remains a pressure point, with operators balancing operational demands against the need for reflection and improvement. Confidence can also waver, particularly where fear of getting things wrong slows decision-making.
Service suppliers present at the Forums play an important role here. Many are familiar with these challenges and the practical solutions available. Bringing operators and suppliers into the same lived-experience-led discussions has already led to meaningful follow-on conversations, helping businesses move forward in ways that are realistic and actionable.
One of the clearest signs that aha’s approach resonates came through an attendee at the November Forum. Shawn Pisani, Vice President at HelmsBriscoe, travelled from Malta to experience the Forum following a recommendation. Like every other participant, he listened to lived experience first hand and took part in the discussions. From that shared experience came a sense that aha’s model of listening, reflection, and action could be meaningful elsewhere.
That belief has since developed into a collaborative effort to bring the same Forum experience to the Mediterranean hospitality community. The Mediterranean aha Forum will take place in Malta in March 2026. This is a continuation of aha’s purpose, shaped by the same principles.
As Accessible Hospitality Alliance moves into 2026, the focus remains clear. A hospitality world that welcomes everyone is created through everyday decisions taken by people who feel confident enough to listen, curious enough to question, and committed enough to act.
