The Accessible Hospitality Alliance is thrilled to be building a strong relationship with RNIB (Royal National Institute of Blind People).
As the UK’s leading sight loss charity, RNIB provides emotional and practical support to people with sight loss, drives social change and challenges public perceptions of sight loss.
Too often people with sight loss face barriers which limit their opportunities. In fact, blind and partially sighted people are nearly twice as likely to say that they have little or no choice about how they spend their free time compared to the general population.
By working together, we want to address these inequalities to ensure that hospitality experiences are inclusive and accessible to all, from guests to employees and jobseekers. The employment rate of blind and partially sighted people is unacceptably low, with an estimated 11,000 currently looking for work in the UK, and the hospitality industry can play its part in providing new opportunities.
RNIB’s Employment Services team has a proven record in actively supporting both individuals with sight loss and employers. In 2023/24, RNIB supported 1,882 individuals with employment advice, trained 732 professionals, helped 744 people into work, and enabled 1,154 to stay in employment across a wide range of sectors.
The charity also works with businesses to ensure their blind and partially sighted customers receive the best possible experience, from accessible physical spaces and accessible menus to training staff on greeting and guiding customers with sight loss and reviewing the accessibility of digital customer touch points.
Getting small details right can make a big difference to the overall guest experience. One partially sighted guest told RNIB about a recent stay at two hotels. Both had self-service coffee machines at breakfast; the first had a small screen display with tiny icons leading them to accidentally get a hot chocolate with breakfast when they wanted a coffee. The next day at a second hotel, the coffee machine had a clearer display and larger buttons making it much easier to select the preferred drink. It’s a really small detail, like training staff to consider the needs of guests with a disability or using strong colour contrast on signs around the building. So, the guest with sight loss starts their day off in a better mood and guess which of the two hotels is likely to receive a better online review?
Hannah Whitcombe, Corporate Partnerships Manager at RNIB, attended an aha Forum last year: “The aha Forum was a truly inspiring and thought-provoking event. It was fantastic to have so many people in one room from the hospitality sector who are committed to building an inclusive society. At RNIB, our strategy is clear: to ensure everyone with sight loss can live the life they want to lead, without limits. By working more closely with the hospitality sector, we can help to break down barriers and drive social change for a better future that is inclusive by default, not demand. I’m looking forward to attending the forum again to build on the connections already made.”
Robin Sheppard, Chair of Accessible Hospitality Alliance said: “The RNIB represents fantastic work done by and on behalf of people with sight loss. This has particular resonance for me for family reasons and therefore, we are honoured to be able to support their initiatives.”
